It's our first regular issue, and we already have a reader taking vigorous objection to what I wrote in the preview issue last October. You can see what Bill Blaikie has to say in On the Table. We look forward to letters from what we know is an intelligent and articulate readership. You may even disagree with that characterization, but please do so in an intelligent and articulate way. My friends at the National Post recently asked readers who write letters to the editor why they did so. Various reasons, from vainglorious to high-minded, were offered. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Barbara McDougall wrote in with her view: "The question is not so much why people take the time to write letters to the editor but why so many people don't. The point is not to have one's voice heard, or to promote one's point of view; it is to enrich the fabric of public debate with an exchange of views from which we all take something away, or learn something new. I have rarely written to the editor, but my New Year's resolution is to write more. Thanks for kicking off an interesting discussion." We look forward to our readers following her example, even if you simply wish to have your voice heard. Just because you enjoy the sound of your own voice doesn't mean that others won't enjoy it too.

The Queen keeps the custom of going up to Sandringham in Norfolk for Christmas, where she is joined by the rest of the Royal Family. They depart soon after, but Her Majesty remains until February, spending the anniversary of George VI's death and her own accession (February 6) in the same house where her father died. The Daily Mail reports on the arrangements during her extended stay: "Bizarrely, the Christmas decorations stay up throughout that time, at her insistence." Bizarre? Contrary to current commercial practice, where the Christmas season begins shortly after Halloween and ends with the early dawn opening of the first store on Boxing Day, the Queen may be observing an older tradition. That liturgical sense of the season begins on Christmas and extends for a biblical 40 days until the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, February 2. The nativity scene in St. Peter's Square keeps that calendar. What is "bizarre" depends on what is taken as the original standard of reference. Perhaps Her Majesty prefers to prepare for her anniversary remembering that she who inherited the Crown is but a servant of the newborn King.

Charlotte Gray is one of Canada's most celebrated historians—chair of the board of directors of Canada's History—but she does not care much for Canada's history as a constitutional monarchy. In a long whine against the federal government's emphasis on the Crown in Canada, she longs for the days when Adrienne Clarkson called herself the "head of state" and served deliciously cosmopolitan fusion cuisine at the sort of Rideau Hall dinners Charlotte Gray got invited to. Now it's just boring David Johnston, and no one at Rideau Hall is trying to usurp the Queen, as was the custom during the Clarkson-Jean era, when the viceregal office was enduring its CBC captivity. How to deal with the massive enthusiasm Canadians showed for the visit last summer of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge? "It seems equally likely that the crowds who mobbed them on Canada Day would have done the same for Brad and Angelina," says Gray. Really? Celebrities draw paparazzi in the dozens and gawkers in the hundreds. No celebrity draws hundreds of thousands, as the Duke and Duchess did, as did the Queen herself in 2010 or the Queen Mother 20 years ago. It simply doesn't happen. Argue against Canada's Crown if you wish, but don't do it on the grounds of popular acclaim. Some might prefer to eat fusion cuisine with Hollywood celebrities, but the people prefer the Royal walkabout. David Johnston, who aspires to represent the Queen rather than to be one, knows this.

Drew Brees shattered the single-season passing record this year, an NFL record that had stood for 27 years. The New Orleans Saints' quarterback threw for an astonishing 5,476 yards. He is also no slouch in the post-game interview metaphor department. . . . . . . .