1969-1974
Berkeley Square – A
Penthouse
A Room with a View
Berkeley
Square House
From Downstairs to
Upstairs
Yes it’s true – we moved from our rather dark and dingy 2nd floor flat into a brand new state of the art penthouse in Berkeley Square. The owners of the Berkeley Square House had decided to build new 5 Star offices on some of the buildings flat roof areas. And in their wisdom (or madness) one of these new builds would be given to the property manager as his accommodation.
The
Penthouse Flat was fitted out with the very best of kitchen, bathroom
facilities. There was a large sitting room looking out over a vast panoramic
view west over the rooftops of Mayfair, the Hilton Hotel standing tall
and the tree tops of Hyde Park in the distance. There were 3 spacious bedrooms
– mine looking south to Green Park, Piccadilly, the Ritz and St James Park.
I remember the excitement as it was built. We would 'visit' it from our 2nd Floor Flat, admire its development. And in due course it was finished and we moved in with a flourish.
This was to
be the place of my adolescence
LONDON in the 1970s
LONDON in the 1970s
A time of
huge personal change
Moving
from child to adult
An invisible
momentous evolution
A Rite of
Passage
From 12
to 15 Years
Over the
next 5 years I would:
Meet Peter
and understand true friendship
Listened to the Beatles rooftop concert in 1969
Discover and
Obsess over Sex
Learn the
meaning of ‘Camp’
Browse Hamelys
Browse Hamelys
Develop a
lifelong disinterest in competitive sport
But Peter & I did like swimming - Marshal Street Baths Soho
Hours wandering through Carnaby Street
But Peter & I did like swimming - Marshal Street Baths Soho
Hours wandering through Carnaby Street
Develop a
lifelong love of Musicals and Old Movies
Read Lord of the Rings at least 20 times
Join the Oval
Theatre Club
Run by Joan
Mills
Act in a
Play at the Royal Court
Experience the immortal
creation of Wendy House
Do well
at my O’Levels
Go to the
Rocky Horror Show dozens of times
Do badly
at my A’Levels
Drink too
much too often
Experiment
with Drugs
See Pink
Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Hawkwind, the Pink Fairies - all live
Obsess
over Girls, fall in love and have my heart broken – albeit briefly.
Frequently watch
Classical music from a Box at the Royal Albert Hall
And Laugh
– I laughed a lot in those busy 5 years between 1969 to 1974
Of all
these events I shall say more in due course
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