Catching up …with the past

Earlier this month, I confirmed, by looking it up in an old diary I’d kept, that it had been exactly 45 years since I started my first job as a programmer after university. 10 September 1979, with CAP Group, at their offices in High Holborn, London. Sure, I’d had previous “manual” type jobs (working on a local farm to my parents over the previous summer I was getting £1.20 per hour!), but they were not career-defining ones like that first one. If memory serves, I think I started at £4,200 per year, plus £600 London weighting. We had two weeks of training on some kind of PDP 11, using MicroCobol as the language, using 8-inch diskettes, before getting some real work. Ah, memories, memories.

At that time I was living in a bedsit in Herne Hill, London. Next door, in another bedsit, was my friend Alison, who I’d first met in the King’s College Halls of Residence some 3 years earlier. As it happened, when we went to England on vacation in early September we stayed at a rather lovely hotel in Wells, Somerset. And it so happens Wells is where Alison now lives, so of course we had to meet up and have a long chat. It had been over 35 years since we last saw each other, although these days we follow each other on Facebook. Another old friend was there too, staying with Alison: Denese. A fabulous evening! Ah, memories, memories.

Another anniversary for 2024 is the 60th birthday of my Volvo 1800S. From the chassis number on the identification plate, it was probably built in February 1964, and was sold to its first owner in Alabama in August 1964. So I’ll have to pop open a bottle of champagne and share it with the car…

And then a friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was celebrating 40 years in the theatre. Of course, at that point, I had to go check my personal theatre history: my first part was in A Murder is Announced for the Dulwich Players in – wait for it… – January 1984! So this year I’ve been acting and directing for 40 years too! Wowza.

Of course, thinking back to those very early days acting in London, I had to go look through what parts I’d had and to see if I could remember anyone. There was one person in particular who really helped me in my early acting career, Jenny Gammon. As far as I remember she was a professional actor on stage, but decided to give it up, get married, and have children. Instead of pursuing the professional career she would help out with local amateur dramatics groups such as the Dulwich Players, and the South London Theatre in West Norwood, either acting, directing or helping out back stage. We first acted together in Bedroom Farce in October 1987 and I was completely fascinated by how she approached her part and how it fitted into the production. I loved her. She was talented, graceful, and we’d get into bed together on stage and pretend to sleep. I think I saw her for the last time in late 1992, maybe 1993, at the South London Theatre just before I came to the States. In googling around, I was devastated to learn she’d died on 21 February this year. I am heartbroken.

Playing: Shameless by Groove Armada, with Bryan Ferry. Ever since I first heard this track, the Bryan Ferry lyrics and vocals just grabbed me. “And the way we were / Fatefully entwined / In a shameless world”.

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