A note from the publisher

Gordo Manchester 25 June 2025

A personal note of thanks from Mark Garner, Publisher of Confidentials

Dear friends, readers, advertisers and colleagues,

Over the past six months, life has thrown more at me than I ever imagined possible. I wanted to take a moment to personally thank every one of you for your support, kindness, and patience, during what has been the most difficult period of my life, both personally and professionally.

At the start of this year, I was misdiagnosed with a severe flu. What followed was catastrophic. On February 2nd, I collapsed at home. I’d actually been in a coma for two days before waking up and somehow crawling five metres to my bedside cabinet, which without the use of my legs and little use of my arms took me fifty long minutes, to call an ambulance. I woke up 7 days later in the hospital after being placed in an induced coma to save my life. The diagnosis? A serious liver abscess that nearly killed me.

I survived, thanks to intensive care and aggressive antibiotics. But the battle didn’t end there. It took me two months to learn how to walk again. The nightmares from that coma were terrifying; lucid visions of being restrained in psychiatric wards and worse, still haunt me. Contrary to popular belief, comas aren’t black; for many they are vividly frightening.

All of this happened at a time when Confidentials, the company I’ve built with love and grit over 24 years, was already navigating the roughest seas in its history. We’ve endured Brexit, a pandemic from which emerged endless challenges from an incompetent government, and the devastating impact on the hospitality industry all of which left us cash poor, as the very backbone of our advertising income had dropped by 80%

By late 2024, we had begun rethinking our entire publishing model. I had a plan, a new vision that respected our legacy while reimagining our future. That pivot, I believed, could see us through these turbulent times.

But then I fell ill.

My absence left a gaping hole. Not just emotionally, but financially. As the publisher and the person responsible for income streams, being sidelined took its toll. We were forced to reduce staff from 35 to just 8 people, purely to stay afloat. That was one of the hardest decisions of my life, and I want to say this directly to those affected: thank you. Most of you understood, though I know not all did. I understand that pain.

To my team who remain, to our clients who stuck by us, and to our readers who continue to engage with what we do, thank you. Truly. Your belief in what Confidentials stands for is what’s kept us going.

Though I’m still battling a secondary infection that’s led to a partial foot amputation (not pleasant when you’re diabetic), I’m back, working 3 to 4 hours a day, and getting stronger. The road ahead is long, and it won’t be easy. But we’re focused on the path. The new plan is in motion. We will survive this. And we will thrive again.

As Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.”

Thanks you lot.

Warmly,

Mark ‘Gordo’ Garner

Founder & Publisher, Confidentials

2025 06 25 Mark Garner — **Mark Garner, Publisher of Confidentials**

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