A Year in Substack World

reviewing my first post and the year gone by

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Good day Red Cabbage Heads,

So this was my very first post a whole year ago (see below in italics). And apparently back then I had worked out how to use headings, which I’ve forgotten how to do since. And I seem to have written a lot of my pinned introduction post here. I must have reworked it for that there post. But otherwise it doesn’t sound too bad. I don’t have much preamble about sections and buttons like I do now.

I hadn’t a clue what I was doing back then. I started off with 0 subscribers, no followings to transfer over from other sites, and the first were all immediate family, who count but also sort of don’t. This was it, just me in the raw. And now I have 160 ish - not a huge number but good enough for me. Woot woot, go me!

I have achieved a lot of what I set out to do and much more. I have found many tribes. And often those tribes overlap. I’ve found a sense of beginning to belong. This takes me a long time as I’ve been shafted let down many times in the past that I am now incredibly reticent to give and accept myself and others in this context. But that’s a me problem and I hope to overcome it.

I shared photos of my year, you’ve been with me through the ups and many downs of my Autism diagnosis, you’ve read poems and couple of short stories, you’ve watched my words disappear and then me take up knitting tiny creatures as some form of creative outlet, you’ve seen my search for a wheelchair that can give me part of my life part, you’ve read about my chronic illness too. As well as a few erroneous other posts on things I just wanted to talk about. Some people have stayed, some have left. We have covered a lot this year. I hope to continue to entertain, enrage, engage, and enthuse. (Took me ages to come up with 4 ‘e’ words, I hope you appreciate them.)

So in the words of the stone above, hopefully this ‘blog’ will continue amuse me and entertain you. Here is to the year to come.

ta ra, all. Txx

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Why this, why now?

Well . . . .I have a ‘blog’ on a different channel. I started with good intents and it lasted a while but it fizzled out and in the way of all good procrastinators no matter how much I wanted to I could never really get back into it. And then I discovered and read in very quick succession three books by

Katherine May

. That lead me to her Instagram, which led me here to a space I had not discovered before. My energy and enthusiasm for writing was rekindled. And I hope to write more often and maybe, possibly, even frequently. Try to hold me to it if you can.

So why ‘Three Red Cabbage Heads’? Well, my youngest child was having an interesting discussion with me about passwords, we talk about all sorts of weird, random shit in our house, and he said the strongest passwords are made up on a number and three random words. None of this upper case, lower case, number and special character business. 3 red cabbage heads just popped into my mind. (I don’t use it as a password just in case you wondered, that would be very silly.) I have three children, there are three red heads in the family, and cabbages look like brains when you cut them open and all three of my children are a bit brainy. It made sense to me at the time.

I’m looking to connect with fellow writers, neurodiverse peeps, and also chronic illness warriors. But really if anyone listens at all I’ll be chuffed to bits. I’m absolutely hopeless at self promotion and will probably struggle to share this link on my social media anyway, but there is always hope.

At the moment I will post when I can. There will be no schedule, maybe as I grow into this it will change, but for the moment I will be free for all. I may talk about social issues in the news, events of the past, my life now and then. there will be new stuff and old stuff. I will give you fiction, nonfiction, poetry, possibly even some photography, and there will be rambling. Lots and lots of rambling.

Oh, . . . and I am a HUGE fan of the Oxford comma,

Please subscribe, it will make me extremely happy. I will probably even blush.

Picture is of the view from our old house. ‘Cos pictures are always fabulous.

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Onto the probably boring but very necessary thanks. I am very grateful to many people -

Nelly Bryce

for introducing me to Poetry Pals and giving me the impetus to get writing again, so far I’ve managed 200+ poems this year, which is sincerely amazing.

Zoe Gardiner (she/her)

who encouraged me to go for that private autism diagnosis when I was flailing about in a quagmire of doubt.

Lisa Andradez

a fellow ME warrior and poet, hopefully we can meet up as we live reasonably close to each other, and I know she gets me on my dark illness days.

Margaret Ann Silver

whose poetry I look out for like a bookmark to the days, we have very different styles and I love her posts.

Kathryn Anna Marshall

who encouraged me to submit poems for publishing and has helped fix a few problematic ones.

Sarah Shotts

who signposted me to various publications and people. My first paid subscriber who might have giggled over the whooping that ensued when the notification can in. And so many, many more, if I mentioned you all this would indeed be very, very, dull. I know my family and friends often read but don’t often comment here, but message or talk to me separately, your support has been wonderful. (Looking at you Alison N especially).

And everyone else that knows me doesn’t know me and has that pleasure yet to come. (UK radio reference)

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3 Red Cabbage Heads is a free and reader supported publication. Subscribe now to support me, you can also upgrade to a paid subscription, it doesn’t give you any more access to my words, but a handwritten note and a probably completely useless small, handmade by me, gift are yours and my eternal gratitude.