Showtime is upon us once again. Fingers crossed we won’t be trudging through snow to get to see the exhibitions this year. It has certainly been a cold and uncertain start to the new decade but as Tony Blair and his crew infamously once said “Things can only get better.”

A happy new year to all our readers and welcome to a new decade! I can look back on ten years writing about the industry and wonder at how things have changed. I vividly remember the launch of a revolutionary new pinball machine, called Pinball 2000, which unfortunately failed to set the industry alight and marked the end of Bally’s involvement in the sector.

We would like to extend our best wishes and condolences to the family of Joaquín Franco Muñoz, co-founder of one of the largest global gaming companies, who died in Madrid last month, aged just 70.

We had the first UK show following a difficult summer last month. Preview was down in size but up in visitor numbers and sales were made. Check out the comments from the exhibitors in our show report and you will find that they were optimistic almost to a man and woman.

Although it is, unfortunately, many years since I left full-time education, I still regard this time of year with a sort of "back to school" mentality. The summer holidays are over and thoughts turn to the shows, deadlines and meeting up with colleagues and customers. It has been a difficult year for most, but I feel we can congratulate ourselves on getting through it and look ahead with renewed confidence and optimism.

Music is the subject of our main feature this month. This is one sector that has been transformed in recent years. At the heart of the old jukebox was a reliable CD changer mechanism. At the heart of today's jukebox is a computer. In some ways, this means that almost anyone can produce a jukebox. But now that the focus is off simply playing the music, a whole host of new possibilities has opened up to the industry.

This month we focus on coin-op tournaments. These have been running for around a decade and, in some sectors, have matured into a global phenomenon. But the pitfalls awaiting the unwary tournament organiser are manifold. We spoke to some of the more successful tournament operators about what they find most challenging about organising tournaments - what the legal implications are - and how they get their message across to the players.

June and the weather in the UK is wonderful. It is hard not to feel more optimistic when the sun is shining. The UK industry is gearing up to the season of Open Days, starting with Park Avenue in London - where John Stergides and his team unfailingly order in sunshine to accompany the Greek barbecue and beer. This year, however, there is even more excitement than usual surrounding the event, as companies take the chance to show the new £70 jackpot machines for the first time.

Sad news this month as we lost two industry stalwarts, Martin Dempsey and Clive Birdsall. For me, Martin Dempsey was one of those characters who was "always there". At any trade show or gathering, he would be present, usually with the ever-capable Susan at his side. He was never too busy to have a quick chat, or to help out with some information on the Irish market. He really worked hard to promote coin-op in a positive way, representing the Irish trade association at Euromat meetings, setting up the Mary Openshaw prize and organising one of the most popular coin-op shows in the calendar. Martin was never the type to draw attention to himself and would probably have been surprised to know how much he will be missed.

What is the future of the London shows? That was the question being asked by visitors and exhibitors to the ATEI and IGX as they drew to a close this year. The IGX, although small, proved to be a popular alternative to Earls Court for those who broke away this year. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, the aisles busy enough and the set up and break down of the stands far easier to achieve than at ATEI. Apart from that, the costs involved in exhibiting at IGX were a fraction of those at ATEI.

A couple of weeks ago, a prominent UK government advisor was slammed for claiming to see "green shoots" of recovery in the economy. The opposition and the press said she was out of touch and called her remarks insulting to those who were suffering as a result of the recession. While I feel for those who have lost their jobs and homes during these dark times, I also believe that we need to take note of those good things that are happening in order to boost our confidence and in turn our spending.