The Start of Something New
It all begins with an idea, and here we are four years later, I have been unable to leave that initial idea in the past… It felt fitting to start this new blog/digital stories space with the returning Editor’s letter from within the revival Edition. So, albeit a little tweaked, here it is: In The Country was, and is a hugely significant part of my life and I have missed it, as I know many of you have too. And now? It is back, almost four years later, in print, but with a truly exciting new flair to the title, which I hope you will enjoy as we embark on this new era of In The Country together.
In The Country has always been a publication to cherish, a keepsake magazine. It is a celebration and reflection of our country way of life, but it has a more significant role, it is a documentation of our lifestyle, the beauty in it. The work of our community, the passion, the problems we face and the tenacity and resilience of those of us within it. Our country way of life is something to be proud of, to cherish and to preserve for future generations, storytelling and passing on those stories to those who come after us, is the oldest and most effective way of achieving that.
As your Editor-in-Chief, and founder, since In The Country first launched in 2017, I have changed, evolved and grown as a person. To put it bluntly, I am older, and with age comes (grey hairs and joint ache) experience and lessons learnt. Over the past seven years since it’s inception, and indeed perhaps more so in the past four, since the magazine ceased printing, I have learned a lot, many hard lessons but also I have discovered so much more to love about our countryside and the lifestyle we attach to it; from the breathtaking rural destinations on our doorstep waiting to be explored to the beauty of growing plants and produce, something I might once (aged 21) have considered disinteresting. It is with this evolved perception and further cemented love for our lifestyle that I embark on this new chapter of In The Country and of my own life; professional and personal.
This new flair you ask? We’ve all witnessed the explosion of country music in the UK over the past couple of years, and with it, the western lifestyle is becoming more widely recognised. For many of us, we’ve long loved it, with country music the soundtrack to our lives in the countryside, though now, stepping out in your cowboy boots is starting to turn heads in a new way. Less and less are we being looked at with mocking, more admiration. Blaring Luke Combs from your wound down car window is attracting relating smiles of mutual appreciation, less eye rolls and furrowed brows of those who just don’t see the appeal.
It is this, along with my own unwavering love for the music and lifestyle that has inspired me to harness this boom and stride out alone as the only print publication in the country sector to incorporate the western country lifestyle and country music within it’s pages and brand. This will, it is my hope, give In The Country it’s own USP amongst the long established titles, who, I see no desire, or point in trying to compete with for their readership, instead carving out our own, unique audience.
You can still expect the same content and style of writing and features celebrating those within our own United Kingdom who are doing incredible things whether that be in British Agriculture, equestrian sport, shooting and entrepreneurship, which you grew to love from In The Country. However, for those already buckled into the lifestyle or fans of country music, you’ll recognise familiar names and faces as future Editions launch, but for those that aren’t yet, I hope you’ll lean in and find inspiration from these individuals and their stories just as you have done with our exclusive content in the past.
I am committed to the journey. I am committed to the brand I’ve created and nurtured over the past half a decade, with a refreshed model I believe In The Country will thrive. No, I do not want ITC to sell tens of thousands of copies on the newsstand as I perhaps did in its earliest infancy, the goal has changed. I hope that I can run and create these beautiful Editions alongside my life with the horses, and eventually a family.
Over the past years, as a direct result of Covid’s impact on the economy, our production costs (paper, print and postal) have increased, and therefor so must the magazine, hence our higher cover price.
I’d struggled with imposter syndrome believing I wasn’t the right person to head this, I wasn’t good enough to be a journalist, Editor or a business owner. I’d look over at other publications and feel frustrated and disheartened I couldn’t achieve the content they did, secure the interviews they did or have the circulation they did. But now I recognise the beauty in walking your own path, and I hope through the stories shared both within these pages, across the website and social channels, the words, photography and videography can inspire you to recognise this too, whatever the season in nature and life, and whatever your path looks like.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, for supporting In The Country whether you’ve bought this Edition or are reading a borrowed one,
Until next time…
Holly Thomson your Editor-in-Chief and Founder.
