One factor that nearly prevented me from getting my new job with Binder Hamlyn Management Consultants was the fact that I did not drive. As part of my “deal”, I promised to take driving lessons and try to qualify as a driver as soon as possible.
So, the Monday after leaving Newman Harris, I enrolled at the Hiway Driving School in Streatham Hill and commenced my lessons. 11.15 on 21 November was the first time I ever took the wheel of a real car.
I’d love to report some tales of derring do and/or some scrapes and/or some near misses, but I’m afraid that my transformation from non-motorist to motorist was pretty much an anecdote-free affair.
That week I had a lesson every morning before going on to do something else. Most of that something else was a combination of exam marking for Financial Training and flat hunting. In the matter of flat hunting, I was advised, at that time, to study the classified ads in the London Evening Standard as soon after publication as possible, in order to track what was going on and to jump in to see a place or two if I saw anything I fancied.
Hence, I imagine, the driving lessons mid morning, enabling me to pick up the paper early lunchtime, after my lesson.
On the Tuesday evening, Jilly came over for dinner after work. 6:30ish is the only timing indication in the appointment diary. I cannot remember where she worked at that time (was it already the Barbican Centre by then?) but my diary helps me to recall that she lived in a flat in Nether Street, Finchley. I remember us finding that street name funny.
Nor do I recall what I cooked for Jilly that evening, but I’ll guess it will have been one of my Chinese and/or South-East Asian specials. I do remember that Jilly was full of useful advice for the flat hunting and that her advice was timely, as I had pretty much drawn blanks from my classified trawls those first two days.
I think her advice included “ringing up some agents in the areas I fancied and asking them to get on the case for me” – in other words, to look at agent ads as well as the classifieds. I labour this point because, I’m pretty sure, that is the method that got me to Clanricarde Gardens (and some other places) the next day.
Thanks, Jilly.
Update – Jilly responds:
I found [your diary entry] a little hard to read; when it talked about “dinner” with Jilly, I had to read it three times before it (dinner) stopped looking like “I am vinyl”, but eventually, I realised what I was reading about.
Gosh, that was a long time ago, and yes, I remember living in Nether Street, when, I think, I was working at Green Moon PR Agency.
I must admit, I can’t remember much about the flat hunting advice, except that I probably would have told you to be very quick about going to see something that you liked the look of, especially in those days before mobiles, email, and the like.
So, on the Wednesday, through an agency whose name has escaped me, but I recall it was located above Tootsies Restaurant on Holland Park Avenue, I saw Clanricarde Gardens for the first time and was so taken with it I thought I had probably found what I was looking for first dips. It was only the fact that I hadn’t yet seen anywhere else, combined with the fact that other agents were on my case now and leaving me messages at Woodfield Avenue, that kept me viewing for the rest of that day and the next day.
I shall write a piece about some of the strange places I saw, once I have dug out some more notes, as I am sure I have a note pad on this topic as well as my diaries.