A quick update

Morning all

This is just a quick post to keep everyone in the loop. As you have noticed, for the last couple of weeks posts have been a little more sporadic; largely a consequence of the huge demands on my time from work over the high summer period. August into September was always going to be somewhat ‘over the top’ as a series of back-to-back commitments have taken me away from the project and frequently away from home too. For the next three weeks this will continue; I am about to leave for some archaeological fieldwork in Pompeii which will obviously distract me somewhat, although after it concludes I will be dashing to finish the trip home with Murphy's Game and get the build underway.

In the meantime however, I've had cause to reflect on this part of the project and on your contribution to it. I've taken the (possibly financially suicidal) decision to remove paywall from any content posted here in the travelogue and reflection sections, so all the blogs and videos posted will now be free to view.

I will instead be making some different content for paid subscribers, though I intend this to be in the form of standalone material and not that associated with the boat move and rebuild. It seems fairer to me that anyone coming to this with an interest can see the travelogue in its entirety, and it will spur me on to create a wider variety of content for those who have shown their support financially; and I should say that although I do not expect people to pay, I am incredibly grateful for everyone who does.

My thinking is that going forward paid subscribers will be able to tell me what sorts of things they'd like to see; perhaps how-to films for the hobby metalworkers or engine botherers among us, or some overview films of me working either in the forge or at steel fabrication jobs. One or two people have suggested more historical content on places we have passed, so that's an option, and I might even be persuaded to broaden the scope to some of my historic buildings projects, as these seem to interest a huge number of people. In the coming weeks I'll open the floor for suggestions, and we'll see what comes in.

I hope all that makes sense, as the boat approaches home and as my efforts to bring the build together gather pace there will be plenty of opportunity for new content, so stay tuned!

For now though, I will be taking my most recently filmed footage with me to Italy so expect a decent long-form film and blog from the first parts of the Staffordshire leg.

Thanks again to everyone who reads and shares these posts, I'm genuinely gobsmacked at how many people are reading about this. In July and August we topped a thousand separate reads, which I was astounded by (especially as Substack assures me that it isn't just Willow repeatedly opening the posts to make me feel better). Whilst I'm not actively chasing a big readership, I am hugely encouraged by the engagement, and hope that I can continue to bring you things of interest. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

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