I had the pleasure of meeting the author of this work, Pat Walsh, a few months ago at the CERES Maker’s and Flea Market. Like many self published authors who have to do the leg work to get their books noticed, he came by the market to setup his stall with copies of A Window on Our Street: Sondering Through COVID-19 in Northcote. And this is how I came to know this beautifully written account of one small piece of Melbourne’s experience during the pandemic.
I have heard it said that we are not yet ready to consume any pandemic related media, be they films, books or in any form whatsoever. After all, the pandemic isn’t over yet. Case numbers are still high and our health system continues to be overwhelmed. I have to admit that this was my first thought when I approached Pat’s stall. However, I only needed to read one sentence from a randomly selected page to know that this went beyond Covid- 19.
More than a straightforward account of this community’s experience during Melbourne’s numerous Covid lockdowns, the book delves into the history, both early and recent, of this inner northern Melbourne suburb. We are introduced to a cast of long term and not so long term residents of this little part of the street, each with their own interesting, and sometimes quirky story.
The covid pandemic made our world a lot smaller, forced many of us into our own bubble. At the beginning of it all I remember feeling as though I had suddenly been forced to hit the breaks after living life at what seemed like 100km’s per hour. I realised then, that it shouldn’t take a pandemic for us to take a look around and appreciate what is close to us. However, I can also see that due to the times we live in, and the fast paced lives we are leading, the people and the stories around us often go unnoticed.
Pat Walsh has done a great job in presenting to us the love and appreciating he has for his local community, while also making us perhaps slow down and take a look at our own. Finding what us unique and often under appreciated in what surrounds us. While reading this memoir I asked myself the question, when was the last time I had a chat with my neighbour? We all have a backstory, events and circumstances that somehow led us to where we are at this point.
I couldn’t help but take a little detour while in the area during my travels. This little street in Northcote really is special. beautifully tree lined and with many a quaint and unique house. but the truth is you don’t have to live here to experience this. Sure we wont all write memoirs of our experience and the history of our local community, but one thing we can take away from A Window on Our Street is that we never know what we will find if we just take a moment to look and and think about the world we live in. Society might be all the better for it.
I was disappointed to hear from Pat that he had approached some local bookshops and they had not shown any interest in stocking his book, often without so much as reading a few sentences. Bookshops, I might add, that often proclaim to be part of the local community and are there to support local Australian writing. It is a shame that we often miss out on so many great works only because they don’t have the backing of a major commercial publishing house behind them.
I highly recommend A window on Our Street. I thoroughly enjoyed it and invite you to pay Pat’s website a visit to find out more for yourself. https://patwalsh.net/ .
Thanks for reading.
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