When did you last retreat?

Impromptu adventures ended in tears and a special invite for you...

I’m SO excited to announce that bookings are open for my very first writer’s retreat with

Tanya Lynch

at Ease Retreats next year. The perfect gift for yourself or for the writer in your life? We’re spending the day visioning for and working on your Substack in a beautiful setting in Oxfordshire in May.

Here are the booking details and here’s a sneak peek at the venue.

Light on the reservoir

Hi, good morning, how are you?

Last Saturday we woke up silence.

No wifi (the puppy chewed through the cable) and with no kids thanks to a stay with a family member. Our 4G doesn’t work so well where we live.

It was a little unsettling, quiet. A contrast to the incredible soul shaking gig we’d been at the night before.

This is fine I told myself, it’s the last week of my launches for a course and my membership prices going up but it’s fine. We can do hard things; it’s only wifi.

I’d been listening to a business training the day before. The coach was telling me about investing in the LIFE you want now to support the ambition of your business in the future.

There are a million and one things I could be doing more of to take care of myself and I know it. Monthly massages? Daily walks? Holidays in the sun!

This was the last thing I needed…

I booked an engineer to replace the telephone wire mid week and hit book now on the first cottage I found on google to fill in the gaps of the days inbetween.

On the surface (of my iPhone 14 and my panicked spirit) it seemed cute and I was so looking forward to being in tall trees and Autumn leaves for the weekend. I was grateful somewhere was available last minute and dog friendly too. Excited even.

Idyllic woodland scenes and a shop with holiday supplies that closed the day we got there 😱

When we arrived, camper van full of clothes, toys, tech and a pink scooter my heart sank. There was nothing ‘wrong’ but it just wasn’t ‘right’.

It was less holiday escape and more like stepping into some one else’s nana’s home. You know the type of place where you were charmed by the invite but glad it was only for the afternoon.

Adorned with cute ornaments, loud ticking clocks in every room and the most oppressive scent of artificial plug ins and febreeze.

And the deal breaker, cheap polyester bed sheets.