FRANK HATHERLEY

My strange Leaving Certificate result — 3 Bs and Honours English — wasn’t good enough for a university entrance, which was fortunate because my mother said she couldn’t afford to keep me any longer.

My first paid job was in advertising, where I was following my highly successful elder brother. Then I side-stepped into radio announcing, where I was following my noted father. Alas, 2WL Wollongong, the Voice of the South Coast, proved not to house the Grail.

In 1963 I ran away to London, which suited me just fine. After some false starts, I won a Trainee Director’s Scholarship to a respected regional theatre company in Sheffield. Great, exciting, long days: rehearsing one play during the day, performing another one at night, writing my own in any remaining moments.

By 1971 my actress partner and I had a baby, so we headed for London to attempt a less precarious existence and I stumbled into BBC television drama, first as a script editor, soon as a producer. I visited Sydney for four months in 1976 to co-produce The Emigrants, a four-part drama I had devised. By now Patricia and I had two daughters, and I hurried back to London.

I moved to Thames Television, had a time of being out of work which coincided with the birth of daughter number three, answered an advertisement for a 10-week teaching stint on a BA Media Studies course at the Polytechnic of Central London. The bloke I was replacing never recovered, so I became Senior Lecturer and stayed for the next 18 years. The Poly eventually became the University of Westminster — so despite my 3 Bs I made it to university after all.

Offered early retirement at 55, I grabbed it. My long relationship with Patricia had ended. Returning to Sydney in 1996 for a first visit in 20 years, I happened to meet Janice, my first official girlfriend from age 15-18. She had accompanied me to the NSBHS Prefects Ball in 1958: we are now 10 years married.

Two of my accomplished daughters come to Sydney often, my eldest now lives here and has recently produced my second grandchild. In my fortunate dotage I returned to writing stage plays which make no money but which give me much satisfaction.