Your page: readers’ emails and letters

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPACT A KIND GESTURE CAN HAVE, WHETHER IT IS BEFRIENDING A NEIGHBOUR OR DOING WHAT IS RIGHT FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT.

THE GOOD FIGHT

When a new issue comes out I make myself a coffee at about 5.30am and sit and read this beautiful magazine from cover to cover in the peace and quiet of a new dawn. To my delight, this weekend I awoke to rain after months and months without a drop. I’ve been handfeeding our pet cattle, knowing that the time has come to give them away, their fate unknown, because the rain has come too late for us.

The first story I turned to was Growing Strong by Chris Ferguson on page 21. This story really resonated with me, so much so, that I had to go and wake my husband so I could read it to him. As I did tears streamed down my face and he asked me if I was okay. I suspect he thought there was going to be a tragic ending. What a beautiful, well-written piece. I take my hat off to Chris and the many other strong women like her around our beautiful country. Keep strong and keep fighting. Jude Pringle, Alice Springs, NT

BIRTHDAY WISHES

Happy 30th birthday Country Style! I moved to Australia in 2004, when I was in my late teens. Shortly after arriving and despite living in innercity Sydney, I discovered Country Style, unaware how this find would completely change the trajectory of my life.

Every weekend my sister and I would pore over the magazine and then scour second-hand shops, all the while daydreaming and describing in vivid detail what felt like an impossible but magical future country life. It was the most indulgent, delicious self-care ritual I have ever discovered!

Fast forward to today and I’m now living in rural NSW, renovating a derelict cottage and working a once neglected farm with my husband, where our Australian Waler horse stud has just celebrated its 10th birthday. Meanwhile my sister is raising her gorgeous family in country Victoria and we share custody of those secondhand relics we dug up across Sydney. We still call each other each month to pore over your stunning pages and share future dreams, stories and ideas for our actual country lives.

Thank you for helping forge our country dreams! Stefanie Winwood, Upper Lansdowne, NSW

HOMESICKNESS CURE

Having moved to Australia as an immigrant exactly a year ago, I battled loneliness the first few months of my time here. My first Australian winter last year was hard as I had previously lived in the tropics. I was terribly homesick. I mostly stayed indoors to avoid the cold and the company of strangers. It was then that my loving neighbour (and now my good friend) Danee reached out to me with a warm embrace and a few weather-beaten copies of Country Style to serve as my introduction to the beautiful land Down Under — a vast landscape with both summer and winter wonderlands.

After 12 months in Australia, I feel home at last. This winter, I am stronger and braver. I go on long solo walks along the shoreline; I stop to admire the wildflowers that dot the surrounding hills; and now I can even tell the difference between a magpie and a butcherbird! I know I am no longer alone. I have my sweet friend to keep me company over endless cups of piping hot chai and the latest edition of Country Style magazine. My transition is complete. Sujata Chakrabarti, Woonona, NSW >