***London***
| Healthcare Shakespeare's Head Claridges |
| Selfridges, Hamleys and Harrods |
| Callan School Of English |
It was while working at BT in Grimsby that I received an enquiry for a number in France that lead to my working at Healthcare magazine. The customer commented on my French ability and mentioned his interest in Chinese which also interested me. This lead the conversation to which line he was in and ultimately an invite to the company offices the following Monday which, because I was in Grimsby, wasn't really possible.
I had a telephone interview and started in May. The job was quite interesting as I had the opportunity to hassle, if I could get past the secretary, corporate managers 'n' stuff, and people like Anita Roddick's hubby! Unfortunately After the initial four weeks the job was commission only. This was not so good as up unitl this point I'd only sold a quarter page advert for a stairlift. I'd been pressing Nestles for a double page spread about a nutritional meal replacement powder for about a week but they were umming and ahh-ing. I had to find alternative employment as no wages meant no rent, food, etc.. and as I'd only gone to London with a few hundred pounds I was in a tricky position.
Click here to return to the top of the page
In early 1985 I was offered a job selling advertising space for 'Healthcare' Magazine. As I'd just broken up from a major relationship I decided to make a bit of a break and move to London. Moving down to London was one of the best decisions I've ever made. London is, in my opinion, one of the greatest cities on Earth.
I had to find a job fast, so I went to one of the more famous places in London that everybody knows and tourists would go to - 'Oxford Circus'. I came out of the underground and just followed the tourists. I followed them to Carnaby Street which was, before my time, one of the 'hippest' and 'hippiest' streets in London in the sixties. This place was apparently perennially flooded with tourists so I walked into one of the first pubs I came to 'The Shakespeare's Head'. After climbing over the tourists I asked the manageress,"Do you get many tourists here?" She looked at me a little strangely and replied that she did to which I added "Ah, well I speak German, French and Spanish. Do you have any jobs?"
Without too much surprise I started later that week. I stayed there far too long (5 months) although the work was hard, the hours long, and the pay low I did enjoy my time there and it allowed me to stay in London. I found a lot of personal growth during this time.
It was the death of my Grandfather, George Price whom I loved dearly and will miss always, in the late summer of '95, that told me to stop treading water and spurred me onto finding something better.
Click here to return to the top of the page
Click here to see some of the people I worked with at The Shakespeares Head
With the help of the second manager I worked for at the Shakespeare's Head (a really great bloke named Frank), I moved on to work at Claridges. Unfortunately this term of Employment was not so long and I only lasted three weeks working with the mincing foyer manager (What? you got something against Northeners? Even though I showered two lady clients with twenty pounds worth of champagne when my tray tipped over (my only tip that day) I did manage to serve Constantine, the ex-king of Greece with no mishaps and an 'efharisto' to boot.
Click here to return to the top of the page
In the January of '96 I went back North to study my TESOL in Hull returning three months later to resume work for Vizi at Selfridges and Harrods.It was while working at Harrods that I met Takka Hashimoto, who started working there the same day as myself and whom I later visited in his native Tokyo in '97.
Click here to return to the top of the page
Click here to return to the top of the page
After the untimely termination of my employment at Claridges I started working for a Toy company named Vizi demonstrating their toys in such prestigious places as Selfridges of Oxford Street (which is a crazy place to work at Christmas) and Hamleys Toy Store in Regent St.
Click here to see some of the people I worked with at Selfridges
Whilst working at these places I started checking out the possibilities for working as an English teacher in London. In June I started working at the Callan School of English, Oxford St. I was only there a month when I left the UK to start teaching English in South Korea.
