DRUK YUL 2010-1

English summary

This is the decade’s first number of DRUK YUL and may be the last number to be prepared by the present editorial team. Like the greater part of Europe Sweden has been in the tight grip of the Siberian weather gods with temperatures plummeting to under minus 40 degrees Centigrade i northern areas and to below minus 25 in central Sweden! Fortunately, the data network has remained intact and the editorial group has been able to continue with the production of DRUK YUL

In common with many other friendship associations there is a demographic imbalance in the Swedish Bhutan Society, particularly at the committee level where some members are moving into their late 70s. The interest remains but the energy diminishes. Our editor, Anders Bergman, for example, has held the post since 1994.  In this number Anders has written a short review of the history of DRUK YUL richly illustrated with the covers from the many numbers for which he has had responsibility through the years. He now planning to take a well-deserved retirement from his editorial duties and is looking for a successor to fill the vacant editorial chair. By no means an easy post to fill. Anders has lived and worked in Bhutan and is a true friend of Bhutan; he has done a magnificent job with DRUK YUL.

As many readers of our homepage will already know it is now possible to book onto Drukair flights online: a major step forward for the airline, which will definitely make travelling to Bhutan by air easier (memories of Bangkok airport 15-20 years ago!).

There are Swedish translations of a number of texts from Kuensel including articles on the first crossing of the Himalayas with a wheeled vehicle, Bhutanese pizzas (!), the season’s first snow and a life sentence for a double murder. Certainly a varied selection.

Ian Brook