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Left Harlow College 1963 in that year was vice captain of
Nelson House with Head Boy of that year as Captain surname
Warder I think ... I confess I have
difficulty remembering many first names.
Went out and sold 3 wheel cars for a while ... some may remember
I had a little blue Reliant in '63 ... looked a bit like the
invalid carriages of the time!
I then trained and repaired Bolex cine cameras for a while,
and graduated to still cameras and other photographic equipment.
This took me to a job on
Jersey ... St Helier, where after repairing cameras for the
largest chemist shop in the islands, I gained a job writing
and directing local TV commercials for Channel Television.
I returned to the mainland a couple of years later. I remembered
that in 1953, my cousin and his family had emigrated to Australia,
and my mother said to me as we waved them off at Southampton,
'say wave bye bye and see you when I'm 21'. I somehow felt
I would like to make it come true. So I embarked on the process
of becoming a 'ten pound pom' applying to emigrate.
While paperwork was grinding around in Australia House,
I stayed with some friends in Wembley and passed the time
as a projectionist for the local cinema. Some Harlovians may
remember I was the one who used to run the projector for the
hired movie in the dining hall. I somehow inherited that projector,
but it became lost in my many moves I'm afraid.
After a long series of hops in an old turbo-prop airliner
... I arrived in Melbourne. From there I got my first Aussie
job in Hobart Tasmania as a technical operator for the local
ABC TV studios. I lived in the same suburb as the now Crown
Princess of Denmark ... but before she was born! I went on
there to progress to floor manager studio supervisor and Producer/Director
of local programmes.
I married an ABC girl and soon after buying a house, we both
applied for jobs in the newly built ABC studios in Darwin.
This was a wonderful experience. As Senior programme officer
I had a lot of free rein and we did many 'pioneering' things
and of course met everybody who was anybody who passed through
... as many did in those days.
Promoted to Sydney, I was beginning to rise in the Transmission
area, being responsible for preparation of material and during
my shift periods every three weeks. At this time my first
marriage failed and my wife and small son went back to Tasmania
I left the ABC with a colleague and we began our own promotional
business. We stumbled along for a while, but eventually went
our separate ways. I was headhunted by the local TV Station
in Tamworth (Country New South Wales) and produced a very
successful Live country Music series.
Back at the ABC for a while in Canberra ... National Capital,
producing the nightly political input to the 7.30 report,
and a monthly block of 4 children's programmes, which rated
very well. But inadvertantly, I got the Sydney Children's
Department offside, because my programme on a slim budget
was rating better than some of their own extravaganzas!
A New Wife.... interestingly from that Sydney Children's
department ... we were married in 1981, and now have an 18
year old boy of whom we are very proud, and who is studying
for his masters ticket, while working as a lifeguard at leisure
centres (public swimming pools) and on various vessels on
beautiful Sydney Harbour.
Hoping to retire in 3 years...
Thats me!
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