Looking Back: Sheffield Girl - The First 19¾ YEARS

THE WHOLE SIXTIES THING

The Christine Keeler Affair - and it's happening all around me! CK and MRD are using the hotel as a bolt-hole. As I leave the hotel, a waiting photographer mistakes me for Mandy Rice-Davis - and coincidently, I'm being chased by Rafi Shaul, one of the El-Al crew, the man who later became her husband...

I go on the 'Going Up' panel on 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' with the 'Oil give it foive' girl, Janice Nicholls, and meet all my favourite stars. Mike Sarne 'chats me up'. The Clyde Valley Stompers, a very popular jazz group of the time, are also on the show, I get to know Ian, the bass player, and we start dating...

Gene Pitney comes often to the hotel, we are getting on famously, many of his fans ring up to speak to him, they chat to me as well, and I make lots of new friends through Gene, in particular a girl called Kathy. We start to meet for lunch and become very good friends. She wants to go on 'Thank Your Lucky Stars'. I help with the arrangements and go to the studios with her too. Also on the panel is a young lady called Diana Varda, and we all become good friends, we discover that she is secretary to Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles! Presenter Brian Matthew, invites me back on to the show the following week!

I discover that well known comedian, Benny Hill, lives across the road from where I live - we meet most Sunday mornings on the way to the newsagent in Gloucester Road - he is surprisingly shy!

Demonstrations, rail strikes and too much snow all help London to come to a standstill - during these events Ashley Court almost bursts at the seams with extra stay-overs, resulting in all night parties - great fun!

Great excitement - England wins the World Cup and London goes crazy, the atmosphere is unbelievable...

A whistle-stop holiday around the continent (my first holiday abroad) and I fall in love with the mountains and valleys of Switzerland - and I want to work there! I waste no time, and soon, with the help of Eugen's family, I'm off to start work in St Gallen, Switzerland!

One month later - Eugen arrives - and everyone thinks we've eloped! But six months later, and he's moved on to Holland.

I stay in Switzerland for almost a year, Jenny and I correspond throughout, and finally decide we want to see more of the world, we are going to buy an old van, convert it, and travel on a shoe string. But we have to save some money first, and I'm not going to be able to do that for as long as I live in Switzerland. So here I am, back at the Stratford Court - weird!........but nice to see Gene again. We re-new our friendship, he's a great one for playing practical jokes - especially on me, but, with the help of friends Jenny and Dennis, we plan to play a really good one on him...

Mary Quant is the designer of the moment - and Biba, in Kensington Church Street, is the place to shop. Hemlines go up to an amazing level! Hair is worn short and cut diametrically (but not mine!) False eyelashes are now so long and thick it's a wonder we can see!

I need somewhere to stay after my return from Switzerland, and for a while I share a flat with Pat & Dickie, friends of Jenny's - however did Mum work out that they are two fellers?

Eventually go back to live in Ashley Court and meet up again with Benny Hill. We become friends - and fall out! But he gets his own back - for perpetuity...

The plans that Jenny and I had made for travelling around the world are not working out quite as we'd hoped. So Jenny suggests we become airline stewardesses and see the world that way! Strangely, it does not really appeal to me, so Jenny goes it alone.

I'm now yearning to see Switzerland again - and plan a week's holiday in St Gallen, but finding Eugen is there - stay for another week! On my return, I receive an invitation to go to New York - and find the world is a very small place...

I have met the man I shall eventually marry - but it's a long and rocky road.......and he's very unhappy about all my plans to travel.

Life at Ashley Court is great fun, various groups have formed, we meet up, usually in one of the rooms shared by three people, (which are ridiculously large) where we drink coffee, listen to records, chat, argue and discuss until the early hours of the morning. Going on 'pub crawls' is also becoming a bit of a habit!

Meet up again with Peter, the man I adored as a gauche fifteen year old - and he can hardly believe the change...but by now I'm engaged and he's still married...

Copyright © Freda Brown.