My Varuna Journal
Gallery Webmaster Copyright © 2003 Milli Thornton
Sheila Atkinson
has been a makeup artist for television,
is into dream analysis, and has been heavily involved in organizing arts
festivals. She's now the caterer for Varuna House, where the writers eat
like kings. Here is the story Sheila told me of how she came to this job
(mind you, we'd had a little red wine before dinner, so my account may
be off by a few minor details. . . . ).
"My restaurant in Katoomba (Sheila's)
was 7 days a week for seven years, but I enjoyed it as I like to meet
new people. During the recession I saw shops dying all around me. People
were having heart attacks and going bankrupt. I had chosen my space badly
and the rent was too high. When the fish shop owner went to
prison, I wanted that corner spot with the better passing traffic. Instead, a gourmet deli was slated to open there. About three weeks later I dreamed of the deli. It was a beautiful white, pristine and silver with an Asian-style canopy. And there was Tina King behind the counter selling Malaysian takeaway curry. In the dream, my own shop was dirty and full of cockroaches and rats. Four to five weeks later, the deli owner still had not signed the lease for that corner position. Tina King walked into my restaurant, straight into the kitchen, and said 'I'm opening up in the corner shop to do takeaway Malaysian curry.' I was still struggling, but this was not competition for my restaurant. Tina and I sent customers to one another. One day Tina said to me: 'Varuna needs someone to do luncheons for their public events.' Varuna had asked Tina, but she gave the job to me instead. About three weeks later, Caroline from the Board of Directors said: 'We've lost our caterer. Would you like to do it?' My restaurant was on the market for two years before I could sell it, so I ran both."
