Celebrating my birthday on the island
Island Stories #33
Dear friends, subscribers, and followers,
I enjoyed some beautiful days on the island, met friends and family, and celebrated my birthday together with them and with you.
Thank you so much to all new subscribers. Your support means a lot, it feels like receiving many birthday presents, which is very motivating.
And thank you to all those that wrote to me. I have read all your kind wishes and have tried to answer as many messages as possible; it explains why there wasn’t a newsletter for a few days. But I am back at writing this weekend, and there are still many island stories to tell before slowly moving back to the more important news stories about our planet towards the end of this month; open any newspaper these days, and you can’t miss them.
At the end of the year, perhaps starting in early December, I may do another month with light/local/history/culture themes. Let me know what you think, either in public comments or reply to this email, so it gets forwarded to my email address. Any other suggestions are always welcome too.
This is me on a terrace in Zierikzee, happy and another year older.
You knew you could give a subscription as a birthday present, but did you know that subscribing yourself feels like a present for me? Thanks, friends, the past days were great! For some of you, the weekend nearly starts when you read this. Enjoy it!
Did you get this far? The post already ended. But since you found this too, I have a question: would you be interested in an occasional bonus section at the very end? For readers like you, who check even below the sales pitch, the comments button, and the logo.
I could, for instance, add a ‘Snapshot of the day’, or ‘What you may like to read.’ That would look, for example, like this:
Not reading to the end would be like leaving the ball game in the eighth inning. So, of course, I read to the end. Your photos are always a special treat, perfectly designed to complement your article. Reading recommendations are always interesting & well tied to the writing. This is your newsletter so please continue with anything else you find interesting, important or choose to share.
It’s been a pleasure to share your birthday celebration virtually & so nice to hear you thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone deserves a break especially one who works as diligently as you. I’ve loved Island Stories & the opportunity to see your incredible island & learn some very interesting facts as well as enjoying the occasional humor. Your insights about climate & current news are shared from an expert’s perspective. As the mounting effects are increasingly dramatic & undeniable, their significance can’t be overstated. You are a leader in this field & your voice is important.
Thank you for this excellent newsletter & all you put into it. I’m here for the ninth inning & even extra innings!
Happy to see you relaxing in Zierikzee with a lovely birthday smile!
Glad you had a wonderful birthday and hope your neck pain is better. Love when you share local history. Your insights are always illuminating and you bring parts of the world to light that I would probably never even knew existed. Lovely photo of you and, yes, a snapshot of the day would be great.