Friends - past & present
This page lists, in no particular order, people that I have known during my lifetime and that have influenced or affected me in some way or other..
Sadly, some of them are no longer with us and others have split-up and gone their separate ways, sometimes keeping in touch, sometimes not but they are still in my mind.
If you are in the list, I would really like to hear from you. Please use the 'contact me' link on this site.
Bill & Bess Jones
Bill & Bess lived in a top floor flat in Tavistock Place.
They were introduced to me around 1969-1970 by a friend from school called Gwyn Parfitt who had helped me with my interest in Amateur & Broadcast Radio when I wanted to learn more about the subject.
They were both from Wales with pretty strong Welsh accents and smoked like chimneys but were lovely people.
Bill helped me design & build my first audio amplifier from bits, including creating the chassis out of a duckhams oil drum! A simple push-pull design using EL84's as the power valves (yes, Valves!)
He also lent me a lot of books to read about electronics etc. and introduced me to the world of Amateur radio (although I never bothered to actually get a call sign). I wish I could remember his. He had the Morse test so was a "G3..."
I used to feel sorry for them as Bill was housebound and used an inhaler and Bess had to carry shopping (& everything else!) up about 6 flights of stairs to their top floor, one-bedroomed flat.
The living room was full of "Ham" radio equipment which, sadly I can't remember the makes of everything. One thing I do remember was the vast aerial array on the roof with a motor to turn it in the direction Bill wished to listen/talk on.
The last entry in my diary was in February 1974 when Bess phoned me to tell me that Bill had died. After that, I visited her a few times and had brief contact with her daughter who, I believe, lived somewhere like Jersey in the Channel Islands and came back to visit her but after that, I'm sad to say I lost contact with her and have no idea where she spent the remaining years of her life.
So sad...
Phil Cranfield
I met phil while on a scout cruise to Scandinavia in 1971.
He was a last-minute substitution for his brother, Peter, who had originally been booked on the trip but couldn't make it.
We became very good friends and used to go out visiting pubs all over the place.
He was, in 1978, the first person I ever went to the Isle of Man with!
He worked for BT and in the 80's, while I was on shift work in London, I used to occasionally travel around with him in the BT van.
His father worked for the water board & lived in a 'company house'. Initially he was at Platts lane reservoir near Hampstead but then moved to Cheshunt in Hertfordshire.
He had two brothers, Pete and Derek.
I'd like to know what he's up to now and where he is living.
John Findlay
John was one of my 'best mates' at Haverstock School.
He lived in Hampstead in New End somewhere but I never visited his family home.
He was also instrumental in getting me to join the Air Cadets - 48F Squadron (Hampstead). There, he was a corporal (& I think he might have been promoted to Sergeant before we left) which made for a strange kind of relationship. 'John' when we were at school but 'Corporal/Sergeant Findlay' on Thursday evenings (at least when Warrant Officer Knowles was around!)
John was strange and secretive in some ways. I never visited his home or met his family but he would often visit me on a Sunday and Mum would always offer him dinner - which he always refused but she put it out anyway and he ate it!
When he left school, it was rumoured that he had left England and gone to work in Launceston in Tasmania although this could have been another example of his secretive character and could still be in the UK somewhere...
I would really like to know where he is now & what he is doing.
Maurice Gardener
Maurice ('Mo') was at Haverstock school at the same time I was (1967-1972) and lived with his family in St. Leonards Sq., just off Malden road in London, NW5.
Would love to know what happened to him too!
Phillip Sweeney
Mick & Shirley O'Sullivan
I first met Mick whilst on a holiday in Blackpool in July 1975 (another story completely). He lived in Cob lane, Burnley and in ? I was best man for him and Shirley.
They had one child called Phillip.
Rick & Sue Cooper
Rick went on to have a successful Gary Glitter impersonation business until Glitter himself fell from fame in the late 90's
Colin & Julie Porter
Although Colin no longer has a bike, he has two children to spend his money on!
Les & Pat Middlewood
Pat was bar manager of 'Bar 10' at the Alexandra Palace beer festival in 1979 which was held in huge marquees after the palace itself had been set alight by a careless workman's discarded cigarette. I was one of the (two) assistant barmen at the time and remember such things as being interviewed by a TV crew (& later turning up on TV in Hong Kong where a friend of mine in the Royal Navy had seen me) and introducing a new beer called 'Woggles, Boy Scout Bitter' which wasn't listed but we needed to get rid of some awful beer which wasn't selling. All highly illegal now but a bit of fun back then (remember when we could all have fun without the Health & Safety nazis or the PC crowd??)John & Lynda O'Flaherty
I met John when I worked in the pcture rtoom, Electra House as part of the Post Office International Telegraphs office. He was a postman who used to collect the pictures we received and took them for despatch to the variuor newspaper offices in Fleet street.
They initially lived in Gravesend, Kent and had two children, Lorraine and Steven.
They moved to the Bournmouth area and John worke don the railway (as a ticket inspector I think!) but after that I lost contact.
The Hemel crowd
Gwyn Parfitt
Gywn was a couple of years older than me but was introduced to me by the school librarian, Mrs Gordon as she knew of my interest in Electronics and that the current school curriculum didn't cover that whereas Gwyn was 'well into it'
He lived with his parents in Hillview Gardens, Hendon NW4.
He was a 'G8' radio ham and we spent a few nights on radio events called 'competitions' at various locations but the one I remember most was at Hampstead Heath Observatory, close to Whitestone pond.
His family were also one of the first I knew that owned a colour TV and I used to go over to watch Star Trek (the original series, obviously!)
Cecilia & John Gordon
'Mrs' Gordon was Haverstock school's librarian where I was one of the pupil librarians.
Of course, apart form the great excuse of being able to go indoors when it was pouring with rain at break times, it also gave me a chance to meet some of the more senior boys who used to study there (see Gwyn Parfitt, above).
I was even sad enough to go in during the school holidays to help with things!