Fiona McIntosh
I was born in Brighton on the south coast of England - famous for clandestine weekends for lovers, its wonderful Victorian piers and fabulous shopping. My parents were immigrants who found the going tough in the early days. We lived in a rented, damp basement on the seafront. Nevertheless we were all happy and I really enjoyed a blissful childhood.
In the mid 60s my father was posted to work at the gold mines of Ghana in West Africa and life took a major change. I spent a good part of my early years running carefree through the bush of Africa; my friends were ebony children with huge smiles and my pets were the scaly creatures basking themselves on our verandah. I realise now this experience gave me a taste for travel and adventure which has stayed with me into adulthood.
During school the English literature teachers despaired of the girl who read nothing but fairy stories. It was all hopeless once I'd stepped through that "wardrobe" of course ...I only wanted fantasy. When I was old enough to work, London's W.1 was what I wanted and found a job in a small but flourishing PR firm off Oxford Street. I loved London but already I had itchy feet.
As soon as I'd saved enough money I bought myself passage to France. After that I yearned to see the rest of the world. I got out the family atlas and chose Australia! (They have funny English accents there; the men are brutes and kangaroos bounce down the streets - or so I was assured by a well meaning, rather ancient secretary where I worked). Barely turned 20 I arrived in Sydney and fell in love with its sparkling harbour and gregarious, happy people. After a year or so in the big smoke I found myself accepting a marketing position in Alice Springs and there I met my future husband, Ian. We moved to Adelaide in '85.
By this time I had worked in a tourism commission, advertising agency and for an international airline. My husband was a travel editor for News Ltd and both being wordsmiths and lovers of travel, it seemed natural to combine our talents and set up our own travel publication.
Travelnews Australia has been in operation ever since and I'm very fortunate in travelling the world for my work. We have two sons - Will and Jack, both 10. I have dreamed of writing a book all my life. At a summer writing course in Tasmania in 2000 with Bryce Courtenay, he won my promise that I would finally write the book which was bursting out of me. Visit the offical Fiona McIntosh website at www.fionamcintosh.com |
