50 years ago today (Tuesday 13 October 2026), a Man With a Van took me and all my worldly belongings packed into a couple of tea chests (remember them? – they used to be compulsory) from Manchester to London via a number of markets on roughly the east side of the country.
At the time, I was a second year probation officer living in a bedsit in an old vicarage in Miles Platting which was then being run as a Family Service Unit.
Sue was a second year probation officer living a tatty but rather wonderful garden flat in West Kensington.
After a very rocky relationship over a couple of years we had decided to do the drastic thing of moving in together. I have to say that I was a lot more convinced than she was. You could describe her as being “tentative ” and I felt I had to tiptoe around her a bit.
Anyway the MWaV was a really nice, hippyish sort of guy who had a regular run delivering to craft-based market traders, and took on part-loads when there was room in the van. In this case I myself featured as a part-load and he charged me a very fair price.
We had a pleasant almost leisurely ride down to London but when we arrived at Sue’s place I discovered to my horror that I’d lost the keys to the flat. Searched everywhere, turned the tea chests inside out – not one key! What a total downer on this restart of a beautiful romance.
Had to phone Sue at work and get her to bring her keys. She was not happy. She practically threw them at me, turned on her heels and went back to work.
Still at least that left me with 49 years to put things right…
