Back from the wilderness

Oooh... good name for the post. So many levels.

Firstly, I'm back from down south where I spent a wonderful week with Astrid, the photographer, and about 4000 17-year-olds. Half of them were boys. Two thirds of those were constantly shirtless. Three quarters of those looked , as Michael says, "under-done". So the five who were left were quite hot. But drunk. And straight. LOL.

Secondly. FUCK YEAH!!! I think we all know what I'm talking about here. Why is it that I'm never home for an election campaign. In 2004 I was sitting in a hotel room in Dubbo having spent the day handing out how-to-votes for some dead in the water candidate and then spent the night tending to my sunburn and crying as seats... starting with Bass and Braddon fell before my eyes. At three the next morning I was up again and headed for the year 1861.
This time it was a little different. I was in Busselton for the day and technically not allowed to do my bit. I won't write here what I spent the day doing. Anyway... I couldn't wait to get back to my hotel room to watch the election coverage. I watched it all. Glued to it in varying degrees of thrilled, nervous and excited. Ultimately, we won. And it was one of the best nights of my life. If only I'd been home to celebrate it properly with my friends.

Thirdly, I want to talk about what this means for the future. One of my friends told me he was horrified at the win and was waiting for Kevin Reynolds to take control at the Lodge. He said he felt sick. I told him that's how I'd felt for 12 years. But things are so different now. There is an air of hope, I feel. People are daring to think positively. The divisive, wedge politics of the last decade is gone. Even the Libs, now leaderless and in turmoil, are taking a huge lurch to the left as they rid themselves of the Howard stigma and embrace a more progressive and inclusive future. I can wake up smiling again. It's like someone filled my lungs with the good oxygen... the stuff God keeps for special occasions. Multicultural is suddenly a word we can embrace again. He's going to ratify Kyoto, do something about climate change, say sorry to the Aborigines of the Stolen Generation, make our industrial relations system fair once more... I'm so fucking proud. Rudd has always been my man and now he's everyone's PM. I couldn't be happier. I cannot wait to find out the cabinet line-up today. And for stuff to start happening.

Fourthly, the election victory had a tinge of sadness about it for me, with the news the next day that Matt Price had died. I was devastated. Matt was one of my earliest journalistic heroes. So funny, so intelligent, so fair, so wry, so witty, so observant, so balanced, so sharp, so well-written, so interesting. I loved you Matt Price. I thank my stars I was lucky enough to meet him at the Perth Festival a few years ago and to chat to him about my columns... the original Bolton Gray columns. He liked my style and my content. And that meant the world to me. I had hoped to work with him one day. I had hoped he would be my editor one day. I'm truly, deeply, devastated that this will not happen. Bless you Matt Price, and thank you for everything.

Fifthly, there was another death in my life in the past week. My cousin Gordon. He was 23 and cut down by a brain aneurism. Now we weren't close, I hadn't seen him for years because he's on my mother's side of the family and I don't really see them these days. But I am extremely saddened at the death of such a worthwhile young man. Soon-to-be-married, young bub, partner... all the things a healthy young man is supposed to have. The death notices yesterday were heart-breaking. The funeral is tomorrow and I just don't know if I can handle seeing my aunt so upset. I'm a total stranger to that entire side of my family, but I have to go. I loved my aunt and uncle and their insanely perfect nuclear family. Best go pay my respects.

And that has cleared me out of news, I'm afraid. I hope this sates your appetite, Kate. LOL.