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Square where she gave two very interesting talks. Charmian also gave a highly entertaining talk of her experiences with Baba.

 

The repercussions of this very successful visit were manifold. Our much loved Barbara and Dallas Amos decided to emigrate to the West Coast with the idea of becoming Sufis. They have since been initiated by Murshida Duce, and Dallas has opened his own hairdressing business.

 

On the last evening Peter drove me home after saying good-bye to them at their hotel. It was then that Peter, for the first time, broached the idea of my making a film telling stories of my experiences with Baba. I felt very diffident, at my age, to launch on such a project, but some deep inner guidance made me say 'yes.' Within four days, to my horror, I was told the film crew would come to my flat to start — no preparation, no scenario, no discussion of questions! They turned up, plus Peter, Billy Nichols, Richard Barnes (Barney) and Annunziato, a photographer who had arrived in England with his wife, Linda. I was recovering from an angina attack but managed to pull myself together, though how I stood up for two days to seven hours of interviewing I will never know. The fact that Baba had told me I would play a part in His film gave me the deep conviction that this was in some way His working to lead to wider and more important developments in films. I remember writing to Peter that he was embarking on something that was much bigger than he could then visualize. So started the film 'Delia' which after many ups and downs was eventually shown at the opening of Meher Baba Oceanic, July 1976. But more of that later.

 

Peter now fixed up the basement at the house where he had his office and John Annunziato started working there for him on various projects.

 

In 1972 the second Disc Magazine 'I AM' had been launched. This was not as successful as 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' mainly, I think, because the original formula of a Disc Magazine was changed to a newspaper. In 1972 came the solo disc 'WHO CAME FIRST' arranged professionally by Peter, which did extremely well. Now a third Disc Magazine 'WITH LOVE' (1976) edited by Martin Cook and Mathew Price looks like it will be a great success. These projects were originally launched by Peter as a co-operative effort to help the English Group, with its many talented young people, to be active and creative.

 

In the meantime, I had moved in 1972 to 280 Kew Road where I had a ground-floor flat and garden. At the suggestion of Barbara Amos, I started holding weekly informal meetings using Mani's Family Letters as a focal point. The Centre at Eccleston Square continued functioning with weekly Saturday meetings. A series, 'Baba and the Arts' was organized and Craig and Georgina San Roque ran a very promising introductory course. Don Stevens came from abroad once or twice monthly to give Discourse sessions. I still continued my yearly Baba Garden Party and Peter and Karen gave two exciting ones at their country place in Goring, the last being in June 1975 when Anita Vieillard came over from Paris to be there.

 

We were also enlivened by two visits from Dr. Allan Cohen, always loved and popular in England. Finally in 1975 Lud Dimpfl came over on a short visit and made some video recordings and also gave a talk on 'The Conditions of Happiness' at Eccleston Square (this was part of the introductory course). I grew very impatient at the way the film was going and felt I was being constantly fobbed off, and because of the publicity that had been given it in America, I felt something should be done. At last when it seemed to me to be on the point of collapsing, I told Peter he should take hold of it himself and do a fiasco after all the publicity. So from that time it really became a 'Peter-Delia' film, for Peter now became scenario writer, director, and narrator.

 

John Annunziato on his first trip back to America had made a video interview of Margaret Craske and was now very keen to make a film of her life story, but later, the idea was dropped at Margaret's request.

 

 

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