Sounds like an Idea made in Heaven.
We had kept in contact with our new Melbourne friends who were now floating the idea of creating an Ashram style community in the country, they had found 400 beautiful acres about an hour and a half from Melbourne and were discussing the idea of selling shares and purchasing it.
There would be a common community area where programs and chanting would happen, and then in the larger area we could all build our own individual dream homes and grow our own food.
We thought it sounded perfect, so did some of our other Sydney friends.
T
We had kept in contact with our new Melbourne friends who were now floating the idea of creating an Ashram style community in the country, they had found 400 beautiful acres about an hour and a half from Melbourne and were discussing the idea of selling shares and purchasing it.
There would be a common community area where programs and chanting would happen, and then in the larger area we could all build our own individual dream homes and grow our own food.
We thought it sounded perfect, so did some of our other Sydney friends.
T
It sounded great, but I hadn't accumulated any savings as I hadn't been working long enough. I approached the bank, and was offered a credit card with a small limit; there was still a shortfall.
I had met a woman journalist in Nimbin reporting on the festival, and we had kept in contact when she returned to Sydney.
She shared a house with an advertising Creative Director and writer, and introduced me to him; we had an immediate rapport.
A classic 'fair dinkum Aussie', he was very quick-witted, smart, and loved a beer.
He enjoyed a smoke too; a First World War gas mask hung on the wall, which we quickly found a new use for. One would pull the mask on while the other would take a giant toke on a joint and blow the smoke into the breathing tube, watch the smoke fill the mask, like watching a rising water level as the wearer's eyes turned a very bright red with lots of coughing and spluttering...and laughing.
He invited me to see his new office in Paddington, and I met his partner, another Aussie Character who was quick-witted, also loved a beer, and was a very talented musician. I didn't know it, but these were two of Australia's best home-grown advertising talents who were just starting to work together and soon would build Australia's most iconic advertising agency, creating work that was usually music and lyric-driven 'jingles' but captured perfectly the Australian spirit.
I didn't know it at the time, but the charismatic "Mo" was to have a major effect on my life and career in the 'real world'.
In the course of a conversation, I mentioned I hoped to be part of building a farm/ Ashram but was struggling to find the final $500 for my share...He immediately whipped out his chequebook, scribbled a cheque for $500.00, and said
"There ya go mate, go and live your dream!"
I was stunned, for someone who I later found out had a bit of a name as being a bit of a 'toughie, he hid a huge heart of gold.
The dream of a country community was now starting to be a reality.
The four hundred acres of gently rolling hills were unanimously agreed to be a 'Heavenly location'.
Our Melbourne friends were an eclectic group: the friend who had brought the original video to me at the Uni and his wife and daughter, who went on to become a successful film and TV writer, and helped create one of the first community television studios.
A well-known actor who had recently starred in his own television crime series, and his wife, who had been a frequent guest star on Australia’s most popular comedy show.
A fantastic designer and graphic artist had also played guitar in two of Australia’s best bands of the time, and his wife a successful commercial writer and an accomplished musician.
Another was one of the pioneers of health-food restaurants in Melbourne.
A couple of influential people in Melbourne’s fashion scene, and another popular Australian actor with whom I was later to have an adventure on a commercial shoot throughout Europe.
Our circle of friends in Sydney embraced Sandra and Terry, of course, David, who was highly respected for his role in creating Australia’s experimental theatre and TV series, and who would in many ways become my spiritual brother.
Between us, we had six wonderful children of the same age.
Prayers go up, blessings come down.
I went to a 'Headhunter' to see if there was any work in Melbourne that would help us relocate.
The first job mentioned was as a video producer and writer for a large well well-known Melbourne Advertising run by 3 Melbourne icons .
The agency also had a human dynamo who had recognized the real potential of 'Retail Advertising, which was much more accountable for sales than 'Brand Advertising, ' and had started a small department to focus on specializing in this category.
He had just won Melbourne's largest retail department store, and his Creative Director was putting a team together. The Creative Director was a wonderful woman who generously gave much of her time mentoring me in writing retail advertising.
I was soon both writing and producing simple retail television advertising.
I started having paid interstate trips to Adelaide to produce ads I had written using the local television studios as an economical source of production. Trips to Adelaide were very exciting, especially when I could stay in a nice hotel and have generous 'per diems'.
I amazed myself, with no prior training, I was suddenly standing in a large television studio, with everyone asking what did I want, what direction, was I happy with the look, the talent, the performance etc etc,
I started trusting my intuition and started producing results that everyone was very happy with. Especially me, I was happy, surprised and very, very relieved.
I soon received a call from one of Melbourne’s leading Branding Agencies, I had been recommended to as 'having potential, so gathering up my meagre ‘folio’, went to meet the Creative Director. He spent about 2 seconds looking over my treasures then started showing me ads the agency had produced and asking what I liked and didn’t like. I just answered from gut level. He must have liked my gut feel or for just being bold enough for going there with such simple offerings and 'speaking my truth' about their work...even saying
"I wouldn't have done it like that."
He offered me the job on the spot! Another step up the ladder - advertising's oldest junior writer.