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From 1 July there will be a changing of the guard. A new editorial team starts and the editorial office moves from Nottingham to Nijmegen. The new crew takes up a considerable challenge. Mike Doherty and his team have done an excellent job in making the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases a leading journal in its field: a recognisable, readable journal of high scientific and educational standard. It also is an amazingly efficient journal with a rapid acceptance to publication time. They are to be congratulated on this outstanding performance.

The most important goal of the Annals has always been to support the readership in its profession in the broadest sense, and this aim will remain. This means a journal of high scientific and educational standards that is at the same time attractive to the readership. Also, a journal that remains sensitive to what happens in society, in general, and in patient organisations, in particular, and that would like to be recognised as the voice of the professional, scientific, and educational community. The unique characteristic of the "discipline of medicine" is its heterogeneity, comprising a vast array of different fields from molecular biology, genetics, and immunology to, for instance, social medicine and health care economics. An inevitable consequence of this diversity is a lack of understanding between subspecialties because of different jargons and subcultures. One way to overcome or reduce this problem is careful editing. The editor and his team recognise this important issue.

From January 2000 the Annals will be the official journal of the European League Against Rheumatism, EULAR. Both EULAR and the Annals are to be congratulated on this liaison. From the year 2000 there will be annual EULAR congresses, and educational activities within the organisation will certainly increase. The Annals will reflect and disseminate these activities appropriately.

The new team gratefully recognises the achievements of Mike Doherty and his coworkers, who have done so well, and also of Colin Barnes, who with great skill and persistence edited EULAR's educational journal Rheumatology in Europe, which will now merge with the Annals.

The new team would like to continue a great Nottingham tradition and add new elements to it. They hope to please the readership with a fascinating journey through the ever changing fields of science and education in rheumatology.