The first installment of David’s two-part interview was published in the Castlemaine Mail last Friday, August 14.
After completing his five-year degree, David was called up to fight for England.
“Anthony Eden, who was weak, had decided he was going to war against Egypt over the Suez Canal. For some reason or other, the British thought it was theirs,” he said.
‘All you young chaps from 18 and over are going to be called up,'” David mimicked in a perfect English accent.
“I said, ‘No, sorry, I’m not going to be called up.’ And the British Government said, ‘In that case, you better go back to Australia.'”
David found his way to Perth, where he worked for an architecture firm. He went on to work in Canberra building laboratories, and from there he was sent to the Melbourne office.
After a while, he left the firm and began teaching part-time at the architecture course at Melbourne uni.
“Although you can’t really teach design. All of the students believe they know more about design than you do, so really you’re superfluous,” he said.
Around the same time, David became involved with an amateur theatre company in Melbourne as a set designer.
“One day somebody suggested I should take a part in the play, and so I became an actor. I would have liked to have done that for a living, but being a professional actor and an amateur actor are two very different things.”
During this time, David met his wife Jenny, a professional actress in theatre and TV.
“She is a gorgeous actor. Lovely to work with,” he said.
“We were mates for a long time, then one day, quite out of the blue, we realised we were in love. Wow! How did that happen?!”
The pair fell in love with the Chewton bushlands while visiting a friend and moved not long after. They now live closer to town, in a cottage designed by David.
And the all-important questions:
What hobbies do you enjoy? I’m in the middle of writing three things at the moment. One is tidying up a story called Will. A true story of when I went to Bazré on the Ivory Coast, on a Christmas holiday and was accused of being a spy. The second project is the story of my uncle known as Bill, and the third is my second book of verse.
At one point, I’m not entirely sure why, I decided to teach tap dancing, which I did reasonably well, and until recently I used to do dancing in the street sometimes. I now dance with the Silver Tops with Movement Zone.
What are your philosophies in life? I’m 92 and getting close to the end of life, and I believe that love is absolutely primary. That, and doing things you like to do. Learning constantly. Always try to overreach and understand stuff that you don’t have a hope in hell of understanding properly. Give it a shot. Doing that will keep the mind active and will put you in your place.
Who are your three dream dinner guests? Shakespeare. Comedian and writer Spike Milligan and American writer John Dunne.
Finally, what do you love most about the place you call home? What’s not to love?