YOUR PAGE
THIS MONTH, OUR READERS SHARE HOW COUNTRY STYLE ENCOURAGES THEM TO GET BACK TO BASICS AND TAKE A MOMENT FOR THEMSELVES.
STORIES OF THE LAND
My husband and I have often dreamt of moving to the country, but because of his work we haven’t been able to do so. Instead, we bought a home in beautiful Grays Point [Sydney], which in our minds is the next best thing. We wanted our young boys to grow up in a home surrounded by gums and close to a river, where they could skim pebbles, kayak and fish. Perhaps that’s why reading about Jackie French’s life, in your August edition, resonated so much with me. Since my boys are big fans of Jackie’s books, I read the article to them. Their eyes widened at the thought of bunya nuts shooting out of a fire and being allowed to stay out ’til nightfall. We all agreed that Mr Doo sounded like the sweetest of neighbours. Leanne Ewels, GRAYS POINT, NSW
MY GREEK ODYSSEY
For more than a year, my Greek husband has been planning a holiday for our family. The tragedy of the recent fires near Athens has been devastating, but seeing the pictures of the island of Skyros in your August issue could not have come at a better time; they were so soothing and beautiful. We’ll be visiting Karpathos, where there’s a church my husband’s grandfather’s community helped raised funds for to build and we would like to include Skyros in our itinerary, as your story was so tempting. My husband cooks fantastic Greek dishes and we look forward to eating out at the pavement cafés and joining relatives for meals in their homes. We have been poring over books of the architectural and classical wonders and hope to fit in all we wish to do. Your article thrilled us as does so much in Country Style. Vickie Mavros, SALE, VICTORIA
EVERYDAY INSPIRATION
It was wonderful to read powerful life stories about women like Jackie French, who was influenced by amazing women in her early years — her mother, grandmother and Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Very often we read stories of boys adventuring and roaming the bush, so it makes it even more special to read her life experiences. Thanks must also go to Annabelle Hickson for a terrific column. She managed to cement the importance of real-life community and support, without negating the validity of the international village. Well done and thank you for giving us these adventurous women (astride their steeds in their split skirts, I’m sure). Jess Campbell, ADELONG, NSW
WINNER A BEAUTIFUL ESCAPE
My Country Style magazine was sitting on the kitchen bench waiting until I had the time to flick through the dreamy pages. On the first cold and windy day of August, I had an early start in the cattle yards. All was going well until I was knocked to the ground by a mob of cattle pushing back on the gate. Returning to the house bruised and extremely sore, I picked up my Country Style and headed straight to bed, where I could forget all my troubles and dream of ideas inspired by the pages in front of me. Rebecca Hilton, LURG, VICTORIA