Tag Archives: film

Typical main street in a town in outback Western Australia. Very peaceful and quiet.

Here we are in February, 2021, already. And here in Western Australia – Perth, we have recently finished a very sudden and hard five-day lockdown. It took everyone by surprise but we got through. We were plunged into the lockdown on a Sunday evening about three weeks ago, at 6 pm (we were told about it just before lunch that same day) and the next day, a massive bushfire started up in the hills north east of Perth. A lot of animals and properties were destroyed but, luckily, no humans. Very sad though. There were a couple of other bushfires in other rural areas around the state. And then we had a cyclone up north, which caused massive floods and a lot of destruction. The tail end did come as far south as Perth but it pretty well fizzled out by then and we just got a lot of very welcome drizzle.

And again, as with lockdowns the world over, everything just stopped. No gym, no tennis, no paddling. No going out at all, except for essentials and the usual things. Oh and one hour of exercise. But after five consecutive days of no new cases, the main lockdown was lifted on the following Friday night, with some restrictions remaining for a further week. For that week we had to wear a mask at all times and for anything – except swimming and showering and eating and drinking. My little mask has a funny little plastic thingy built into it which I am thinking has something to do with letting air through, so I won’t suffocate. I haven’t seen that on anyone else’s yet but I guess similar masks are out there. And we have our new app – SafeWA. We have to either use that to scan the code thingies at the entrances to all businesses – and if that doesn’t work (mine seems to go on strike occasionally) there is a sheet you have to sign instead. Either way, you have to register for contact tracing. Just in case.

Dawson’s Burrowing Bees. Found near Mt Augustus in outback Western Australia.

Sooooo – having all this happen recently did give me a chance to get a few things done for our film, ‘No Looking Back’. And I think things are gradually starting to move. It is very exciting and all going well, 2021 has the potential to be a really good year. 

Logo for ‘Media Productions – AUSTRALIA’. Owner: Steve Fitzgibbon

We had our first ‘groundwork’ meeting last month. These meetings will be monthly and the other two attendees are and will be Rod Manikam (of ‘Rodman Pictures’) and Steve Fitzgibbon (of ‘Media Productions – Australia’) – we get along very well, have lots of laughs (and snorts – ooooooh yes, they are both learning to snort – it’s just part of this film – nothing like finishing a good laugh with a snort) but are completely professional and serious when the need arises.

We are in the process of organising the second and final audition for the girl who will be playing me in my teens and perhaps early 20s. She’s doing a terrific job so far – she does need to learn to snort too. We have approached an actress from Qld who was a leading actor in the 1970s and has appeared in various things since, to play me as I am now and she will take the film out. I am working my way through the cast list at the moment, trying to find bigger names to play me and a few other more major parts as well as smaller parts. 

Logo for ‘Rodman Pictures’. Owner and Producer: Rod Manikam.

We are determined to try to give rising WA actors, many of whom are pretty well still unknown, a chance with this film. As well as our Indigenous people. We have chosen a few bigger Indigenous names too – these will be looked at further as we progress. And other Indigenous people to act as extras – and children, for School of the Air and secondary school extras and others, scattered through the film. And crew of course. The list is quite extensive.

We do have a few ‘aims’ with this film. Given the current COVID situation the world over and the fact that so many nationalities cannot fly out of their own countries at the moment, including us in Australia – well, this leaves one area for any holidays, any travel at all, for the foreseeable future. Australia! While the domestic borders are open, at the moment anywhere in Australia is reachable, as far as I know. But we really have just so much to see in our own back yard. I am not referring to the well known tourist spots around the nation. I am referring to our amazing outback and all that it has to offer. However, as we have already experienced, the borders can be slammed shut at any time, without notice – so going interstate is probably not the best idea at the moment.

Giving an idea of how big distances are in the outback of Australia. How far people travel to do anything…

So, as has been mentioned in previous blogs, ‘No Looking Back’ is planned to be filmed almost completely in outback WA. The opening and closing scenes will be shot in SA but the rest of it, including one special scene, will be in WA. We have tentatively chosen three stations to use in the film here and I am in discussions with these three at the moment. I wanted to use working stations that have also become stations stays, giving people a chance to see how pastoral stations and the people on them, work and survive. There are some that are well known in WA, have quite high profiles – we did not really want to use them. Instead we want to use some that are not so well known, but should be. 

We really want to showcase our magnificent and spectacular outback. Again, not just the known and popular tourist spots, but so many other areas and places that are not so well known. Another area we feel very strongly about and are giving a lot of consideration to is for music – our soundtrack. We plan to work with either the WA Symphony Orchestra or the Perth Symphony Orchestra (which has already shown interest and – yes – they are two completely separate entities). There is also a third contender for this. We also plan to have one very special scene in which we hope to bring in a Canadian actor with whom I am in discussions about both writing and singing a special song for this scene. 

There really is so much involved and planned for this film, so I am hoping that everything will go reasonably smoothly as we progress. It continues to be a massive learning curve, with many challenges and I continue to thrive on it.

And a fun notice to finish off with.

DISCLAIMER

The book that this biopic is planned to be based on is my autobiography:  ‘No Looking Back’ and has been written as anonymously as possible. While some states, cities and institutions have been mentioned, no real humans names have been, except mine.

The school where the bullying occurred is in NO WAY AT FAULT NOR IN THE LEAST BIT RESPONSIBLE FOR MY EXPERIENCES.

Oops! Looks like a couple of months have slipped by without another blog. Well, OK, I did issue one special blog on the 27th March – just after lockdown/isolation was announced. But before that, the last one was on 16th March. That wasn’t supposed to happen – I mean, the blog post was supposed to happen but I had planned to issue one out every month. 

What a strange, strange time it is.

I hope that this blog finds everyone enjoying good health and remaining sane. It is the weirdest time that I can ever remember – and never hope to experience it again.

I also hope that those of you whom are involved with this film or have indicated that they were interested, still are. PLEASE let me know if you are no longer interested. There’s no problem with that, either way, but I just need to be kept up to date. Thank you.

While we have all been in lockdown/isolation the world over, many of us have found ways to ‘keep going’. And I really hope that applies to everyone whom reads this blog. 

Our last real blog post was issued on the 16th March – I’m just trying to figure out where that time has gone. When we first went into isolation/lockdown with no end in sight, I thought that the time would absolutely drag. 

How wrong I was. I think it is now seven weeks. 

The good news is, for those of you whom ARE still interested, the film pre-production continues. I have been workng pretty solidly on it throughout all these weeks and things are going quite well. And while there have been very frustrating moments, I continue to thrive on it all. There are things quietly happening in the background and other things that, frustratingly, cannot even be considered while we are going through this restriction phase. But I hope to jump on them as soon as possible once things return to ‘normal’ – or the ‘new normal’, or whatever it is.

I think you will all realise that, unless a miracle occurs in more ways than one, actual filming will not now be starting until sometime next year (ie 2021). I am NOT giving up but this thingy that has turned the world upside down, kind of hit and changed everything in pretty well every way possible. We are not alone in having everything thrown into a spin – I believe many in the entertainment industry – and most industries – have been affected badly (or positively in some respects, I believe) and no-one really has any idea of what the future holds.

Something that has been happening since the beginning of the lockdown/isolation is that I have been receiving some very positive/encouraging emails from a few people and I cannot thank those people enough. As you all know, one thing I am determined to do with this film, is to give rising actors in Australia (and a smattering from other counties) a chance. While our film won’t open many doors, unless we are very lucky, I am hoping that, steered and managed and showcased the correct way, it just might help some of our actors, as well as crew members, production companies generally as well as shining a light on the bullying issue which remains so rampant everywhere, through everything. Also I am hoping that by showing my own experiences of growing up in the outback, going through correspondence and School of the Air, might educate and highlight such a life for others in the urban areas of Australia and overseas. There are many more aspects in the film, throughout my life to date, which I hope will prove to be inspirational to others.

The other thing that I am hoping that working on this film will be, apart from sheer hard work, is FUN. And lots of it. Good laughs. Although I don’t think that will be too much of a problem with my snorts.

On that happy note, I bid you all farewell until our next post. And again, PLEASE, all those of you whom responded to my original callouts for potential actors, PLEASE contact me to let me know you are still interested, no matter when we get the chance to start this film. If I do not hear from you within a few weeks, I will presume you are no longer interested. And that is fine – I just need to know.

Thank you everyone – and stay well.

‘Dawson’s Burrowing Bees’. This hive (not sure of the correct name for the home of these particular bees) was found on a road in the outback of Western Australia.

DISCLAIMER

The book that this biopic is planned to be based on is my autobiography: ‘No Looking Back’ and which has been written as anonymously as possible. Some cities, states and institutions have been mentioned but on the whole, no human names have been mentioned … except mine.

The school where the bullying occurred is in NO WAY AT FAULT NOR IN THE LEAST BIT RESPONSIBLE FOR MY EXPERIENCES.

SECOND DISCLAIMER

Yes, I snort. And I’m proud of my snort. It shows that I am having a darned good time. And it comes from ONLY that – having a good time and LAUGHING. No, I do not do the drug sort of snorting that possibly entered everyone’s head on reading that title (showing my ignorance again) – I actually wouldn’t know how to and I’m not remotely interested. But I do snort – have all my life and will continue to. So, for those who do end up working with me, be prepared and get used to it.

Now, to get on. First of all, I would like to express my huge gratitude to Brooke McKenzie whom has made an extremely generous donation to the funding of the film, in an effort to help get it moving. Brooke’s name will now appear in the credits on the screen, along with anyone else who wishes to donate something toward getting this movie up and out there – believe me, this would be more than welcome. However, if you want to remain

Dawson’s burrowing bees. On a road near Mt Augustus in Western Australia.

anonymous, that can also be organised. Please get in contact with me for the bank details. Donors do not have to be limited to those whom have anything to do with the movie, but anyone else who could be interested in helping out financially, is very welcome to do so.The content of our film – meaning what I have done and had anything to do with throughout my life to date, is pretty varied and includes:

• Seeing how a small five year old child (me) lives in the isolation of the outback – sharing with the world how education is provided out there;
• Seeing how School of the Air is conducted;
• Learning how the people on the stations in the Australian outback live without the convenience of the towns and cities being close by;
• Bullying. My six year nightmare at a boarding school (see above) is covered and I understand that an increasing number of people is relating to it;
• Showcasing much of our spectacular outback scenery;
• Inspirational – I am a 64 year young female and began all this when I was 55. Yes, I am probably mad but I am absolutely thriving on all this and don’t think I could ever stop. And it’s doing my snort a lot of good too.

I do also wish to thank those of you whom have made suggestions and sent me links to potential sources of funding for the film, apart from straight donations. I have and am following most of these up and couldn’t be more grateful to you all.

There was a house here once. Now all that remains is the fireplace and chimney. Such a normal sight for regional and remote Australia.

As we progress along with pre-production, I am receiving quite a lot of comments etc from various people about how amazing it is that we are making this film. Why are we making it? Apparently, it is different, unique and that nothing quite like it has really been done in the past. I have people asking to come onboard to do anything – many of these people cannot act – they just want to be an extra or simply help out in some way. And many are happy to do this simply for the experience and not to be paid at all. All these names are recorded and I will be in contact with you all sooner or later.

And yes, we have begun auditions. But there is a LONNNNNG way to go so PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME ABOUT THIS. We have a huge list of roles and many of them include the characters in varying ages and situations. So, at this stage, we are actually now looking at early 2021 for filming. So I think it goes without saying that you should take any other roles that may come your way in the interim.

I will say that I am no longer doing all this alone – I have some wonderful people who have come on board to help and again, I could not be more grateful to them. But I am still doing the bulk of it. And, like the entire learning curve, I am finding that absolutely everything is taking much longer than anticipated. I can now see why pre-production, filming and post-production, along with everything else for all films, takes so long. 

Our first audition, mentioned above, was on Saturday and it is the reason that I felt I should mention my snort. Because I did. I laughed and snorted a lot on Saturday. In short, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed ourselves immensely, although we were completely serious and totally professional when we needed to be. This film is about darned hard work AND fun. Lots of fun – lots of both.

So it does seem we are on our way. At this stage, I will ask all of those potential actors from WA who applied through FaceBook – if you have a StarNow profile, can you please send it through to me. Those in SA who applied through the one FaceBook post that I issued I think have sent me their profiles. And the rest of those in SA, also the few from other nations and other states, all responded to the StarNow post so they are fine. 

A few other things have happened but for the moment, they are veiled in secrecy, even for the cast. Let’s just say I am pretty darned excited and really loving this whole experience. 

I will leave you here and I do plan to get another post out in a couple of months – and keep them going.

But in the meantime, if anyone does wish to donate, large or small (the donation I mean) please contact me. Very gratefully received.

Thank you.

The original homestead backed by the ranges on our family station in South Australia.

DISCLAIMER

The book that this biopic is planned to be based on is my autobiography: ‘No Looking Back’ and has been written as anonymously as possible. Some cities, states and institutions have been mentioned but on the whole, no human names have been mentioned. The school where the bullying occurred is in NO WAY AT FAULT NOR IN THE LEAST BIT RESPONSIBLE FOR MY EXPERIENCES.

Talking to other past students both at my old school and other schools, it does seem that most of them look back over their school years with tenderness and happiness and warmth. 90% have told me that they loved those days. And I now know why I was picked on and realise that if I had my time again, there is absolutely nothing I could do about it. The ‘problems’ lay with me, absolutely but they were enough to cause the bullying. And I would have been and still would be powerless to change anything.

The amazing RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) has to be able to land anywhere in emergencies…

‘No Looking Back’ does contain detail about my bullying nightmare which occurred over six years. However, it must be remembered that this happened back in the 1960s and 1970s when such acts as bullying and the like were not recognised nor acknowledged and very little, if anything, was done – and that was only when and if victims spoke up. How were and are the staff supposed to know that someone is being bullied unless they either witness something themselves – or the victim or someone else speaks up for them. I think it was accepted as just being part of life, part of growing up. These days, that has completely changed in many instances and many schools have now got their own anti-bullying programmes in place. Many also have counselors. But again, victims do need to ‘speak up’ and many still won’t, for fear of repercussions and similar. Sadly there are an increasing number of suicides occurring among victims of bullying. Most of these people, so I believe, have not spoken up.

Outside loo. Long since unused but a redback’s paradise. And possibly the odd snake.

There is actually a very fine line between teasing and bullying, although being pushed down stairs, locked in a cupboard and finding a huge spider on my bed (and I am very much arachnophobic) would be hard to be classed as teasing – I reckon they all fall into bullying. Full stop. 

So what is this film about? Me. Yes me. It is a visual autobiography – a biopic. And it is something that I never thought I would do, write an autobiography, let alone make a biopic based on it. At least not until I was in my late 70s or 80s and then probably get someone else to tape, then type it all. 

Shearing shed – or woolshed – most sheep properties have/had them.

But no … or yes, here I am, doing the lot at the moment and loving it. But before I really started writing it, I honestly did not think I had and am still living such an exciting and different and, perhaps, inspirational life that anyone else would be interested in. And that hasn’t – or hadn’t – really changed – I’ve now written and published my book – and life continues. And becoming deeply involved in pre-production for the biopic.

There is a reason I changed my mind and felt that maybe – just maybe – some of what I have done in my life could be interesting – to someone, somewhere – or even inspirational, perhaps. It was when people started asking me about my bullying nightmare – and then being asked to write about it, that my mind began ticking over and I felt that telling my story might just help someone else. Or not. I didn’t know but as I had never previously really described those six nightmare years to anyone, I also felt that writing it all down might be good therapy, for me. And now that I have done that, I think it has been good therapy – I know it certainly brought the memories rushing back and I even shed a few tears, here and there. After that I was being asked about my own primary education (via School of the Air) and then other aspects of my life also seemed to attract questions, whether I thought they were interesting/inspirational or not.

There is another reason – an extremely important reason, why I am doing this. Why I am persevering – not giving up even when I feel I want to stop the world and step off (thank goodness there are people around me who know me well enough to push me…not to step off the world but to get on with all that I am trying to do) and this reason applies to two of ‘my’ other books as well. My sheer passion for the outback and the life of the stations people and so many others who live out there. I have lived in suburbia for most of my life – but will never love it like I do the outback. And I am not talking about the rural areas so much, the farming areas, but more the really remote and isolated areas. Of Australia. 

One other aspect about this biopic is very important to me. I really wanted to use an all-Australian cast and crew – I initially wanted to use only people from SA and WA but then quite a few others applied – from other states and from overseas. I had also realised that a lot of the station hands and some of the owners as well as some working in businesses in outback towns, are from other nations – many are young backpackers. So I have quite a few of the relevant names on the list but overall I am trying to give local actors a chance. I am still working with that aspect and one further very important group of people are our Indigenous people. This last one is proving to be nearly as much a challenge as the funding, but I don’t give up easily. I am fascinated by the Australian entertainment industry and really want to help ‘add’ to it – do my bit any way I can. And if writing the above books, making a doco and the biopic are the ways that I have at the moment, so be it. And as I say, I don’t give up easily. 

I mentioned two of ‘my’ other books – the very first one, which my late father actually wrote, is about our family and ancestors and early life on our sheep station. My father had been writing this book for the last 30 or so years of his life and had literally just finished when he passed away. So it was not published before he died. Instead the manuscript and piles of documents and photographs that accompanied it, went round and round between my brothers and me for the next 17 or so years, until one day, on a birthday, I woke and realised we needed to get Dad’s book out. Someone had to do it. And that someone was me. So I did. I found a publisher who could offer exactly what I wanted and between the two consultants whom were assigned to me, and me, we worked like beavers (beavers do work, don’t they…) to get that book out – preferably before my late mother passed away. She was in her late 80s at the time and still appeared to be enjoying good health – although she was also wonderful at covering up any health issues. But her age was against her and us – but we did get that book out. It was published and released exactly a week after Mum passed away. Yes, I was devastated – but have been reassured that Mum knew something was about to happen and died a happy woman – or as happy as anyone could be when facing the end of life as we know it.

Yes it has been hellishly dry in most of the outback – however, much of this area has also recently had life-saving rains…

Dad’s book is obviously the reason for my enclosing the word ‘my’ in inverted commas – it was not my writing, therefore not my copyright but Dad’s – I simply had it published and released. Then came my biggest effort (until this biopic) – ‘Red Dust Dreams’ which describes the lives of the people on 20 of our sheep and cattle stations around the nation. To conduct the research, I did something that I have always wanted to do, ever since I was a very young girl. I traveled the outback, by myself. And I thrived on it. I visited 17 of the participating stations (in SA., NSW., Qld., the NT and WA – the ACT., Victoria and Tasmania were not included as most of the regional people in those states and territories do not live on such large landholdings – on the whole and as far as I know they are not isolated or remote enough to suit the requirements for this particular book). That was an amazing experience and so much fun. The book was published in 2012 and did become a finalist in the International Book Awards. 

After ‘Red Dust Dreams’ was published and released, the questions mentioned above began. During the research travels I also had a few people asking whether my travels and experiences were being filmed…as in documented, apart from being in the book. In other words, they were asking if a documentary was also being made. A visual interpretation of the written word, as such. It wasn’t – the thought had not occurred to me. But I did start thinking about it when I finally got home. And we have been trying to make this doco for the last few years – but the usual is blocking it – funding. Why does everything rely on money. During this time I was also being asked about my bullying nightmare and my own outback education as well as a few other aspects in my life. I sat and began writing, finally – and thus ‘No Looking Back’ was borne. Although I still did not feel it was that interesting nor inspirational – but others, it seems, feel differently.

Once the book was published and out and I thought I would be moving on, I had people asking about a visual interpretation of it. Huh? A movie – a bio-pic effectively. Oh. Er…no. That sounded exciting actually but also a heck of a lot of work – so into the ‘too hard basket’ it went – for five minutes. 

A typical outback plane. Privately owned by station people.

So – I got into it. Now, remembering that I am not a film-maker and I am in my 60s – and a female to boot – well it did seem that everything was against me even considering this. The other huge obstacle – which does hit just about everyone in this industry – you guessed it – money. Yes, money. Funding. Literally having never done anything like this before, it really was also a matter of the blind leading – something. I started researching heavily and then decided to post a piece on FB – not actually a casting call but more a call for ‘expressions of interest’ – for potential actors. I put two or three of these on relevant FB pages for WA and then tried a couple in SA. Unfortunately, as I no longer live in SA, this was not permitted but the admins were wonderful and posted the blurb that I sent over anyway. This happened around my birthday last year and I was in no way prepared for the response that I received. Not so much from SA (although I did receive a couple from there and both are now on our ‘shortlist’ which was growing daily but has now slowed down), but WA – wow. And then I posted on StarNow – not sure whether that was the best thing I could have done – or the worst. Probably the former but the timing was awful – right on Christmas at that stage. I was swamped. And I have tried to respond to each and every applicant individually – very time consuming but soooo interesting and I am learning just so much. Again all part of my mammoth learning curve. 

Distance signpost giving an idea of how vast Australia is.

I have also been able to find a couple of bigger names to be considered for the major roles as well as finalising locations (three stations are involved at the moment), which I am still doing. Next on the list is to print out all the profiles of those on the shortlist. And the script. At the moment, I think we have a director from South Australia, an assistant director from WA., two executive producers – both from WA, one cameraman who will also be making a ‘behind the scenes’ film as well as bloopers and a few other things. We are also gradually getting the music in place. And of course, the rest of the crew and cast. None of these is in concrete yet but we are getting there. 

So, as you can see, there is a mammoth amount to do but it is very slowly but surely coming together. I also do have several links and ideas for funding, all of which I am looking into and acting on as I can. But any suggestions/ideas for funding from anyone would be very welcome. Even donations are very welcome. 

I plan to keep these blog posts up and out to everyone, but mainly to the people who are shortlisted for consideration for auditioning for the biopic. This is my way of trying to keep everyone updated on our progress. Not sure how often I will publish these but I will do my absolute best to keep everyone updated.

I am not sure whether this is something I’d recommend – or not. It is certainly a challenge – all part of the mammoth learning curve I have been on for about a decade. And, overall, I am thriving on it. But there are times…

You see, I am not a film-maker – I am an author. Actually, truth be told, I am a writer. A plain writer. While I do have four books on the market, I do not feel that I should be called an ‘author’. As I did not feel that any of those four books would be accepted by a traditional publisher, I bypassed them completely and had them independently published, by three different companies… one in Australia, two in the USA.

I had always wanted to write –  anything. And now I do, more or less. I am addicted to it. I think that’s the only way I can describe it. Addicted. Because I am. When I was very young and living in the outback, I used to write letters to anyone I could find that would respond. And, believe me, that wasn’t easy. But I did finish up with several penfriends before I was sent off to boarding school and they all vanished. I kept wanting to write but ‘life’ got in the way for a few years and it wasn’t until my late 20s that the writing bug reared its head again. Still having no idea how to write a book – or even if I did manage to actually write one, how do you get a book published? And then distributed? All too much for me at the time, so I turned back to letter writing.

This was fine and dandy, but I found those people (family and friends) to whom I wrote did not share my passion – so – that was a failure. I eventually found some penfriend advertisements in magazines and was then able to start writing and getting responses. YES. And this continued for about 30+ years. At one stage I had around 200 penfriends, both in Australia and overseas. That kept me busy – and broke. At the time I was also mum to two young girls and I had a few other interests. I did a bit of sewing and decorating of children’s clothes, I put gift baskets together and a couple of other forgettable things. While also being involved in committees etc once the girls began school.

Fast forward to my mid-50s. My late father had been writing a book about our family and related things, which he finished penning shortly before he passed away. For the next 17 or so years, the manuscript, along with the piles of photographs and documents, passed between my brothers and me – round and round and round and round and…etc. Until one morning, when I realized that if I didn’t do something with it all (have it typed up and published, somehow) it would never be done – and the reason I was worrying so much was because of my late mother’s advancing age. She was very well as far as I knew but then she was always good at hiding health issues, except migraines. So I got onto Google. And eventually found what I wanted and, working with two consultants, Dad’s book was eventually published – exactly a week after Mum died! Just a tad disappointed – although I have been reassured many times that Mum knew something was about to happen with the book and that, apparently, made her a happy woman – or as happy as anyone can be when facing the end of life as we know it.

And that was the catalyst for my writing. After Dad’s book was out, I followed it with a very forgettable book about bullying and then – then – I was ‘hit’ by this epiphany, for want of the correct word, whatever it may be. I just woke up one morning and saw this amazing window of opportunity. I suddenly realized that I could finally combine two of my passions – writing and the outback. And so I set out to do this.

Fast forward again – I now have four books out with at least two more to go and I am also helping others to write their autobiographies, thereby keeping stories alive. AND – enter the film making business.

More next posting.

Life continues to be pretty jolly good. While I have now all-but stopped writing books (still have the ‘Witley Court’ one to write) I continue writing generally – and will never give up.

Steve and I both did a lot of thinking over the festive period and both came to the same decision – to scrap the documentary. We have both realized now that the funds are just not going to happen – and if they don’t happen, the documentary doesn’t happen either. Both bitterly disappointed about this but life goes on and we have some other pretty exciting plans for the future.

Oh, so dry.

These plans do include the feature film which we plan (in collaboration with an American production company) to make in the next couple of years. I am doing much of the groundwork which I am absolutely thriving on. Again it is continuing on the mammoth learning curve that I began for myself some nine years ago. A whole new world. I’m even having a go at transcribing the book to screen – Steve will be helping with this. Finding locations (at the moment, we will be based at SAFilm, all going well) and actors and so much more.

Steve and I still do plan to do a series of short trips around country Western Australia, to make promotional films,

for ‘Red Dust Dreams’ and ‘No Looking Back’ as well as the three books that Steve has and still is writing – ‘My Footprints in Port Hedland’, ‘Salvaging the Memories and Artifacts of Perth’s Television History’ and his auto-biography, ‘Little Boy Lost’. While we have yet to start thrashing out the details of these trips, we have already done a reconnaissance trip up to the beautiful ‘John Forrest National Park’ in the Perth hills, near Mundaring. We had planned to have a weekend of solid filming

up there on the Australia Day long weekend this year, but one of our team members became very ill and we were not able to proceed with this. However, we remain hopeful that we will still be able to do this in the not-too-distant future. That particular team member is now fine again but there have been other interruptions and side-tracks which have delayed everything.

The above-mentioned reconnaissance trip was the most wonderful day out. Starting very early, we drove up to the ‘John Forrest National Park’ and spent the morning – or most of the day, actually, wandering around, selecting good spots for filming. We lunched in their tavern and were joined by some very friendly parrots, kangaroos and various other animals and birds. Even one very brave and cheeky parrot which kept swooping me and grabbing a beakful of whatever I had on my plate, scattering the rest of the meal as he/she did so. Steve and I loved every bit of it, but then we both love nature and this was nature at its best.

Having already said that I have all but stopped writing books, apart from the ‘Witley Court’ one, I have recently been across to South Australia to visit the station and have returned with the thought that there is one more book that I would like to try. All about ruins, history and ghosts in the Australian regional areas. Every time I manage to leave Perth and suburbs to get out into the country, I am forever seeing ruins, some are just chimney stacks, but I cannot help but wonder about the people who lived in those houses – the history that must have been there. When I visited many of the stations which participated in ‘Red Dust Dreams’ I was shown several graves and had quite a few ghost stories repeated to me. Some of these have been published in the relevant chapters in the book, others haven’t. This book will be based on memories, factual events which I have been provided with and plenty of internet research. Some of it might even be included in the feature film for ‘No Looking Back’ given that it is all part of my life. 

Deserted – and eerie – Masonic Lodge in Cue, Western Australia