I'm jumping in quickly today to tell you there won’t be much of a ramble this week.
My daughter Sarah and I are currently in Tumbarumba, a small town in NSW near the Victorian border in the foothills of the snowy mountains.
My father and his parents were born here, and his great-grandparents (on both sides) arrived here sometime during the 1860s (or thereabouts), so it’s fair to say it’s a place that’s in my bones. Even though I’ve never lived here, it always feels a tad like coming home - and after the emotional drain of the last few weeks, that’s exactly how I wanted to feel.
For the useless book of knowledge, I did live in a town towards the bottom-right of the map above - Bombala - which, incidentally, has the dubious distinction of being the 2nd coldest town in the country. Somehow, though, I don’t think Tumba’s too far behind.
I’ll talk more about what we got up to later, but one thing I didn’t do was write.
However, I took some promotional pics for Christmas at Mannus Ridge. The fictional town of Mannus Ridge was, you see, based loosely on my childhood memories of Tumba - the bakery with the best sausage rolls (I’ll be grabbing one on my way out of town this morning to see if they live up to the memories of Poppa bringing them home for smoko …), the pool that feels as though its been filled with snow melt at the beginning of each summer, the way the woodsmoke hangs over the town in winter.
Anyways, here she is, leaning nonchalantly looking out towards the vineyard…
Speaking of which, I did mention that it’s up for a RUBY award in August didn’t I? If you’re interested you’ll find the digital buy links here - or if you like to hold it in your hands, head to your favourite online bookseller.
Fabulous post Jo and that book leaning nonchalantly against the verandah is perfect (especially for those of us who live here and know the background).
Oh I just LOVE that promotional picture! How fun to get back to your roots and old stomping grounds.