懐かしき我が家 My dear old home

 

　演奏旅行の出発を間近に控えた頃、長年お世話になっていたマーガレットさんが、一足早く空へ還られたご主人のジョンさんのもとへ、静かに旅立たれたと報せを受けました。1977年の第1回訪問からCFを迎えてくださり、私は2004年からお世話になってきました。広大な羊牧場の中で暮らすお二人の優しい笑顔に接するたび、「カウラに帰ってきた」と実感したものです。最近はご高齢のためホームステイは控えていましたが、今回もまたあの温かな笑顔に再会できると信じて疑っていませんでした。
　今、お二人は愛した牧場の風や大地と一つになって穏やかな時間を過ごされていると伺いました。思い出の白い家の前に立ち、久しぶりに見るその景色に、懐かしさと、もう直接お声を聞けない寂しさが込み上げ、ただ心からの感謝を伝えてきました。見晴らしの良い場所から微笑んでくれているであろうお二人と、これまで支えてくださった全ての方々へ想いを馳せ、深い感謝を込めて歌声を響かせたいと思います。（三瓶）

Just as I was preparing to depart for my concert tour, I received word that Margaret—who had looked after me for so many years—had quietly passed away, joining her husband, John, who had preceded her. Margaret and John had welcomed the Cowra Fellowship (CF) since its first visit in 1977, and I have been under their kind care since 2004. Whenever I was greeted by their gentle smiles at their home on their vast sheep farm, I truly felt as though I had "returned to Cowra." Although they had stopped hosting guests in recent years due to their advancing age, I had never doubted that I would see those warm, familiar smiles once again.

I have been told that they are now at peace, having become one with the wind and the earth of the farm they loved so dearly. Standing before the white house that holds so many memories, I was overcome by a sense of nostalgia—and a deep, aching sadness knowing I would no longer hear their voices in person. I offered them my heartfelt gratitude. As I sing, my thoughts will be with them—surely smiling down from some vantage point—and with everyone who has supported us over the years. I wish to pour my deepest appreciation into my performance. (Akihiro)