Sunbury Matters is 10 Years Old

10 years ago this month, some of you will have received issue 1 of a new community magazine called Sunbury Matters. It started as a 32 page magazine, delivered by children of friends of mine, to only 2000 homes. I never looked back! I had left a very well paid career in TV sales in London. Times had been good, but things change. I parted company with employer and sat in a pub with my then husband, discussing the pros and cons of another international sales role. We then drew up pros and cons of getting a dog and the rest is history. 3 days later we got our first rescue dog and I then had to decide what to do with my time. I owe the decision to start in community magazines to a very dear friend of mine. She too had been looking for a business she could run from home, that would work around her family life. I thought to myself “if she can do it, why not me?”. The idea of Sunbury Matters was born and only 8 weeks later, the first issue was printed. To say that running Sunbury Matters has changed my life is an understatement. The joy of creating something that has been so well received in the community is immense. I have learned so much, made friends and managed to make a contribution. Sunbury Matters has shared stories of locals, dug up history, connected old friends and campaigned to make a difference. It is an honour to be able to do that. It would not have been possible without the support of my advertisers, so I thank them all. Without them, there would be no magazine. Also my regular contributors, like the Sunbury & Shepperton Local History Society. We have a symbiotic relationship. Readers love the history pieces and have often got stories of their own that we then learn from. The SSLHS themselves have increased their membership as a result of their very interesting and inspiring pieces in the magazine. I also have to thank the many boys and girls who have delivered the magazines to you over this decade. In some cases the delivery round has passed from child to child. Thank you also to the parents, who have also found themselves doing door to door deliveries! Sunbury Matters has given me a great chance to run a business from home, or from wherever I happen to need to be. All I need is a phone, a laptop and wifi and I can manage. The only time we have not produced a magazine was May 2020 and we all know what happened then! Otherwise we have published throughout the pandemic and the appreciation we have had from readers has reinforced why it was important to do so. My life continues in the background. I have had several dogs during the 10 years, all rescued or pre loved. I have lost both my parents and have had my share of personal challenges, but somehow the magazine always gets done and delivered. I am also so pleased to have been able to share the secret of community publishing with a couple of other ladies who rather envied my lifestyle and they have gone on to become successful community publishers themselves. The great thing with this business is that rather than competing, we can all support each other as the magazines are inherently local. So thank you to you all for your support. Here’s to the next 10 years!