I received a text message yesterday afternoon: ‘You’re famous!’
Yes, the Hindsight program on The School Magazine went to air and my voice has now been heard by the vast multitudes who listen to the ABC on a Sunday afternoon, and the rest of the world can hear it on Thursday 16th at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. You can download it or listen to it here. My earlier post said it was scheduled for next Sunday – it was moved forward.
Lorena Allam, the producer, did a marvellous job. I expected her to use a couple of seconds of my semi-coherent ramblings, but it turns out there’s an awful lot of me in it, and she made me sound reasonably intelligent. Of course there are a dozen omissions, but since the program focussed on the period from 1950 to about 1980, it would have been a big ask to give Duncan Ball, Tohby Riddle or Joanne Horniman more than a passing mention, or to squeeze in a mention of Geoffrey McSkimming, Margrete Lamond, Kim Gamble, Di Bates, Judy Ridge, to mention only people who have worked for the magazine, let alone the writers who were first published there. And Oh, the poets!
But have a listen. There’s some lovely stuff there. I particularly like the way much is made, correctly, of Patricia Wrightson and Lilith Norman as formidable figures, and then Cassandra Golds, remembering herself as an opinionated 11 year old, says she had no time for them at all.
Added later: Joanne Horniman has written a blog post giving the long version of a major incident in the magazine’s history that was mentioned briefly in the program. It’s at http://www.secretscribbled.blogspot.com.
And later again: Another grace note from Joanne Horniman here.
Me fail? I fly! 
Hi, Jonathan
Yes, you’re a star, no doubt about it. I loved the line about the woman who’d read about witches in the mag and because of that had become a witch. Good work!
Bill.
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Hi Bill. I didn’t mention her little backward kick and toss of the head. Then she went back to the filing.
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Just listened to the program(me), Jonathan; very well done and it makes me want to go and work there.
Richard
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Hi Jonathan
Someone told me about the program – I haven’t listened yet, but will on Thursday to the repeat (less than perfect bband) – I decided to put up my memories of That Article up on my blog, though, for the record.
http://www.secretscribbled.blogspot.com
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Richard: It was a great workplace …
Joanne: … though it did have its dramas. I’ve just read your post. I had no idea it was that intense, but the magazine’s explicit policy when I arrived was that no controversial subjects were to be canvassed, so I was aware of That Article’s long shadow.
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Yes, ‘they’ used to pretty much leave us alone before that. And another article of mine was pulled in the wake of it, shortly afterwards.
Deepest apologies for the shadow.
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