I count myself extremely fortunate to have worked with both Lloyd Bonfield and Richard Wall over the last decade and more as their co-editor on Continuity and Change. Richard retired from an editing role in 2009, and Lloyd does the same this year. Along with Richard, Lloyd established the journal in 1984 and through their efforts Continuity and Change quickly established itself as one of the principal outlets for discussion of law, demography and social structure in past times. Lloyd's remit was always, and especially, the law. A celebrated legal historian who, amongst other things, has contributed during the last quarter century some of the most significant discussions of medieval and early modern legal application, Lloyd has always been determined to have his say about matters legal. Nevertheless, while especially involved in the legal papers submitted to the journal, he has also shown careful regard for the full range of submitted papers and has offered pithy and considered comment on the exciting spread of submission that has been one of the journal's main strengths throughout its first twenty-five or so years. Lloyd's e-mail commentaries on the painstaking and occasionally frustrating work of editing a journal might conceivably have kept up the client hours of some of his practising law school colleagues, if those emails had ever found their way back to the source of the complaint.

Quixotic, entertaining and the best of company, Lloyd's own brand of editing and of commentary has been supportive, engaging and always, always great fun. While editing a journal can be hard work and certainly time-consuming, there is a very good reason why people undertake it. Above all, and this is a message Lloyd rammed home more than once, editors edit because they want to do so. No one forces people to start editing a journal, or I hope not. Editing for Lloyd has always been about enjoyment; the pleasure of reading new and unexpected work, of contributing to the enhancement of the discipline and of dealing with people. Reflecting on this at the Social Science History Association conference in the early winter of 2010, at which sessions were held to honour the contribution of Richard Wall and to celebrate the first quarter century of Continuity and Change, Lloyd was clear that his enthusiasm for this work is not diminished. This year he will join Richard Wall on the journal's masthead as ‘founding editor’ and I hope he continues to have fun in this role. The journal will continue to prosper if he does.