The first time I met Jane Barnes was in the kitchen of her rambling, white weatherboard farmhouse in Bowral, NSW. It was 1993, around the time her husband, Jimmy, released his sixth solo album, Heat. She wore expensive jeans and a little black tee, and the house smelt of wood smoke and freshly baked bread. Jane and her sister Jep were arranging immense platters of food on a kitchen island that seemed to stretch on forever. It needed to because she had a whole tribe of mouths to feed.
All four little Barneses – Mahalia, who was 11; Eliza-Jane (aka EJ), nine; Jackie, seven; and Elly-May, four – were skidding across polished floorboards in socked feet. A nanny and Jep’s toddlers, Jesse and Lily, were in hot pursuit. There was a band (or maybe two) recording in the studio downstairs with Jep’s husband, Mark “Diesel” Lizotte. And an old family friend was staying in the guest quarters, ostensibly to dry out.
Mid-afternoon there was a knock at the door and in strolled a couple of saffron-clad monks. Jane was trying to keep Jimmy on, if not the straight and narrow, at least the middle path, and the monastery at nearby Bundanoon had become part of this noisy, welcoming, eclectic family too.
On this particular day, it was a hullabaloo, but that was the way Jane liked it. Perhaps it channelled the spirit of the family compound in Bangkok where she spent her first five years, surrounded by the laughter of cousins, the love of aunties and uncles, and the aroma of chilli, lemongrass and galangal emanating from a dozen Thai kitchens.
This story is from the July 2021 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2021 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
