Remembering/ forgetting

Sunday Blog 234 - 17th May 2026

I’m in Margaret River for the Readers and Writers Festival. Previous visits to this town have washed me through with melancholy. Five years ago in 2021 when I attended the same event, I was gripped with a sharp grief at the absence of my parent’s generation. I could almost see Dad and his brother John emerging from the pub after a drink together. They were brothers but also friends across their long lives even though they were separated by a three hour drive. Margaret River was where our two families usually would catch up and reignite bonds.

In 2026, this feeling is gentler. Margaret River has become populated with new memories and new people, like my little great niece, born after Dad died.

Am I getting the hang of this life thing, as I race towards my 61st birthday? Now I am able to observe my great highs and lows with a small touch of perspective. For example, this week’s writerly rejection is already receding into “what was that fuss all about then?’’ One of the authors whose talk I attended this morning advised us to “embrace the no’s, because the yeses are out there.’’

In case you needed to hear this today, “till the very end, there is always another chance.’’

Happy Sunday.