Postmarked
8 Sept 67
SYDNEY!
(Though except for the doubledeckers it could be home.) [Good grief!]
 |
| Courtesy Ferdous |
Well,
the weather here hasn’t so far been all it should – it’s been alternately hot
and raining all day. And guess what –
I now have a Saul – and like his counterpart he’s been misbehaving – in the
first real gust of wind he blew himself inside out!! [Presumably
an umbrella but why a 'Saul' is now lost in the mists of time.] And broke two of the little hinges off. I’ve fixed one, I think, (now that I’m back at the
hotel) but the other has lost the bit that holds it together – may be able to
use a bit of cunning - we’ll see. Felt a bit silly walking along with along
with a slightly flattened umbrella – but it’s only been necessary in the dark
after the pictures and anyway it was better than getting soaked, which almost
happened at lunch-time.
A long and
busy day. Rang up Lovejoy (Glenda’s friend) and he wasn’t in till 11.00 (but
made friends with his (middle-aged) secretary and we had a bit of a chat. [Lovejoy was my ‘contact’ in Oz to try and
put me onto the ‘right’ people. Glenda Ferrall was my friend from the NZ Opera
Company’s Die Fledermaus tour.] Rang Anne [Newbury, the oboist I later stayed with] but she was out too. Rang
Cecil – I never thought that he would be one of these slow, slow, speakers.
(One of the kind that has never finished when you start talking.) [Cecil Purdy, one of my father’s best and
oldest friends and supporters. A top chess player in Oz.] However, we had a
bit of a yarn, and he said to call in and see him if I was going to be in town.
Went exploring around here again – constant delights at every turn, plus sudden
downpours! I’m just a wee way from Elizabeth Bay, five minutes’ walk in fact, and
when it was sunny this morning, it was beaut. The sun always dried me out,
anyway. Rang back Lovejoy, appointment for 4.30 this arvo. Went into town
(after nearly forgetting letter to Lovejoy) and finished up having a long
leisurely lunch with Mr Purdy. He’s got a cute wee shop up on the second floor
– you probably know it [she probably
didn’t, since she had lived in Melbourne] - and I met his secretary and his
junior girl. The secretary, Mrs Shiel (a Dooley [Catholic], so Cecil informs me) was very pleasant and we three had
quite a chat both before and after lunch (which Cecil paid for, in spite of my
arguments.) He’s a nice old fellow when he gets talking, which we did. We rang
up Pikler, and I’ve got to get in touch
with him on Saturday. [Robert Pikler, a contact at the Sydney Conservatorium.]
Went to
the Massive Public Library (after going round and round in circles, in and out
of arcades, into two parts of the David
Jones Ladies' shop, trying to get an
umbrella), after lunch. It’s tremendous, in every sense, but seems to have a
lack of system. [I didn’t understand it,
more likely.] Upstairs there’s a part called the Mitchell Library, housing
old prints and pictures and original diaries and letters etc. There were
several Brothers (Christian) there and one of them was the brother of a boy I
went to school with – name of Vincent (I went with Colin – but don’t know this
one’s name). He’s the fellow whose face was all scarred and burnt – but I
introduced meself (never actually met him before) and we had quite a wee chat!
Isn’t it funny?
Finally
got out to the University where Lovejoy is, after dying a thousand deaths, and
being late – the bus took much longer than planned – and this was where me umbrella blew up! Anyway, he was busy with
some people, so I talked to his secretary again, Miss Lonsdale, she is, until
he was ready. [Seem to make a habit of
this on this trip – the confidence of youth.] [2018 – or it could be that this was a useful trait: getting to know
people.]
He was
very helpful; besides giving me a list of names – ‘tell them Jack sent you’ so
to speak, of others that might be useful for jobs, he personally rang Stephen
Hall, who was the guy I’d been writing to, and passed him onto me. I audition
on Monday, playing the pieces, probably, and possibly doing a bit of
sightreading for some singers who are going to audition. So!! Here’s hoping.
There seems to be plenty of things going on here, even if I don’t get in with
the Trust meantime, so here’s hoping I’ll be back here soon! [Elizabethan Theatre Trust, which also covered opera at that time.]
Went to
a terrible movie – a Walt Disney, too! Called The Ugly Dachshund – and it was too terrible. Everybody looked
slightly bored, including the animals, (who had to create one horrible unfunny
mess after the other). UGH! [1966 move
with Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette, the staples of Disney movies of that
period. Leonard Maltin thinks it is ‘silly’ too.] In the first half was the
Winnie the Pooh film which was only
about 20 minutes long – it wasn’t terribly successful either, but still a
Disney cartoon. Must go XXX See ya, Love to you and Fred. Mike
These letters are indexed here
These letters are indexed here
