When a cancelled train is good for your health (and mine!)

An EXCLUSIVE discount code, and a story of coincidence that frankly should be made in to a film.

Good Morning! Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend so far! As promised - here is the post about the most coincidental meeting of a stranger on a train, that turned out … well, settle back for a little read - I LOVED writing this and hope you can hear me reading it to you in your head.

Funny thing happened on the 5.37pm out of Waterloo ….

Now, picture the scene, it was a busy Friday afternoon, it was getting dark and London was HEAVING with people all wanting to get somewhere. I’d been in town for meetings and to film some content for a couple of jobs.

It had been a really busy day and getting home was turning in to a nightmare because the tube was cancelled and the steamed up taxi I was in, was now at a complete standstill.

I aborted the ride when the taxi driver instructed ‘Leave me here love, if you run you’ll make it’ (I LOVE LONDON CABBIES) so I hopped out somewhere near the IMAX, and ran like the wind through the rain to catch my train to Guildford. It was already in the station and I leapt in to the nearest carriage and managed to find a seat - which was a miracle. Trying desperately not to cough up a lung after sprinting through the station I plugged my phone in and settled down. I have an irrational fear of my phone dying on me & even though the train plugs are so slow I still attach to the power source. Just in case.

The seat next to me was still free and someone came in and sat down. ‘Man in Puffa with Headphones’. I shuffled over and messaged Gav to say I’d caught the train, while frantically searching my bag for a sweet to stop me coughing up said lung - feeling a growing urge to inform my fellow passengers that it’s ok everyone, I don’t have covid, it was just the sprint at the end that started it. (I didn’t, thinking it would make me look like I DEFINITELY had covid)

Man in Puffa with Headphones settled down too and luckily he didn’t seem perturbed by his coughing neighbour. PHEW.

We were all minding our own business, nearing Woking when the guard made an announcement and asked anyone sitting next to anyone with headphones on to give them a nudge as it was important. I dutifully gave Man In Puffa With Headphones a little nudge and he smiled and said it’s ok - he heard, and we were all now listening intently to the guard’s announcement.

Trains are excellent when they work aren’t they. And a total pain if anything goes wrong anywhere. Turns out ALL trains would stop at Woking because there was an incident at Guildford and the station was completely closed. GAH

He was very helpful and told everyone what buses were available and from where. And soon we drew in to Woking. Man wearing a Puffa With Headphones looked at me & I looked at him - ‘Are you going to Guildford?’ he asked. As a matter of fact I am I replied. Neither of us, it turned out, had ANY intention of trying to find a bus, and he asked me if I’d like to share a taxi with him. By the way, he said, my name is Kev.

Now. At this point it was an immediate yes. But also was this an elaborate kidnap attempt? I sent Gav a WhatsApp. ‘Train cancelled at Woking. getting a cab with a bloke called Kev. Might be being kidnapped, will update’

The message came back ‘Ok cool. See you later’

I may need to rethink my emergency contact.

Once safely installed in the getaway vehicle taxi, we started chatting (keep the captor onside like in the films) Turns out Kev had been at work all day and was rushing back to Guildford to meet his wife and daughter at the cinema to watch Wicked.

Okaaay, so he’s probably not part of a crime ring, kidnapping 50 year old women. We are good. Did I update my emergency contact with this new information? No. Let him sweat. (Spoiler, he was not sweating, he was making himself dinner)

The traffic was horrific and what should have been a 15 minute ride, turned out out be 45 and Kev and I slipped in to very easy conversation - he asked me what I do and I told him that I am a content creator mainly in Instagram but I also write on Substack.

He totally surprised me as he ‘got it’ immediately and we had a deep dive chat in to social media. It was brilliant. And then he asked me. The question that NO ONE except my agent asks me and this told me he really did get it.

‘Can I see your insights’

Kevvvvvvv.

In a totally freaky turn of events, it turned out I was sharing a taxi with a guy who owns a brand who’s looking to outreach and work with someone exactly like me to reach the part of my audience that forms my ‘over 45’ demographic.

So, I asked, my curiosity piqued, what brand do you own?

This is where is gets even weirder.

Higher Nature he says, have you heard of us?

Heard of you?! I’m already your customer - I use your stuff and placed another order last week!

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So let’s back track a bit, and if you are of peri meno age, or menopausal like me, it’s entirely possible that you too feel like, well, I describe it as feeling like a ‘leaky bucket’. I feel like I am leaking youth, braincells and sanity sometimes!!

I asked AI to make me an image of a leaky bucket - it kind of got the memo. (Although she has a couple of worrying warts that I did not request)

Over the last year or so (I’m 54) I have noticed a rapid decline in the bod. It started with a frozen shoulder. Those that have been with me for a while might recall I had a steroid injection given by a doctor who told me his claim to fame was that he won ‘Come Dine With Me’ and that I should google him. Which I did, and he had indeed won.

Then my knee started playing up - turned out to be a meniscus tear and arthritis. FFS. I made an appointment for an injection in my knee - and was greeted by the ‘famous winner of Come Dine With Me’ and his needle. HA! If you need a steroid injection and you get him - he is brilliant( and could probably rustle up a decent supper tbf)

Since then - and maybe you are the same, every joint in my body feels 100 years old. The brain fog is real. And as for the concentration …..squirrel, what was I saying?

The hair, which I have always joked is so fine (and not fine in a good way) that I have two hairs and a flea….well, that’s not funny any more.

The hot flushes are very annoying and as for waking up at 4am and catastrophising every single life event I have ever had or might still have - well, at this point I am even annoying MYSELF. So I am laying there hot AND cross.

I researched on line and decided I needed help. Maybe HRT, but DEFINITELY some vitamins and I had also heard great things about collagen - stuff the wrinkles - I need it for my joints. And something for the brain fog. Please.

I chose to spend my money with Higher Nature because - I’ll be honest here, I found one saying ‘CLARITY’ -it’s an all in one capsule meaning I didn’t have to spend ages deciding what I needed for my braincells. It was all done for me. It was like they KNEW I needed it to be easy. Particularly this one, as my poor brain and I did not have the resources - and here it is, written on the label CLARITY. Thank you.

A deeper dive happily confirmed that they are produced wholly without synthetics, binders or fillers - This is a big tick for me. NO binders, fillers or synthetics. CHECK.

CLARITY contains Memophenol - blueberry and French grape extract. This has been shown to improve cognitive age by 10 years and restore working memory by 60%. They are bold claims and tbh I’d take 5 years and 30%, so I am all in.

To quote directly

'Every naturally sourced ingredient as a minimum is:

• 100% fully traceable​

• Tested for heavy metals​

• Tested for microbes​

• Tested for pesticides​’

  *Adds to cart.

I’ll share what else I bought that I now have in my armoury.

ATLANTIC MARINE MAGNESIUM : Supporting muscle function, energy relief, reducing tiredness. Needed for bones, teeth, nervous system and psychological function.

ZINC: Supporting the immune system and maintenance of hair, skin and nails

BALANCE FOR NERVES: Supporting the function of the nervous system and helping to reduce tiredness and fatigue.

PURE MARINE COLLAGEN: I can confirm there is no taste whatsoever and it dissolves in water. You could add it to your water bottle for the day.

I cannot bear the thought of lugging a massive bottle round everywhere I go, and when home I know I don’t drink enough water. Collagen is now part of my routine - the Higher Nature Marine Collagen dissolves completely and honestly doesn’t taste. I have a fish shaped glass carafe on the go, copied from the ones in the restaurant at the Headland Hotel in Cornwall. It makes me feel fancy (don’t laugh haha) it’s a pleasure to pour from so now I’m hydrated and collagen(ed) in one go. It’s very pleasing indeed. It feels like I am doing something really positive for myself.

THINGS I HAVE NOTED since starting

JOINTS : hurt less. Hands feel better and the dodgy knee is MASSIVELY improved ! I don’t know about wrinkles particularly - I feel the collagen goes where it’s most needed and I definitely need it in my joints (This is not a fact - it’s just how I imagine it working btw) My son’s girlfriend swears by collagen and she just ran a marathon so I am hoping for continued good results!

HAIR - I have baby sprouts of hair growing round my hairline!

A general feeling of ‘better’ so much so that I have bought one of those daily pill dispenser things with the day on and dispense the vitamins for the week in to it and I leave it by the kettle so I remember to take them. And I am taking them - which must mean they are working because I have reordered and am considering a subscription so I don’t run out. Usually I give up on stuff like this a week or so in, so this is pretty miraculous really.

And, waking in the night, less. Coincidence? Maybe? Maybe not? I don’t know but whatever - it’s better. Everything feels better. I feel better and less anxious (HURRAH!)

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ANYWAY! Let’s get back to the taxi -

We eventually arrived back in Guildford - Kev was very kind indeed and wouldn’t take any money for the taxi we’d shared and he asked if he could take my details so we could carry on the conversation via email . He dashed for the cinema, I dashed to rescue my overdue car from the carpark praying to the carpark gods that I hadn’t got a ticket - and we parted ways.

It was a few weeks later when I was contacted by Amy, the marketing manager at Higher Nature asking if we could have a meeting - which we did -we got on like a house on fire and the rest is history ! Her love for the brand and her product knowledge is clear to see. I feel privileged to have such inside intel really.

Imagine if the train hadn’t have been cancelled - I’d have scrolled and caught up with emails, my train neighbour would have carried on listening to podcasts and we would have been COMPLETELY unaware of each other and what could happen. But for the twist of fate - actually many twists of fate - what were the chances of that perfect storm actually taking place? It’s Sliding Doors isn’t it. Of all the seats on all the cancelled trains…

Kev found exactly who he’d been looking to work with, I wasn’t kidnapped and Gav got his wife safely home after all the excitement haha!

I sent a WhatsApp from the car to tell him I was safe ‘Cool - don’t worry I’ve eaten’ was the reply. Excellent.

ANYWAY! DISCOUNT CODE INCOMING… When Amy suggested I write this post we decided to sort out an exclusive discount for you here on Substack and these are GOOD codes….

Higher Nature are offering my readers an exclusive discount, so use SALLY15 for 15% off any one time order over £10 - usually this discount is only offered on subscriptions, but you don’t need to subscribe to receive this discount.

HOWEVER, if you would like to subscribe and take away the hassle of re-ordering, Higher Nature is offering a whopping 30% off your first order, 15% off the second delivery and 10% off thereafter -* please refer to the small print at the end of this post for all of the details so you are super clear - it’s a brill offer (Thanks Kev!)

HERE IS YOUR LINK TO SHOP

If you need any help or guidance there’s lots of info and help , if you are not sure what to order Have a read down this rabbit hole

This is clearly a paid post, but it has to genuinely be the easiest yes I could ever say and it has allowed me to recount the whole story to you, in a far more detailed way than a couple of stories on Instagram ever could.

OFC you must do your own research, I can only share what I am doing, but I DO feel better and I trust this brand, a brand that I was already quietly a customer of. Isn’t it weird how life turns out sometimes - all of this because of a cancelled train. Every cloud hey.

As always, thank you so much for being here and allowing me to drop in to your inbox every week. Next week I will have news on some lovely little updates you can easily do at home to transform your space, and some excellent items to put a Spring in your step!

Enjoy the rest of your day !

Much love

Sally xx

* The small print

Promo: 15% off a single order of over £10 using SALLY15

Promo: 30% OFF FIRST SUBSCRIPTION ORDER - ACROSS THE HIGHER NATURE RANGE

Code: SALLY30

Dates: 30th March 2025 - 30th June 2025

T&Cs: Terms and conditions apply. Subject to change and availability, Higher Nature reserves the right to remove the offer at any time. Offer valid from 30th March 2025 - 30th June 2025. 30% off subscribe & save applies to the first order only when using the discount code SALLY 30. £10 minimum subscription purchase amount to activate the SALLY30 discount code. Limited to one use per customer. Discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, discount or promotion. Second and third subscription orders enjoy 15% off, then 10% thereafter. Discount does not apply to any applicable delivery charge

Any questions please shout and I’ll do my best to help - if I don’t know the answer, I will find out for you

The Sunday Edit is free to read and always will be. This post is in collaboration with Higher Nature and I will receive a fee for writing it. If you think it’s useful, do restack (that’s the recycling sign) as the codes will be valid for all and it might be just what someone else is searching for, to help them too. Thank you !