Into the new

The happiest of new years to you.

Yesterday felt positive; today feels less so. Yesterday was sunny and bright; today is raining. These things may not be unrelated.

Sunny or wet, I can promise you plenty here this year.

This substack is over 6 months old and I’m delighted and somewhat amazed that many thousands of you share this space with me. Thank you.

A pattern, a degree of understanding, some rhythm maybe, have all started to make themselves apparent.

Here’s some of what will be coming our way at The Imperfect Umbrella this year.

• You’ll have a window into my garden as it moves towards a new kind of kitchen garden

• I’ll have recipes for you. They’ll be seasonal, making the best of what’s at its peak - grown or bought. There will be ferments and cocktails, oh yes

• There will be expert guides to things you might find useful. Kitchen gardening is generally believing the back of the packet - do that, and you’ll have a good degree of success - but there are some things, such as growing chillis, that years of experience can help you better navigate. I will happily share that experience with you

• I’m really excited to say that in amongst the written words, the film clips, the occasional zoom and the images, I’ll be podcasting. I’ll be inviting people from the food and gardening world to talk about their new book, series, garden, whatever, while also hoping to reveal something of the person away from what they are known for; how do they spend their time, what fills their ears, what pages do they turn?

• I’ll have writers and others from the world of words doing similar. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Around the turn of the month, I’ll post a round up that looks back as well as forward. It will include some, all or none of the following:

• links to everything I’ve written elsewhere that month

• events and courses I’m involved in

• features and posts that have caught my eye

• what’s good to eat now

• what’s good to be sowing, planting or harvesting (and any seed/plant offers I’m running at Otter Farm)

• what I’ve enjoyed reading

• a playlist of what’s soundtracked my month

As usual, most of this will be available free; some posts will be for paying subscribers only. These latter posts are mostly where I think there may be some professional value (eg how to approach a publisher; how to write a proposal).

I hope you’ll consider moving to being a paid subscriber: for less than 80p a week (a quarter of that awful latte you drank this morning) you have access to everything and help make this - the home of my writing - a sustainable place. If £40/a year is genuinely too much for your current situation but accessing that writing information might help with your transition to a more financially viable place, do let me know: the occasional discounted spot is considered.

The first Round Up will be with you shortly. In the meantime, I’m calling a new-resolution moratorium on the biscuits/chocolate/cake that may remain.

Take care, Mark