REGULAR readers will notice I've been evicted from my normal position in the contents section. I haven't quite reached the time in life to downsize - in fact, this new semi-detached, des res gives me a little more space to introduce you to the May issue of Lancashire Life. But, more importantly, it allows us more room on the preceding two pages to display all the great things in your favourite county magazine.

For instance, our food and drink section is growing all the time and it is now bigger than ever, packed with recipes, reviews and news from a county which has become a hotbed for great local produce and skilful cookery.

That's certainly the case in the Ribble Valley, where chefs Nigel Haworth and Paul Heathcote have their culinary roots.

We were so impressed with the work that's gone in to creating the Ribble Valley Food Trail that we decided to devote four pages to this gastronomic tour. We hope you find it a fascinating introduction to the area.

We've managed to secure some of the finest photography, too. Apart from our talented in-house team of John Cocks and Kirsty Thompson, we have a terrific set of aerial pictures from Preston photographer Sara Cuff, striking images of Lancashire wildlife by Poulton's award-winning Peter Guy and beautiful spring scenes by Bolton's Andy Latham.

We also talk to up-and-coming Burscough author Jane Costello about her new novel, there's a wonderfully witty feature about the Saddleworth Whitsun brass band festival and we went for tea with a remarkable new High Sheriff.

We hope you agree that it's a compelling package. While some have tried to create cheap imitations of Lancashire Life, no one has been able to match the strength in depth of our editorial pages. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for and, at Lancashire Life, we like to think our readers get the best.