Ben Lowry Editor

Hello

Hello

December is the darkest month. And yet not only is there festive cheer, there is a special joy when the sun comes out like this morning. I write to you with the rays so low that they penetrate far into the house. The forecast I saw was wet but so far the radar shows clear skies across much of Northern Ireland
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/weather/northern-ireland-weather-yellow-warning-for-ice-as-chilly-spell-to-continue-over-weekend-3949136

Harry and Meghan have been all over the news. Our reporter Graeme Huston has been watching their interviews
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/people/harry-and-meghan-on-netflix-avoid-the-documentary-just-read-the-headlines-3948704

King William’s Blend is made by a local firm Ballentine's which sourced four beans of the 17th century period when the late monarch's Glorious Revolution was planned in Dutch coffee houses
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/orange-order-launches-king-william-coffee-blend-which-can-be-traced-back-to-17th-century-dutch-coffee-houses-where-the-glorious-revolution-was-planned-3947480

Among the tragedies this week is the appalling death of a teenage girl in a Fermanagh crash which we cover in this morning's paper, and this death of a teenage boy
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/crime/psni-launch-investigation-into-unexplained-death-of-15-year-old-matthew-mccallan-after-body-discovered-3942865

Last week I was in London for the Supreme Court hearing, in which the government admitted that the Acts of Union is partially disapplied for east-west trade. I think London should be bolder in its unionism, particularly after this recent survey 
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/opinion/ben-lowry-poll-showing-big-support-for-staying-in-the-uk-should-bolster-london-in-its-unionism-3949278

I think NI businesses have not spoken up for by far our most important trade, that east-west. There was a lot of interest in this poll showing significant support (and significant opposition) for the NI Protocol https://www.newsletter.co.uk/business/over-50-believe-the-ni-protocol-is-supporting-business-growth-3946236