I went on tour of ANZO in both 1971 and 1981. Had a GREAT time. (Having a Kha Khan Order was of huge benefit),
In 1971 the orgs were just shitty holes in the wall. By 1981, with the exception of Sydney, they were still in the same condition.
The OTL (or FOLO as it was later called) was based in a house on Bondi Heights. The org was in Bondi Junction. There were a fantastic bunch of rogues, led by John Parselle. We went up and down to Brisbane and across to Perth and Auckland.
We worked hard and played hard. Made a lot of money for St Hill, gave talks to audiences of several hundred.
By 1981, there had been some changes. Pat & Harry Bloomberg were in Sydney. The org had a reasonable building and my mate Stevie Stevens was there. I remember Martin Bentley, he had a boat in Rushcutters Bay. It was still a good atmosphere. Perth Org hag a building, but very few public or staff (bit like the rest of them). The Fdn ED was a large lady who ran the place like a madam.
Well, as it happens, she WAS a madam, running a couple of "massage parlours" as her main income source. The GO went loopy when they found out. Thought it was "out PR". In fact, I thought it gave them some real street cred.
Adelaide was a nice, clean town. I liked it. The main crowd there were all connected to the Rinders. I knew them well from St Hill and their daughter, Judy, had a huge crush on me. (Oh, it is damning to be so handsome!)
Melbourne looked the same. I remembered Tino & Cherie Ceberano there. Just as well he was a champion karate master, with a daughter like his. All the lads were "prowling". Also Delwyn and Bob & Noel, the brothers.
Auckland was again a small operation. It was good to meet up with old contacts and old flames.
By this time there was strong talk of an AO ANZO, so locals were looking to go there instead of St Hill.
The real downturn, as far as I was concerned, was putting Phyll Stevens in charge. I remember her from Edinburgh and St Hill. Boy, what a fundamentalist fanatic nutcase she was. I hear she is now in a Florida retirement home. (Good luck to the unfortunate people sharing the place with her). She hated me because I used to run rings around her. What used to send her really up the wall was to come into her office, open the paper and find the crossword had already been filled in. Her suffering ex-husband Steve sr, used to play poker at the local clubs. He was a good guy.
From reading several of the threads about ANZO, I can only conclude that what was once a fun place to work in has turned into a psychotic stat-led hell hole.
Hopefully the protests will continue to erode the scilon presence. The government departments need to be engaged.
There will come a tipping point and the lot should crumple.