Image generated to my specification by Nano Banana 2 Lite (Google Flow)
The diary is not very revealing for these two weeks in September 1985, but it gives an idea of the early stages of my full-time working life. More than work colleagues, I was socialising with friends from Keele, school and BBYO. Mostly the latter at that stage of the proceedings, by the looks of it.
Wednesday, 11 September 1985 – office ok – stayed in evening – spoke to Hayward [Burt, my successor as Education & Welfare officer at Keele] most of the evening.
Thursday, 12 September 1985 – office – busy etc. Stayed in evening – uneventful day.
Friday, 13 September 1985 – work ok – had lunch with Ashley [Michaels] – had a lazy evening at home.
Saturday, 14 September 1985 – went shopping etc – did very little today – stayed in evening.
Sunday, 15 September 1985. Lazyish day – big lunch and lazy afternoon – collected Grandma Jenny – lazy evening.
Monday, 16 September 1985 – Rosh Hashana – shule morning – lunch, then to [Doreen & Stanley] Benjamin’s for supper – quite nice.
Tuesday, 17 September 1985 – Rosh Hashana – shule morning – big lunch and lazy day at home.
Wednesday, 18 September 1985 – back to work – ok. Stayed in evening.
Thursday, 19 September 1985 – work ok – kept busy. Had a lazy evening at home.
Friday, 20 September 1985 – work ok – went over to Anil’s [Biltoo] in evening – cooked huge Chinese meal and then went out for a drink.
Saturday, 21 September 1985 – went to shops etc – went over to Andrea’s [Dean] in evening for dinner -> Mandy Green’s party – stayed at Andrea’s.
Apologies that I don’t remember much about this party. I think Mandy Green lived out Croydon/Sutton way at that time, which might explain why staying with Andrea afterwards made sense. I expect it was all good fun.
Sunday 22 September 1985 – returned home – lazy day – had Chinese lunch. Met Jilly in evening – had drink and then Chinese supper.
I love the notion that I had a two Chinese meal day. Chinese lunch will have been with my parents. Probably at Mrs Wongs in Streatham at that time. Drink and Chinese supper with Jilly would no doubt have been in Chinatown. Unusual for me not to name the restaurant. Probably Yungs, Mayflower or Joy King Lau in 1985.
Monday 23 September 1985 – last day in office before course – tied up loose ends et cetera – stayed in evening.
Tuesday 24 September 1985–1st day of course – had to leave early to go to Col Nidre.
I always was partial to a bit of Strindberg and had avidly read all the Strindberg I could readily get hold of. But I hadn’t read these short plays and thought this triple bill looked most enticing.
Annalisa was partial to this sort of theatre and herself brought authentic Swedish upbringing into the equation too. For sure she was up for this idea.
At that time, Annalisa, who was still at Keele, lived with her parents in Harley Street, just a stone’s throw from Cavendish Square, so meeting up with her while she was still on her summer vacation was a doddle.
This evening was especially memorable for me. It was my first ever visit to The Gate, in Notting Hill. Little did I realise in 1985 that, three years later, I would make my home just around the corner from there.
I remember this particular evening of theatre well, as it was so darned good. Typical Strindberg themes. I remember one scene with pipe-smoking women which seemed terribly Scandinavian.
I expect the Italian meal that Annalisa and I had afterwards was at the Notting Hill incarnation of Il Carretto, which was a reliable Italian place in that 1970s mould.
Let’s see if I can find some professional reviews of that excellent Strindberg production at The Gate.
Yes! Of course I can.
I knew I could rely on my friend, Michael Billington, who wrote highly of the evening, although he didn’t like the play with the pipe-smoking women by the looks of it:
I am not going to write a great deal about my three apprenticeship years, autumn 1985 to autumn 1988. I had decided to qualify as a Chartered Accountant while I decided what I wanted to be when I grow up.
I succeeded in qualifying as quickly as possible but, 40 or so years later, I have yet to decide what I want to be when I grow up.
To facilitate the process of qualifying as quickly as possible, I returned to my parents’ house after leaving Keele. That decision probably didn’t much help my emotional state, which was a sense of “going backwards” from the highs of being Union sabbatical for a year to the mundanity of regular working life for apprentices in their 20’s.
Still, I didn’t find the studying too taxing [did you see what I did there?] so I was able to read a lot – my leisure reading focus being on play texts from the Westminster Library on Marylebone Road – and go out with friends to theatre, cinema, concerts and restaurants.
I was also able to help my parents out financially, contributing to the household bills, at a time that dad was looking to retire but signally failing to sell the shop.
Enough context – there’ll be diary extracts and articles about signature events.
Monday, 2 September 1985 – first day of full-time employment – went okay – stayed in evening.
Tuesday, 3 September 1985 – work OK – had a lazy evening in after.
Wednesday, 4 September 1985 – met Caroline for lunch today and went out with John [White] and Vicky [I cannot remember her surname, only her nickname] in evening –> Yung’s -> film Insignificance
Thursday, 5 September 1985 – office ok – went over to Martin and Barbie Wilson’s house [Petra’s father and step-mother in Burgess Hill] for evening.
Friday 6 September 1985 – work okay – had a drink with [work colleagues] Mike & Sandra [King] after – went home – lazy evening in.
Saturday, 7 September 1985 – lazyish day – taping – shops – easy evening in also.
Sunday, 8 September 1985 – lazy day – [Uncle] Michael came round – Chinese lunch – sorted things in the afternoon and lazy evening in.
Monday, 9 September 1985 – work ok – went to Annalisa’s for lunch – had an easy evening in.
Tuesday 10 September 1985 – work ok – went to meet Annalisa after work – went to Gate to see Three Strindberg plays -> Italian meal after – very pleasant.
OK, that evening in Notting Hill Gate seeing Strindberg and eating Italian food needs its own article.
I have no idea what must have gone wrong with the earlier correspondence, unless it turns up in a pile I have not yet excavated. I got on well with Les, both in my capacity as a student and as a students’ union officer. He was, in my experience, a wonderful lecturer and steward of his undergraduate students. So my comment about the long-forgotten faux pas would have been tongue-in-cheek on my part, as would Les’s rebuttal have been on his part.
I got to know Peter Held on several of the University committees; he was a prominent member of the University Council. I remember being pleasantly surprised when he invited me and Kate to a Lichfield Festival concert towards the end of our term of office, that summer. I’ll write up that concert in the fullness of time; I’m pretty sure I have the programme.
I would have written quite promptly to Peter to thank him for his (i.e. Marling Industries’) hospitality. This letter is his thanks for my thanks, with the offer of a little bit of employment insurance tucked in there, which I remember pleasing me when I first saw the letter.
Not that I can really imagine a career in industrial textiles, looking back, but who knows where life might have been taking me back then?
Kate Fricker: “Would you like me to drive, Professor?” Watson Fuller: “No. Why do you ask?”AI actors images provided by DeepAI.
One of my most memorable Keele days, right at the end of my time there. Kate (now Susan) Fricker and I were invited to join the University guest pack at the Lichfield Festival, courtesy of Peter Held of industrial textiles behemoth Marling Industries plc.
Ironically, Marling Industries was best known for seatbelt materials. Ironically, because Kate and I were treated to a rollercoaster ride from Keele to Lichfield with Professor Watson Fuller and Mrs Fuller.
I was very fond of Professor Fuller. And I think he was also fond of us. He’d certainly heaped praise on one of my least challenging pieces of research a few month’s earlier, in his capacity as Chair of Foundation Year Committee:
Professor Fuller was Professor of Physics, so he really should have had a profound grasp of the potential physical effects, were a large object travelling at speed – e.g. a car with four passengers doing 60 mph on a duel carriageway – go out of control and hit something. Yet, he did not seem to have a profound grasp of the steering wheel most of the time, nor did he seem to be paying much attention to the road when, frequently, he turned around to us, waxing lyrical about this, that, or the other.
I suppose, as Fuller was a biophysicist, credited with vital supporting work on X-Ray diffraction with Watson & Crick, that his head was always in far loftier thoughts than mere road safety. Or should I say that driving without paying fuller attention to the road was in Professor Fuller’s DNA.
Mrs Fuller did not look terrified. Perhaps she was used to it. But apparently, on arrival, Kate and I looked a little ruffled. I remember Professor Philip Boden and his good lady taking us aside before the lunchtime concert.
Has Watson offered to take you home after the evening concert? Thought so. Not many people want a second lift from Watson, bless him. Reputation precedes him. Would you like us to rescue you? Thought so. I’ll tell him we’ve invited you back to our place for coffee after the concert. Easiest that we take you back.
We were grateful. And Professor Boden was good to his word, not only giving us a lift home but also providing us with some warm hospitality and enjoyable chat at Chez Boden before taking us home.
To the concerts. First up was a lunchtime concert at St Chad’s Church, Lichfield.
Joseph Haydn – String Quartet No 3, Op 33 (“The Birds”)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – String Quartet in G (K 387)
Very charming it was too. The setting. The fine quartet and the non-challenging nature of the music.
After plenty of hospitality in the afternoon and a migration to the Cathedral, we enjoyed a bigger deal concert in the evening. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, under George Malcolm, supported by András Schiff, Yuuko Shiokawa and Heinz Holliger.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Wind Serenade in C Minor
Alban Berg – Chamber Concerto for Violin, Piano and Winds
George Frideric Handel – Concerto Grosso, Op 3 No 2 in B flat
George Frideric Handel – Music for the Royal Fireworks
I must confess to have struggled with the Alban Berg. Always have, probably always will. The rest was easy listening by serious music standards.
Photo: charles c / Sheet Anchor Baldwins Gate via Wikimedia Commons
Tuesday, 9 July 1985 – Petra’s last day – Rose late – went to Sheet Anchor for lunch – packed etc. went to hospital [to visit Ruth]– cooked Petra Chinese meal etc.
Petra Wilson by the Keele Lakes
Wednesday 10 July 1984 – Packed car – decided to go too –> hospital [to visit Ruth] –> drove down to London with Petra – arrived late – went to Il Carretto for meal (compliments of dad). Petra left late.
Thursday, 11 July 1985 – return to Keele in morning – saw Hayward [Burt] etc in afternoon – went to see Ruth early evening – stayed in after.
Hayward Burt in Barnes L54, occupying what used to be MY chair. Picture by Mark Ellicott
Friday, 12 July 1985 – spent day sorting things out and waiting for Kate [Fricker] – Late – had pleasant dinner etc.
Kate Fricker – picture extracted from Concourse
Kate and I had been invited to the Lichfield Festival by the Keele Court (Senate & Council) grandees. My next piece will set out my memories of that rather special and, at times, hilarious day.
Whose idea was this? Almost certainly Petra’s, not least because she had a car, making such an idea possible. She probably also sensed that mooching around Keele for too many days might not be as good an idea.
My diary recorded the trip and for once I took a few photos. Not too many, mind.
That reads:
Sunday, 7 July 1985 – Brekker [breakfast] – left for lakes – Kendal (jazz lunch). -> Windermere -> Bowness. Drove to Keswick – stayed in pub [The Pack Horse Inn] and went on to meal.
Abbot Hall Park, Kendal. Entrance above, Petra below.Lake Windermere as seen from Bowness, above. Petra at Bowness below.
Monday, 8 July 1985 – breakfast -> town, Bowder Stone -> Honister Pass -> Cockermouth for German lunch -> back [to Keele] another way – got to hospital [to visit Petra’s best friend Ruth] late – returned home, cooked meal
Petra (above) and Me (below) at the Pack Horse Inn, KeswickThe Bowder Stone in the 1890s Public Domain image (colourised).Honister Pass, Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
I remember that short-but-sweet break fondly. It came as a surprise when I realised from the diary that we were only away for the one night. Kids, eh?
…my diary for the next few days has an end of era tone to it.
Saturday, 29 June 1985 – returned through night – slept in – went to town late – cooked John [White] and Petra [Wilson] a meal – John and I did last Sixties [Soul] disco. Went down well.
Sunday 30th of June 1985 – Rose quite early – Ruth’s folks – Petra’s car – breakfast – visited Ruth – Pitty [Graham Pitt] came over for dinner.
John and I have very happy memories of doing those sixties soul discos. It was kind of Pady Jalali (Social Secretary) to award us the end of Festival Week slot as a last hurrah.
If you are wondering what one of our Sixties Soul Discos might have sounded like, please feel free to click the image above – or here – for a YouTube Music playlist curated by me and John in the style of those discos.
Some people described our discos as Northern Soul style, but in truth they were more mainstream than that, not least because Keele’s record collection at that time had few “rare grooves”. Our soul discos always went down well, as confirmed by my assessment in my diary.
Ruth’s Parents, Petra’s Car & Hospital Visits
I have already told the tale of Ruth, Petra’s close friend, having been hit by a car in the street, in a piece named “Something’s Wrong…”
I should hasten to add that Petra was not the errant driver in the Ruth incident, as evidenced by Petra being elsewhere (with me) at the time of the accident. More seriously, Petra proved to be a very constant friend to Ruth during her recovery, in hospital, as my late June/early July diary attests. We (or at least Petra) visited Ruth almost every day, except when we were out of town.
I also remember that Eddie Slade, the Senior Tutor, visited Ruth in hospital to see how she was and to inform her in person that she had won an academic prize that year. A lovely touch, I thought then and still think now.
Eddie Slade – what a good chap.
In truth I remember little about the visit from Ruth’s parents. The fact that I blurt the phrase “Petra’s car” between the phrase “Ruth’s folks” and “breakfast” suggests that something once again happened to (or in) Petra’s car, as part of that expedition. Lost in the mists of time from my memory, that one. It can’t have been as dramatic as our near death experience on the Marylebone Road.
Monday 1 July 1985 – lazyish day – signed on, shops, went to hospital., Cooked Petra meal.
Tuesday 2 July 1985 – easyish day – office briefly – Petra packed – I went to Kate’s [now Susan Fricker] for a while – hospital – cooked Petra a meal etc.
Wednesday, 3 July 1985 – sorted things out – went to hospital – then walk round lakes etc.
Thursday 4 July 1985 – easyish day – rose late – went to Trentham Gardens in afternoon – hospital – dinner etc.
Friday, 5 July 1985 – Easy day – office briefly etc – went to hospital – had dinner – went union and then onto L54 to see John, Hayward etc.
Saturday 6 July 1985 – Rose late – shopped – went to hospital – cooked nice meal etc.
I think Trentham was a bit of a crumbling old ruin back then, but I suppose it was one of the few vaguely local attractions near Keele.
I don’t remember John staying in Barnes L54 at that time, but he must have done. My guess is that John had already given up his flat (room) in town and wanted to stick around Keele a while longer. I’ll also guess that it was Alan Gorman who had departed early and therefore had left space for John to squat in L54 a while.
I had lived in Barnes L54 for two very happy years – Autumn 1982 to Summer 1984.
It was strange visiting that place for the last time – especially with Hayward Burt sitting in MY chair and all – have I mentioned that bit before?
Hayward: yes you have, Ian. Just hand over the keys…
Postscript – Actually my very last visit to L54 was the following week, where I saw Kate, Pady, Hayward and [Chris Spencer] Farm. That evening will have been my last visit:
As a result, Petra and I set off from Keele for London a fair bit later than we had intended.
My personal diary entry skims over the details of this…
…but I remember the hair-raising aspects of this episode very clearly.
We took this trip in Petra’s car, as the idea was to have a Chinese meal in Soho’s Chinatown, see The Dance of Death at the Riverside Studios, and then return to Keele at night. That sort of round trip only makes sense in a car.
It also only really makes sense to do that sort of road trip if you allow plenty of time for the journeys and know your way around London by road. We were more than a little deficient in both of those regards.
Imagine the scene – Petra driving east along the Marylebone Road in Friday afternoon traffic, by which time we realised that we had not allowed enough time to eat before heading out to Hammersmith to see the play. I was trying to work out, by landmark and road sign, where we should turn off for Chinatown…or perhaps we now meant to turn off for Hammersmith…
…to be fair, my directions might have been less than perfect…to be equally fair, Petra’s knowledge of the road layout of the Marylebone Road must also have been less than perfect…
…but in truth, I couldn’t fathom then and certainly couldn’t fathom now how the next bit happened. We continued driving east along the Marylebone Road…on the wrong side of the dual carriageway.
I asked DeepAI to reimagine the scene for us. I did suggest that I should be depicted head down in the crash bracing position, but the technology wouldn’t depict that.
I think I adopted the crash bracing position. For sure I covered my eyes at least and no doubt expressed orally my terror. I vaguely remember Petra saying reassuring stuff like:
Don’t worry, don’t worry. It’ll be OK. I’ll get us out of this.
I think she must have manoeuvred across all of the lanes and turned right onto Judd Street, although how she managed to dodge all of the Friday rush hour traffic while doing that I can barely imagine.
I asked DeepAI at least to show me covering my eyes. Not much joy there. You’ll have to imagine the terrified gestures and sounds for yourselves. Still, thanks to DeepAI for the images
The irony of having diced with death ahead of going to see The Dance Of Death might have been wasted on me then, but it is not wasted on me now.
I also recall how bad the traffic was between Marylebone “Dice With Death” Road and The Riverside Hammersmith, such that we were cutting it fine ahead of seeing The Dance Of Death. But we did make it to the theatre in time and by gosh was it worth the trip and the trauma.
The Dance Of Death by August Strindberg, Riverside Studios
All we had forfeited was one day of Keele Festival week (and nearly our lives), but it transpires that the great Alan Bates gave up a Hollywood movie for the chance to play Edgar in this production. Here is a preview interview piece from The Standard:
I had long wanted to see some Strindberg, having read plenty of it at school and then more during my working summers, when I tended to read plays voraciously while commuting to work. The opportunity to see Alan Bates opposite Frances de la Tour in a Strindberg play, albeit one I hadn’t read at that time, had been enticing to say the least.
That last article reminds me that the production we saw was The Dance Of Death Parts One & Two, barely expurgated, so it ran for a bum-numbing four hours.
That’s FOUR HOURS on those excruciating seats they had in The Riverside Studios back then.
Still, my review of The Dance Of Death was a one-worder:
Excellent
Petra and I will have arrived in Chinatown around midnight, by which time the choice of eateries was limited to say the least – I suspect the choice was either Yung’s or the notoriously and relentlessly rude Wong Kei.
Yung’s in Wardour Street
Extravagantly, and wisely, I plugged for Yung’s, sparing us the indignities and lesser food of Wong Kei. Clearly I thought the meal at Yung’s was very nice as I described it as such in my diary.
I like the diary description “returned through the night” for the drive home, which was, as far as I can recall, relatively incident free.
So was it good manners or post traumatic stress related amnesia that made me miss out the details of the “driving the wrong way along the Marylebone Road” incident from my diary? It’s hard to recall my diary entry mindset, forty years on, although my memory of the incident remains very clear indeed.
