The Bulletin at 60: Susan Carroll met friends for life, including her future husband!

The Bulletin was a great place to be as a young journalist totally new to Brussels (and not just for the legendary Christmas parties). For a local magazine, we had some brilliant writers on staff and freelance (including Marie Dumont, Jeremy Duns, John Miller, Deborah Forsyth, Alan Hope, Jonathan Murphy, Katharine Mill, Derek Blyth). Many of them became good friends (reader, I married the music reviewer).

Editor Brigid Grauman loved creative ideas - I remember once asking writer Craig Winneker to spend 24 hours in the Brussels metro system, which became a great story. We were all experts at finding the Belgian interest in major news (for example, that Saddam Hussein was found with Belgian chocolates when he was captured in 2003). I still mentally categorise news stories as good for our news briefs section.

We covered a broad range of topics, reflecting the rich history and culture in Belgium. One day you would be interviewing designer Diane Von Furstenberg, and the next writing about local historian Alain Tripnaux’s efforts to keep the memory of the Battle of Fontenoy alive – this 1745 battle is often referenced in Irish poetry and songs.

As an editor, some of my favourite issues to commission were those focusing on the revolving EU presidency. We had a beautiful cover for the Irish one in 2004, which made the masthead into an illuminated manuscript.

I still live in Brussels and have watched The Bulletin evolve and adapt to our digital reading habits. Despite the changes, after 60 years, it’s still a great resource for anyone living here.

Susan Carroll is spokesperson and head of communications at the EU’s Single Resolution Board. The views and opinions expressed here are personal and do not in any way represent the author’s employer.