As our car bumps along the winding drive towards Warramba, a sandstone country cottage in the Greater Blue Mountains region of NSW, a jean-clad woman pushing a wheelbarrow comes into view, her brow shining with perspiration. Raising her arm in acknowledgment, she gestures us to park next to the sheds, before hurrying to welcome The Weekly to her home.
“We’ve got enough wine and toilet paper if anyone wants to stay for a while,” she laughs, swatting away flies and offering to open a bottle in honour of our arrival.
It’s an unexpected first meeting with a woman we’re more used to seeing in a full face of make-up and decked out in designer duds. But for Sunrise star Edwina Bartholomew, this is the new normal and one she’s relished since welcoming her first child, Molly, three months ago.
Along with her husband Neil Varcoe, 38, and brand new baby, Edwina, 36, has been hunkered down in recent days at their family farm. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Since making her grand entrance just a few days before Christmas, Molly has borne witness to some of the most extraordinary events to grip the world in recent history. From the horrific summer bushfires, which almost took the property we stand on today, to the COVID-19 pandemic which, as we arrive, has yet to escalate to self-isolation, it’s been a time of stress and panic for us all. But among the chaos Edwina and Neil have found comfort in Molly, in their farm, in their country community and in each other.
This story is from the May 2020 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
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This story is from the May 2020 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.
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