Thursday 30th April 2026
Dear Jane,
I hope this letter finds you well. It’s so lovely to have you as a new pen pal for “Between the Pines” and to get to know you better via this medium. I’m not only pleased that Karla introduced us but that you also use Substack: I’ve been enjoying reading your posts and getting to know your writing style.
The main thing that sticks in my mind is one of your recent pieces about Darwin. I confess that I’m not super clear on the location of many Australian cities so it did surprise me how far it is from Melbourne. I’d love to learn more about your connection to these two cities, and if you cross the Australian outback by car when travelling between them, or if you fly.
I’ve only been to Australia once — on a school horseback riding trip that started in Sydney and then continued for four days in nearby countryside. This was the 90s and I was attending an American high school in Hong Kong (where I became friends with Karla!) It was the sort of crazy trip on offer to us in the 90s and I wonder if schools now still get away with it, or if it’s too expensive/too risky for health and safety reasons.
Have you always been a writer? And who are some of your favourite authors?
[Pause for Messalina, the lovely cat I’m currently pet sitting, to climb on top of this letter and stare at me, demanding my attention.]
And what are you currently reading? I took two courses on literary translation these past few months that introduced me to new Brazilian authors (both courses focused on Portuguese translated into English.) I’m reading at the moment a very gripping short novel called “The Tokyo Suite” by Giovana Madalosso. I try to do most of my reading before bedtime and stay away from digital screens, though tonight I’m making an exception to write this letter to you.
I now have five days left with Messalina and then I’m off to my next temporary home (a couple of friends’ flat in East London for most of May.) I don’t have a place of my own in the UK; I move around taking care of other people’s pets and occasionally staying with friends. Messalina is my winter baby. I stayed here for 5 months (my second time) which was a blessing as it’s better to spend the UK’s bleak winter in just one location.
I work three days of the week as a fundraiser for a charity that works to restore London’s rivers, and for the two other days I do a bit of temping. The temping is coming to an end in May and I’m looking forward to having more free time to dedicate to my writing. I have this horror novel I’ve been working on for years now which I’d love to finally complete... I’m feeling positive about this summer!
Anyway, it will just be good to have more time to myself and personal projects — including letter writing!
I look forward to hearing from you and please say hi to Karla next time you speak to her.
Messalina and I send you very best wishes,
Ollie x
Stamp date: 21 May 2026
Dear Ollie,
This is the last in a collection of cards I bought in India, I guess it must be a decade ago, before the pandemic and of course Chris’ terminal prognosis. In our spare time I would take him off to art galleries, or go off with a friend on lunch and shopping adventures.
Its been raining here, grey and cold. Suddenly the clouds have gone and it’s a beautiful blue sky mid morning. Daisy, my bulldog, and I are sitting outside which allows her to snooze and supervise all at the same time. Exhausting work after a walk.
Now to your questions. Firstly, Darwin is about a 42 hrs straight drive from Melbourne, around 2,300 miles (for the Brits), so while it is an amazing trip, I fly which takes about 4 1/2 hrs.
I’ve always dabbled in writing, have read for as long as I can remember. My last paid work was copywriting — mostly for food businesses including our own but also for others. I walked away from it when I chose to care for Chris. I think I’d describe myself as an eclectic reader and move across genres for no particular reason. At the moment I’m between some Japanese novels and one by David Malouf (an Australian author who died last month). The novel is called Remembering Babylon. So many favourites!!
About me? We moved to Melbourne from Brisbane (where Karla currently lives) about 14 yrs ago. We planned to return?? Now my youngest son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren live with me. I haven’t returned to work, so now have time to write, help out with the children and keep Daisy company. I have a large family, we blended three children together and then surprised everyone and ourselves by having two more (not at the same time). Even more surprising is that I have eleven grandchildren — yep its a party!! A few are here and one lot in Darwin & the other in Brisbane.
Your horse riding adventure sounds amazing — I’m not sure whether these things are done anymore. It seems the parenting world is more anxious/cautious even though kids are more accessible than ever before. Or is that just me being weird?
So I have run out of space, even with my writing getting smaller, hopefully still legible. I’m shortly off to a stretch class (yoga like). So take care until next.
Jane & Daisy xxx
Hello friends,
It’s my pleasure to introduce Jane Doutré to you. We connected recently via a friend we have in common — Karla Portch, mentioned in the letter - and one day the idea came up to invite Jane to become a pen pal. I was delighted when she accepted!
Between the Pines is an ongoing (and evolving) epistolary series where I exchange letters, cards and postcards with friends and writers from across the UK and abroad, then share them here with you. The series has been running for just over 6 months now and it’s part of an offer I have for paid subscribers to Picos Gêmeos. Although introductory posts are always free, most of the remaining exchanges are behind a paywall.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting this publication and the other writers that contribute to it. I hope you’re enjoying this series; please feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions, feedback or suggestions for the future.
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I love this so much. Two of my favourite people connecting over two of my favourite things, reading and writing. I also love the title. You are doing an exceptional job of pulling out awesome titles from the letters. Looking forward to the next instalment!
Ah, snail mail! You are reviving why we write letters and why they get saved.