That first Day - Valerie and Me

So, the weekend comes and is it a great one. Firstly, on Saturday evening, I have a ticket for the Royal Festival Hall where I am going to see Count Basie and his Band - all on my own. This was a fantastic event and one that I still remember clearly.

Now, Sunday I can't remember too clearly - well not the main part of the day anyway. Anthony, whose car it was, had a light blue Austin 1100 so it was cosy in there with three of us. The event took place around Watford but I can't remember where we met, how we got to the area or anything. The car rally was the usual type - you get a clue and off you go. Find the right place, get a clue, and so on. Eventually this ends and we are all going home. I must have asked Valerie if she would like to come home with me, which she did. Now this was quite amazing due to the geography of our two homes. I lived in South London, some 7 miles from the River Thames. Valerie lived in Romford, some 14 miles out to the east on the north side of the river - nothing trivial then. Remember that I was 18 at the time and she was 16.  I, at least knew where Romford was because my previous girl friend lived in Stratford, east London, on the way to Romford by train. I am sure that Valerie didn't have a clue where Streatham was but she came anyway. I was obviously not fazed by introducing her to my parents. Hi Mum, Hi Dad, this is the girl I met today! Can you imaging that happening now?

So we get on the underground and off we go. We get home and introduce her to everyone and then we get to sit in the front room on our own. Some time later (politeness being my second name) we have some tea and decide that she must go home. This involves a bus to Tooting Broadway, a tube to The Bank, and a change to the Central Line for a tube to Liverpool Street Station. There I put here on a train to Romford (Ladies only compartment of course). She then has to get a bus from Romford Station to the top of her road and then a 1/2 mile walk to her house. I repeat, Valerie is 16 at this time! However, things were different then. I, of course, had a season ticket to the Bank as I did this journey every day to work. Thus, I got back on the tube and wended my way home.

What a day!

So She Finally Appears!

To say that my life changed on the day that I went on a car rally is to understate the event by enormous proportions. I had better start at the beginning.

My relationship with Barbara Dingle came to an end some time during mid-1963 and for a good time I enjoyed the life of a free agent. I can't really remember how life was different but it must have been seeing as how I had been going out with her for about 18 months. Be that as it may, we move rapidly on to September 1963.

There are two facts that have to be understood. September was the month when all of the new employees started work - having left school in the July and enjoyed one last summer holiday without work. The other fact was that as a generous employer, The District Bank had a subsidised canteen up on the top floor of the building in Cornhill. All the staff, nominally, had a lunch break plus a tea break in the morning and afternoon.

One day, I am sitting up there with some colleagues and the girls in the Clearing department all troop in - the new ones shy and giggling of course. For a few days nothing much happens but suddenly I am aware that I am looking at one of the new girls and that, believe it or not, she is looking at me.

Step back a bit for some background. The Clearing department was where all of the cheques paid in by customers of the bank throughout the country were dealt with. Each branch sent in a bag of cheques. These were all sorted (by hand in the early days of this period) into piles for the other banks and taken down to the Banker's Clearing House in Lombard Street. All the bags were swapped over and the messengers came back with bags of cheques drawn on our branches. These all had to be sorted into piles for each branch and then posted off before the close of day. As this was the sole purpose, like a lot of bank activities at that time, if the work was completed then everyone went home. The girl had joined this department and thus was wont to leave at odd times during the afternoon. My department was joined to hers and there was a door between the two. I sat directly by this door and thus was able to monitor the leaving time directly, should I ever have a need.

Now, at that time, I was friendly with a range of people from other departments and one in particular had asked me to join him on the coming Sunday when the District Bank Motoring Club had a Car Rally event taking place. An ideal activity for a new liaison - in someone else's car - all members of the same bank office and others to talk to if the going got rough. I put a plan together. On the Tuesday afternoon, I made sure that the door was open between the departments and gave careful watch on the activities. As soon as I saw movement to go home, I had to be ready. I saw her walk towards the exit of the department towards the lift. I ran around through our department to meet her from the other direction - as if we met naturally. "Hello", says I, "I am David and I wondered if you would like to come on a car rally this Sunday". Amazingly, she said yes and just as she was getting in the lift, I suddenly thought to ask her name - Valerie!