FROM THE TABLE

The Fifth Course Editorial Journal

Issue No. 001

July 2026

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A SEAT AT THE TABLE

By Ashley Harris

In July of 2022, 28 year-old Ashley had absolutely zero idea how to start this publication house, or what to even name it.

Going from a tiny Instagram and WordPress account that went by the name of The Nouvelle Traveller (English: The New Traveller), to something noticeably larger was not a plan in the stars for me at the time. It was a humble blog, posting pictures coming from my mid-era iPhone at the time (as I currently type on my slowly-being-phased-out iPhone 16 Pro), caption blocky with at least twelve hashtags attached to the end:

#travel, #blog, #travelblog, and so on.

I know, the originality astounds me all the same, but anything for virality, right?

But was it travel? Food? A personal Dear Diary, where I could simply talk about whatever word salad was on my mind at the time? What was the purpose of making this page?

So, I just started typing…

And posting…

And typing…

And posting…

Until something wasn’t working. Writer’s block.

At that point, I had stopped and decided to give it a month… Or three, or six, or even forty eight. I am absolutely aware that there is a pattern but it truly is unintentional, I promise… I promise!

The last four years have been akin to an emotional, mental and spiritual kind of turbulence. I became a flight attendant, then a flight purser and back to being just a flight attendant in the span of these four and a half years of my flying career. I met my soulmate two years ago (Hi, Byron!) and we are a week away from the very beginning of forever, together (no lowkey reveals on this website until July 19th, so you’ll all have to find out in next month’s update). I, and my eight million gods, began living life as a practicer of Shinto, building a humble little kamidana (shrine) out of small dowels, tiny wooden planks and wood glue (obviously Gorilla glue brand, the same brand used to hyper-successfully lay down someone’s hair to her scalp,) purchased from my local Michael’s in Toronto. A lot has happened in the course of the last four years.

So… What exactly has changed?

One: The layout. A cleaner, more minimal and accessible platform, designed to divide yet unify the website. From the homepage to where You, the reader can contact me and share your story. Clear visuals, simple and concrete text, easy-to-follow links and menu options. I like to think of it as a one-stop shop for all things cultural and delicious.

Dos: The pages themselves. Believe me when I say I needed time to figure this one out. How can I maximize readership, content quality and community, without overfeeding my audience? It was easier said than simply done: curate, create and captivate. The last one is quite obviously a work in progress, seeing as the relaunch is actively underway. I trust the process in any case.

III: From the Table, the website’s exclusive editorial journal (insert a ‘You Are Here’ pin to this post). Though I will be honest, this was a last minute decision. Actually, this wasn’t much of a long decision either.

I thought of it on the spot. Guilty as charged.

Bear with me now, I truly do believe this editorial will open up a more personable, human dialogue that you only see in, well, editorials in magazines and newspapers. And before you ask, I absolutely have a lot to say about most everything—you’ll just have to wait for subsequent issues in the near and far future.

The Fifth Course, formerly The Nouvelle Traveller (R.I.P. 2020-2022), was and still continues to be a project of a lifetime. And baby, there’s still a lot of lifetime left in me (for example, I turn a cool 32 years old tomorrow—I am a purveyor of immaculate timing in this sense).

Allow me to finish this letter with some simple Yes or No (and a maybe!) questions:

Is there a concrete posting schedule for The Fifth Course? No.

Will old, archived posts be revisited? Maybe.

Will there be a Letter published every month? Yes.

Are you the only one on this project right now? Yes.

Are you actually serious about this? Yes. (My bank account paying for everything keeping this website on the internet also says ‘Yes’.)

I leave you all with an idea of how my personality is and what my intentions are. Hopefully they are as concrete as I can make them. I’ve posted a clearer list of mission statements into the About section of the website, for your reading pleasure and reference. This paragraph may sound like the end of a cover letter for a new job but the work required to keep the website in rotation is all the same.

So, have a seat and stay a while.

Until we meet at the Table once more,

Ashley Harris

Editor-in-Chief, The Fifth Course