Ann Marie Gardner was Monocle’s Americas bureau chief when this title launched in 2007 and I’m pleased to say that, even after she exited from the masthead, she has stayed part of the family. Over the years, Gardner has generously undertaken some gruelling and long reporting trips for Monocle, including jumping aboard a mail ship as it dropped of its parcels at various Atlantic island outposts. When it was suggested that we should send a writer on a two-day train ride north from Winnipeg to the Hudson Bay town of Churchill, in the depths of winter, I knew just who to call.

Churchill is so remote that it cannot be reached by car, only by plane or train. But who would choose the slow option? And what would unfold if you jumped aboard and headed to the polar-bear capital of the High North?

Gardner, along with photographer Jesse Chehak, was game to answer these questions and more. Now, I admit that I did feel a little guilty when she sent me a message from the Via Rail train containing pictures of her utilitarian green cabin and describing the train’s very late departure and sluggish progress across the flat frozen landscape. But the story she got is a gem.

It’s a report that takes you to the heart of Canada – and Canadians – but it is also a rumination on the pleasures that come from allowing time to pass slowly and giving up on watching the clock. The other story in this issue where time is of the essence is set in downtown Cairo and has been reported by Mary Holland and photographed by Rena Efendi. The duo look at how this sleepy, unkempt, timeworn neighbourhood is being revived – but will its magical shops, cafés and apartments, which have until now ignored the calls of modernity, be erased or spoilt?

And then there are the watches and the people who wear them. It’s not hard to know the precise time of day – it’s there on your laptop screen as you type and staring back at you when you glance at your phone. So why do so many men and women choose to wear a wristwatch, a ticking mechanical contraption, instead of allowing their electronic devices to keep them on schedule?

I count myself among this cohort of watch wearers and, for me, it’s simple. I want time to have meaning and the seconds to slip away with some grace. I have two nice watches – I know.

The first was bought with some money left to me by my parents; the second was a gift that marked a special anniversary. I wear them on alternate days and whenever I snap the metal bracelets tight on my wrist, I think, without fail, either of two people who I miss or a job that has made me who I am. It got me wondering about why others do the same so I asked our associate editor, Grace Charlton, to speak to people – including a chef, a photographer, an ambassador and a fashion designer – about the watch that accompanies them throughout their day and also about what time means to them.

She has produced a report about watches, yes, but also about how we all judge time in very diferent ways. Finally, there are the dogs: the watch dogs. This was the idea of our creative director, Richard Spencer Powell, and runs on our fashion pages.

It’s a delight and simply features wonderful dogs and great timepieces. My favourite aside was when Rich told me that the team had taken great efforts to ensure that each hound was matched with a watch that echoed its style and demeanour. You can be the judge on their canine and chronometer matching abilities. As always, feel free to send me ideas, thoughts or just the time of day at at@monocle.com.