i Editor's Letter: Staggering devotion

What an amazing lot i readers are.

You came to Mosi Manchester for our party from all over: from Leeds, Liverpool, Cumbria - some from Suffolk and Glasgow! That is staggering devotion. Thank you for such disarming dedication, enthusiasm and brand loyalty.

Some 200 of you filled the bright one-year-old Revolution Gallery. More young people attended than at past events – reflecting the big student population. There were even some people who claimed to not be interested in being a print journalist! It was good to meet twenty-somethings who have graduated and actually got good jobs. And some older readers who told me that they had lost faith in both newspapers and politicians - until i came along.

What did we learn? One peeved gentleman clearly wondered the same thing. "Why?" he asked in a pointed fashion, "Why were we not asking him more questions?" The answer is that sometimes it is better to give than receive. These events are a thank you for your daily 20p (30p on Saturdays), and also a chance to meet the i team.

There's no doubt who the star of the show was, though. We were delighted Yasmin Alibhai-Brown came along, an opinion shared by many in the room. However, one older woman almost knocked me over in her rush to get to YA-B once I had announced her: "Good," she said alarmingly, "I can't wait to tell her how awful her column is." Yasmin may be physically tiny, but she is more than capable of looking after herself.

She also entertained us royally on the train back with tales of her exotic youth. It was a more sober affair than John Walsh's rendition of The Pogues on the way back from Birmingham, and perhaps all the better for it. So thank you to all who came; to Louise and Hannah from i for organising the event; to Mosi for hosting; and the i staff who made the trip. I will respond to all those I met on i@independent.co.uk or even on twitter.com/stefanohat

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