1,000 💫

Oh, wow. This is big.

I write this fully in the knowledge that the counter could tick back down to 999 at any moment, but oh my goodness lovely readers, for however brief a moment it may be, there are 1,000 of you! ONE THOUSAND. I’m just taking that in. What the heck?

James came back with flowers, a card and my favourite ice cream this morning. No I am not OK.

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Who knew that so many of you would want to read about my life in a rural village in Sussex? Who knew that this idea I had in the shower one morning would find its way into 1,000 inboxes? I did not anticipate that a newsletter could bring me so much joy and appreciation for the writing craft, for simplicity and seasonality in the way we live, for community.

A Village Year has truly surpassed all of my expectations. I suppose I didn’t really have any, to begin with. I just wanted to write, and to be heard.

I started posting here on Substack in 2022. I think back then, this newsletter was called Things to Note. Then I changed it to Not That Deep, and then Messy (the Gemini urge to constantly rebrand oneself is all too real, my friends). I reached two hundred and something subscribers in the spring of 2025 and stayed there for months and months and months. I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t care about the subscriber count, because I absolutely did. I wanted to create something that was meaningful, that resonated with people, but I also really wanted my words to be seen.

And then in November 2025, everything changed. I remember it so distinctly. I had an idea in the shower one morning, to stop trying to write about everything and start writing about just a handful of things. Village life. Seasonality. Small joys. Things that bring meaning to my life.

I came up with a name, designed a new logo and published a post, right there and then. And suddenly, the new subscriber notifications started pouring in. There were beautiful comments from all over the world. Within days, I had gone from 300 and something subscribers to more than 600. To my utter surprise and consternation, people actually want to hear about the foibles of daily life in the English countryside.

I suppose the lesson is this: find your niche, & write only for the people interested in that niche.

And so, here we are. 1,000 subscribers (for now).

It’s a disconcerting experience, to find the idea that really lands after several that resolutely did not; to gain hundreds of subscribers so quickly when you’ve spent years watching the number tick up and up, slowly, steadily.

Thank you. Thank you so much for subscribing, for your thoughtful comments, for taking the time to read my words.

Until next time :)

L x