Can I show you around?

Let me give you a short tour of my Substack page. Hello and welcome and I really hope that we get to know each other ♡

This is a free post for all subscribers. If you enjoy it, help me spread the word about the newsletter by sharing it. If you’re able to become a paid subscriber (for around £1.50 per week), you’ll get access all the newsletters (including the archives) + extra content + you’ll be able to comment on posts and join in the conversation.

Hello lovely people,

Can I show you around? This is my little corner of the internet and I’m so pleased that you found your way here ♡

My name is Rachel and you can find out lots more about me here. If skipping over there feels too much like hard work (life is busy – I get it) then my quick summary is this –

I’m a 54 year old 'almost empty nester' and soon-to-be divorcée, learning how to reimagine it all. Join me on the journey of my next chapter, through life, love and food x

What might you find here?

For the last 10 + years, I’ve been writing about food in a light and accessible way and if you fancy a browse, you can meander through my back catalogue of stories and recipes at marmaladeandme.com.

And then life happened – the end of my 25 year marriage and my children growing up and leaving for university. So here I am, on the brink of a whole new world, realising that I have the chance to re-imagine EVERYTHING as I stride boldly, creep timidly, step into my next chapter.

I know for sure that I don’t have all the answers. I won’t always navigate this journey without stress and drama, but what I am certain of is that I’m not the only mid-life woman finding herself starting again, when for a while she felt like she might have been close to having it all sorted.

And so here I am, on the verge of something which feels 50% exciting and 50% terrifying. My plan is to share here some of the things that I’m doing as I tweak, enhance and evolve my life. From dating to fashion; from friends to menopause; from physical health to mental health; from the books I’m devouring to embracing my sliver hair; from things I’m loving to the stuff that fills me with rage! There will always be some food content woven into my thoughts but there will also be so much more…♡

I’d love you to join me for the ride and I feel sure that there will be plenty for everyone here – because we all have parts of our lives that we dream of re-imagining!

What is Substack?

At its core, Substack is a newsletter platform which means that when you subscribe, you get to receive my latest content direct to your inbox. You can also explore back issues of the newsletter on this page and there is an app (which you can download here – I’d highly recommend). Substack is a fairly new platform with new features being added all the time and I’m learning as I go, so I’ll share more features when I discover them myself!

How does this work?

I will post a newsletter once a week (on a Thursday). For the first few weeks, all the content will be free but at the end of that period, only the first issue of the month will be free and all other issues will be behind a paywall and only available to paid subscribers.

It’s important to me that you find your way around easily, so my newsletters will always start with ‘Issue #’ and my recipes and other ‘how-to’ posts will be given a regular title. In time, I hope to move my old blog content over to this platform – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves …

I have brought over 10 of my most popular newsletters from pre-Substack days (Issues 1-10) so that even if you are a very early adopter (and I LOVE early adopters from the bottom of my heart ♡), there is still something for you to read and enjoy from the start.

I think it’s all pretty simple but ping me any questions by email at rachelpage@substack.com and I’ll try my best to help.

What are your options?

I don’t know about you, but I love having options and here they are –

1. You can be a Free subscriber – every month you’ll get a newsletter delivered to your inbox, which I really hope you will enjoy.

2. You can be a Paid subscriber – for around £1.50 per week, you get access to EVERYTHING – every week a newsletter will land in your inbox + you can access all the archives + you can comment on what you’ve read + there will be bonus content as I work out what it is that you enjoy the most (and of course, I will only know that if you tell me!)

Here's what one of my current subscribers said about my newsletters –

Thank you for sharing a part of your life with us all. Your emails are the equivalent of the lovely handwritten letter landing on the mat amongst all those bills and junk mail.....the joy in amongst the everyday; so thank you, thank you, thank you!

There is a third option which is that you can just drop in here when you fancy and have a mooch around. That’s totally fine too. Everyone is welcome. ♡

And to finish …

Just to say, I really want to make this work. I’d love us to create a helpful and welcoming community of women routing for each other where I can start conversations rather than broadcasting into an echoey void.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over these rocky past few years, it’s that you never know where you will meet your next great friend and you never know what one single piece of wisdom might be just what you need to hear and share.

Do hang around, let’s see if we can create something marvellous. ♡

And, in the spirit of sharing, I would be so grateful if you could also spread the word and share what you’ve found here with your nearest and dearest (+ in fact anyone who you think might be even a tiny bit interested) – the SHARE button below makes it really easy.

One day, I will buy you a gorgeous coffee to say thanks but until then, I’ll send huge virtual gratitude through the ether. You really are the BEST. ♡

Lots of love,