Welcome to The Magazine
While I was completing the writing of “Seventy: A Life” earlier this week I’d thought it might be a good while before I was ready to let you know what was to follow. But here it is, The Magazine, being announced much sooner than expected. And with its first full edition to follow this announcement in February.
And like a proper magazine launch this one comes with a free gift for all readers. More about that below.
But first, what’s The Magazine all about?
What you can expect
Well it’s about this lot. All the things I’m interested in.
After all those months of writing a memoir which was, let’s face it and by its nature mostly about me, I want to return to writing regularly about this whole load of other things I’m interested in. Which I kind of used to do when the blog was called A Sense of Place. But the name of that led to its being mostly about places and walking. Which I’ll still do, of course, but I want to broaden my writing out now. Like it’s a proper magazine.
A proper magazine
I’ve always loved magazines and always associated them with moments of happiness. Eagerly looking through the new Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly on my way home from the newsagent’s in the 1960s, through Q, Mojo and The Word days, to even now, when the magazine will mostly be about music or politics, but occasionally might be anything at all that looks well designed, colourful and thought about.
So I know I’m setting myself whatever a high bar is by launching something called The Magazine, that won’t be sold in the shops, and is here on Substack where I don’t have all that much control over the design anyway. But so what? I love the idea of launching it anyway. And we’ll all see how it goes.
When it’s ready
The Magazine will come out when it’s ready, so I get the time to walk, think about, photograph and write each issue, until it feels special enough to send you. And you get the time to read as much as you might want before I clog up your Inbox with the next edition.
In between editions there’ll also be occasional short newsletters just for subscribers. But again not too many. I’d like the time to write decently so you get the time and inclination to read without being rushed.
And that’s about all I want to say. Apart from that free gift I mentioned.
Free for all*
The free gift is this new book I finished writing earlier this week. “Seventy: A Life” has been brought out from behind its full-subscribers only paywall and is now free for anyone to read, subscriber or not. Writers like to be read which is why I’m now making “Seventy” an open access book for everyone. Meaning I’ve now switched the paywall off on all the book’s chapters. And it won’t be going back on until the end of February.
So think of this as like going and taking a book out of a public library. And let me know what you think, if you like? Access to “Comments” on all the chapters is now open too.
And yes, if you’re already one of my much valued full paying subscribers the free gift isn’t giving you anything you don’t already have. Except the opportunity to forward this newsletter, and therefore its links to the book, to friends you think might be interested. As if you’re passing on a real book and not something they’d then be having to subscribe to (though I wouldn’t mind if some of them do).
Same applies if you’re a free subscriber about passing the book on. Though in your case this offer also means that if you missed any episodes you can easily catch up now, while the paywall’s off.
And if you’re new and not any kind of subscriber at all? Well welcome. Enjoy the book, join in the discussions on “Comments” if you want. And then, by all means subscribe in time for the launch edition of The Magazine during February.
I loved writing “Seventy: A Life” and am very happy to put it out there now.
Here’s me, then, reading the first few minutes of it. Followed by the links for you to go and get the whole thing.
Hope you enjoy it,
Ronnie
“Seventy: A Life” - Links to all contents
A Beginning: “Do You Like Soul Music?”
1, 1954: Being Born, Walton
2, 1955/58: To Maghull, via Bootle
3, 1958/69: The 1960s, When We Were Boys
4, Still 1969: The Other Songs On The Wireless
5, An interlude: Maybe We Could Organise Hope?
6, In the early 1970s: Up The Hill
7, The Middle 1970s: Decisions
8, An interruption: About My Heart
9, A Reconsideration 1976: About Liverpool Housing Trust
10, Days In Public 1979: Dreaming Dreams In Stolen Moments
11, The 1980s: A Slow Untangling
13, Some Reflections: OnTime And The Writing Of All This
14, The 1990s: Put The Message In The Box
15. At Seventy: On Becoming More Quaker
16, A Story Ends: And My Afterwards Begins
* All contents open access for free ‘til the end of February 2024.
Launch Edition to be sent to all subscribers this February.
Looking forward to this! And belated Happy Birthday Ronnie! Loved photo of you as birthday boy in your duffel coat! Very smart.
Thank you Liz. Hadn’t realised until I was putting the photos together for early in the book that I had much the same much loved duffel coat when I was 4 years old!