Sunday, February 28, 2010

I remember Ian Trigger, who was in a lunchtime play I went to see with Richard Faulkner and presumably several others at Ed Berman’s InterAction theatre - Richard's brother was their accountant or something... Trigger was excellent but the real reason I remember it – and probably the real reason I went to see it - was that the female lead spent most of the play dressed only in a chastity belt, which if I remember correctly fell off at one point. Or perhaps it wouldn’t come off. Oh yes, I read Ian Trigger’s obituary in The Times the other day.

I remember protecting Bra (=Barbara =my first girlfriend) from the evil clutches of Steve Holness. She fell instead into my evil clutches. It was at a party over Belmont way I believe. I was standing in a doorway and grabbed hold of her and – no matter how hard Steve tried to chat her up – I wouldn't let her go. I bumped into him in the queue at Langley Motors – the motor spares place round our way - when it was still on Oldfields Road quite a few years later.

Monday, February 01, 2010

I remember when I was growing up that the only black man I knew to talk to was Mr ‘Jacko’ Jackson, who ran the garage at Motspur Park. A proper garage with attended petrol pumps, servicing, repairs and so on, it has since been razed to the ground and had offices built on it. He was very jolly, much-loved by locals, and as far as I know retired homewards to Jamaica or Trinidad. Somewhere in that general direction. I don’t think there were any Afro-Caribbean children or teachers in my primary school, or Asians for that matter.

I remember a time when if you missed something on television, you had missed it. Nowadays most programmes seem to be on two or three times – and there is always the internet to fall back on - so there isn’t the sense of occasion that there once was.

I remember going to see West Side Story at the cinema at the top of Sutton (which is now a night club) with Sue Joins, I think that was her name. Alex’s girlfriend.

I remember wanting to do a production of the The Persecution and Assassination of Jean Paul Marat by the Inmates of the Asylum at Charenton under the direction of the Marquis de Sade at school. There were a few of us very keen to do it but we didn’t have much hope. I don’t think we even approached any teachers because we knew there was no way they would let us do it.

I remember wanting to do West Side Story with the Tiffin Arts Society, but David Nield said the music was too difficult, ie we’d have to hire an orchestra, which would cost too much money. And as he was the musical director, we never did do it.

I remember Bernard Lang’s stories, especially the one where he went out to post a letter and didn’t come home for two weeks.

I remember Al Stewart at Les Cousins saying what an amazing acoustic guitar player Pete Townshend was – Pinball Wizard had just come out. And the acoustic guitar work was impressive.