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I’m visiting the Manning Valley again. My daughter and her husband are housesitting for me in Byron while I show an old friend around the valley where I grew up. Linley was also a good friend to my late mother and now she’s over 70 Linley has bravely taken the plunge to reinvent her life. After establishing a very successful bookstore in Byron Bay for ten years, Linley retired and moved to Brisbane to be closer to her young granddaughters.
When I was researching my book the Valley, set in the Manning, Linley came to visit and fell in love with the area. Being a country girl she has wanted to get back to the simple life. So spent some time in the valley and decided this was where she wanted to be. She arrived on Saturday with her car crammed with her goods and chattels and is staying with us in Tinonee until her furniture arrives. She’s renting a unit while building is completed on a villa she’s bought in Wingham where I was born and my grandparents lived all their married life. Wingham is charming, a big sleepy country town where the heritage buildings have been preserved and while there is still the slow paced country lifestyle there’s a new energy with organic food, great dining, and interesting eclectic people coming into the area.
I think it fantastic that Linley can make a new start in life in her 70s. I also had a call from a girlfriend who was my PA at Network 10 in my TV days. Irene has been living in Cairns for the past sixteen years eighteen months ago moved to a tiny town outside Burney in Tassie. She rang me a few weeks back to say she was cold and lonely. She didn’t want to go back north and couldn’t afford Sydney where her pals are. Move to the Manning I said. She went on the net, saw a cute house in Tinonee, Boris looked at it, emailed photos and Irene bought it! Irene is single, pretty and super efficient. I’ll have to introduce her to Linley. Seems I’m starting a network in the valley!
Cheers
Di is Australia's number one bestselling female author. Her new book "The Islands", published by Pan Macmillan goes on sale in November.
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