[Editor notes: I have found a selection of photos from a holiday my dad took with three of his Cambridge pals. He doesn't refer to it in the memoir, but the trip may have occurred after graduation in 1957. Although these photos are out of sync with the current blog posts, I though it would be good to share them.]
Graduating from Emmanuel College Cambridge in 1957. Accompanied by my parents plus my sister, Betty.
A trip to the Lake District with Cambridge friends: Waleed El Hashimi, Anthony Hidden and Roy Lander.
For Eileen, the most significant event on the horizon was her first appearance on local television, due in January. Long before we met, she had successfully auditioned with the producers of The Big Show, George and Alfred Black. The live show was to mark the opening of Tyne Tees Television and it included a number of famous names in the entertainment business at the time, including Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, Jimmy James and the impresario, Jack Parnell.
Eileen would be singing the "Habanera" from the opera Carmen accompanied by a full ensemble of chorus and dancers in authentic Spanish costume and a full stage set. She had always said that her ambition was to sing Carmen on TV and this was soon to be realised.
I remember going to the studios with her for one of the rehearsals before the building work was even completed. Rehearsals were only arranged for Eileen's number and one or two of the dance routines. Much of the programme involved stars who would be appearing live on the night.
To see the show on TV, I was invited to Eileen's home in Wallsend so I could watch with the whole family. There were no facilities to record television programmes at home. (It was 30 years later that Eileen was finally able to obtain a copy of the recording from the Tyne Tees archives and see her own performance from that night).
If you can't see the video above, please click on this link:
We were all thrilled with her performance and I felt like one of the family as we waited for her to come home after the programme was broadcast. There was so much excitement and shouts of congratulations as she came through the door.
After the excitement had died down, I found myself alone with Eileen outside the back door for a few minutes. She needed someone to help her climb down from the high she had been on for several hours in the TV studios. She turned to me for support and I realised for the first time my true feelings towards her. Our embrace that night became a milestone in our relationship.
........................................
To appreciate this story from my mum, Eileen's perspective, here are her words to describe The Big Show.
"Tyne Tees Television, a regional commercial station for the North East of England, began broadcasting in January 1959, from a converted warehouse in Newcastle near to the River Tyne.
A live show for the opening night was planned months before when famous impresarios George and Alfred Black, who produced shows in London and Blackpool, held local auditions. I was chosen to perform the "Habanera" from Carmen: I think I was the only Geordie to appear. Other famous faces on the show were Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna and Bill Maynard plus countless performers and comedians who were famous names in the 1950s.
The atmosphere backstage was exciting yet rather stressful for the producers at times. I found the rehearsals fascinating, getting the chance to sing with a big orchestra when I was more familiar with a piano accompaniment. I remember there was a big fuss concerning hair and make-up: they had a great deal of trouble trying to get my hair to set, constantly washing and re-setting the curls until someone noticed they had been using hand cream instead of setting lotion.
I thoroughly enjoyed my song, supported by the wonderful Malcolm Goddard Dancers. I wasn’t at all nervous though I remember developing a massive headache after the performance.
We had rehearsed a grand finale with all the performers walking down to take their bows but as this was a live show, it over-ran and the curtain came down rather too promptly before the show had finished.
I saw this video for the first time in 1989, 30 years after the show was aired, when someone from Tyne Tees gave me a copy. I shed a few tears looking back at myself as a young woman of 24 but I was immensely proud and felt very fortunate that I had a memento of one very special night"
The following week was hectic as Eileen and I attended the Rag Review, the Rag Dance on the Friday night (all night!) followed by the Rag Procession on the Saturday morning where she joined me on the departmental float through the town, collecting money for charity. We learned a lot about each other during Rag Week and neither of us were lost for words.
By the end of the packed week, however, I felt I needed to stand back for a while and return to my usual routine. This was my last year of study and I was beginning to consider where I was going to find a job. At that time I had no thoughts about staying in Newcastle and newly-qualified architects found it fairly easy to find work in those days.
I also realised that Eileen had a busy life. She was part of a closely-knit family, with a social life and working environment totally different to my own. My world had been turned upside down in a few days but, like a real cad, I didn't make any arrangements for another date. In the following weeks I thought about her a lot and, working side by side with Chris, and seeing him with Eileen's sister, Maria, these thoughts were kept alive.
Some weeks later Chris approached me with an invitation to a concert at the City Hall in Newcastle, where Eileen was appearing along with the well-known Scottish tenor, Kenneth McKellar. I didn't hesitate in accepting the invitation by ringing Eileen at work. Mind you, I was made to sit up and take notice when she answered the phone with the words, "Hello David!"
The concert in November was a sell-out and there was Eileen's name in the programme as a guest artist. She had booked a row of seats in the front stalls for her family and close friends plus me and another young man unknown to me at the time. Apparently Eileen wanted to put us next to each other but the family wouldn't let her get away with it.
I soon realised Eileen was an accomplished singer with professional confidence already built up over a few years. Her mezzo-soprano trained voice was superb and she had the looks to match, dressed in evening wear that sparkled in the theatre lights.
The star of the show, McKellar, sang the songs for which he was famous, mostly Scottish ballads, but he could not overshadow Eileen's performance. As a local singer she had plenty of support as she sang numbers including "This is my Lovely Day", "Granada" and "If I Loved You".
After the concert I met Eileen's family backstage in her dressing room and then I was left to spend some time alone with her. It was a lot for me to take in at the time. This young woman, 24, the same age as me, and yet a star in her own right. It was difficult to appreciate how she was feeling after the high of a public performance and how she needed to wind down before going home. So we walked through the Newcastle streets, chatting about ordinary things from family and work. It was clear that she loved her family including her younger sisters and little brother, who was only 11 at the time.
As there was nowhere to sit inside at 10pm apart from a few rough city pubs, we ended up opposite the Central Station drinking hot coffee at a mobile drinks stand. We were joined by the concert compere, comedian Fran Dowie, who was waiting for the next train down to London. After the glamour of the entertainment business, this was a bit of a come-down.
From now on I was to experience a life outside university and have the opportunity to enjoy female company to balance the all-male world of the architecture department and the flat. Eileen and I went out together from time to time over the next few weeks and got to know each other better.
October 1958. My dad was continuing his architecture degree at Newcastle University after his three years in Cambridge...
Arrangements were made by my fellow student, Ken, through his girlfriend, Valerie, for me to meet one of her nursing colleagues at SNEC (Saturday Night Entertainment Committee at Newcastle University). We set off for the Union and made straight for the Bun Room and the bar because I needed a bit of Dutch courage.
What I didn't know at the time was that in the far corner of the room sat another architecture student colleague of mine, Chris Rainford, with his wife, Maria and her sister, Eileen Brennan. Although they had spotted us as we walked in, Ken hadn't noticed Chris in the tightly packed room. After downing a pint of beer, we decided to move up to the lounge bar to meet up with Valerie and her friends. Chris, Maria and Eileen had seen us move and decided to follow us with a view to meeting up. I can, of course, now reveal that Eileen had expressed a wish to meet us but that is her story!
For my part, I was preparing myself for my blind date with a second pint of beer, when in walked Eileen with Chris and Maria. I was now in a position to see who was walking towards the bar. I had met Maria before, however Eileen took me by surprise. She was not only very attractive but stunningly dressed, setting her apart from the crowd. Her sophistication and poise were immediately evident with her raven hair, closely-fitted black and white checked dress and high-heeled shoes. I took in all this in a matter of seconds from a distance of several yards across the room.
Eileen in 1958.
By this time Ken was on his feet, inviting the other group over. After introductions, we settled around the table. Eileen and I soon got into animated conversation. I discovered she had a professional career as a trained singer as well as working as a tracer in an engineering research station.
At the end of the evening I took my chance and invited Eileen to the Rag events the following week. She accepted and there began our tentative relationship which ultimately blossomed over the next few months.
I don't think I ever did see the nurse I was supposed to meet.
Before I left for home that summer of 1958 I was lucky enough to join my friend Ken Appleby in a rented house he shared with two other students, one of whom was moving away to take up his first job. This was my first experience of living with other people - Ken, a fellow architecture student and Tony French, a Londoner, studying economics.
The property was an end-of-terrace house in Bowsden Terrace, South Gosforth. We paid rent of £3 a week to the landlord, a retired widower who lived not very far away but who had not been seen for a few years as generations of students had continued to pay the rent.
You could loosely describe the house as furnished and, needless to say, re-decoration was almost non-existent, except where various students had experimented with dubious artistic ideas.
The bathroom had been painted with pale yellow gloss, including the bath, basin and WC. It was rather the worse for wear when I arrived. The walls were decorated with erotic photographs which had been allowed to remain gathering dust over the years. It wasn't very hygienic..
Neither was the kitchen. Action Painting was all the rage at the time and as architectural students dominated the occupancy, the urge to decorate the kitchen in the manner of Jackson Pollock was too strong to resist. The general condition of the furniture left a lot to be desired and cleanliness was not high on the list of priorities. We did have a cleaning lady who came in every weekday but she wasn't able to do very much to improve things. We most probably paid her £1 a week to wash the dishes and whip round with a duster. Her name was Mrs Blacklock, although Ken insisted on calling her Mrs Backlog.
My room was on the ground floor wedged between the bathroom and a plumber's shop. I was able to hear all the comings and goings from the shop, often woken early in the morning to the clanking of copper pipes and other plumbing materials being collected for a day's work, plus a lot of choice language thrown in.
The bathroom was quite convenient but I ended up being the message boy when Ken and Tony were using the facilities - they both lived upstairs and had girlfriends who visited regularly.
My room furniture consisted of a double steel-framed bed with open springs and a thinly stuffed mattress. There were a couple of old '40s armchairs, an upright chair and a drawing table which had seen better days and had slats missing so pens and pencils constantly ran off onto the floor. There was no heating in the room apart from an open fireplace if I felt like buying in some coal - which I did on one special occasion.
Our communal living room was a hub of verbal (but not physical) activity. The focal point was a tiled fireplace and an old gas fire. Tony was the smoker but he was preceded by others who had habitually thrown their tab ends into the fireplace and stained the tiles. To the right of the fire was a cupboard crammed full of old newspapers hoarded by previous occupants and left to turn yellow. On a side wall was a rather fine roll-top desk, the only decent piece of furniture in the house. My record player was plugged into an old radio, which provided the only source of entertainment.
A large dirty sofa dominated the room from where the cigarette butts were tossed and, so I'd been told, darts thrown at the occasional mouse which might emerge from the corner cupboard...
After three years at Cambridge, I had to decide where to continue my studies in order to pass the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) final examination to qualify as an architect. My tutor, Alex Hardy, had recommended the Durham University School of Architecture based in Newcastle upon Tyne (the two universities became separate entities in 1963). I had attended an interview earlier that year and was accepted to join the fourth year in Newcastle.
In the first few weeks I experienced a big change in my lifestyle. I had to live in digs in South Gosforth, a bus ride away from the university, and share a bed-sit with another chap who wasn't a student. The landlady was old and rather frail and the meals, though hot, were not particularly appetising. I was very impressed with the university itself: King's College and the central courtyard area consisted of buildings dating from the 19th century.
{I am proud to say that some twenty-odd years later I was to see my own son study at Newcastle University. To have had the opportunity to study at two universities and then have my two children attend each of them, is indeed fortunate}
The centre of Newcastle in 1957 was lively: plenty of pubs between the university precinct and the quayside. All the main streets had overhead electric power cables which had once been used to run trams but had been replaced by trolley buses. The jewels in the architectural crown were the classical streets created by architect John Dobson and builder Richard Grainger including Grey Street, Grainger Street, Market Street and Collingwood Street. This was 19th century town planning at its best, particularly the gentle sweep of Grey Street with the façade of the Theatre Royal.
The accommodation for fourth year architecture studies was a temporary block to the rear of the main buildings, known as 'the huts': pre-cast concrete-framed units similar to temporary classrooms. The lack of insulation meant that as soon as the heating was turned off, they rapidly became very cold in winter. It was therefore very difficult to work late in such conditions. However the atmosphere among the students was relaxed and friendly. Of course most of them had studied together for three years already. There were only two other newcomers: Ken Appleby who was returning to Newcastle after his National Service and Ralph Baldwin who had studied part-time and was now studying full-time in order to qualify.
The winter of 1957 soon progressed into the spring and summer of 1958 so it was possible to work in the studio longer into the evenings and the temptation grew to find some open air and exercise in the day. Ralph also had some rowing experience so we went out in a pair and towards the end of the summer even entered into the Durham University regatta on the River Wear. This was my only diversion and thankfully didn't encroach on my work.
My main design project at the end of the summer term was a Civic Centre for Carlisle. I remember the final weeks before the scheme had to be submitted - we were working well into the night in the hut and I decided not to shave until it was finished. It is the only time in my life that I have grown 'designer stubble'. We were kept awake every night with two long-playing records supplied by one of the students and they are firmly embedded in my memory. One was Frank Sinatra's Songs for Swinging Lovers and the other was one by Ella Fitzgerald. My appreciation of popular music was influenced by these two performers even though they got on my nerves that final week!
On the Saturday morning, after submitting the scheme, I headed straight for the barber's and had a wet shave and haircut before going to the student's union for a well-earned hot meal.
The second week of my Scandinavian summer studying modern architecture was based in Sweden, taking the ferry from Copenhagen to Malmö. We spent a couple of nights in a large modern sports hall which had been sub-divided into individual bed spaces by means of temporary screens to provide for itinerant students and tourists looking for cheap accommodation. The building itself was, again, ahead of its time with a wide span roof covering space for special courts for tennis, football, basketball etc (indoor sports arenas were unknown in this country for another 20 years). I can remember very clearly lying in my bed looking up at the vast ceiling peppered with circular roof lights and large sodium light fittings.
Gondolen restaurant suspended from footbridge. StockholmPhoto 1956
Malmö provided us with many examples of new housing schemes with brightly coloured rendered walls and simple but superbly constructed timber windows. However it was Stockholm which provided the biggest surprise. it was like walking into the city of the future when compared to the UK at the time. Apart from many modern buildings the really impressive feature was its integrated public transport system and the effective segregation of pedestrian and vehicle circulation. We found student accommodation outside the city in a beautiful woodland setting constructed in high quality timber, similar to the traditional houses typical of suburban and country areas all over Scandinavia.
The overall impression of Sweden was one of cleanliness and orderliness. To some degree, as Sweden had declared itself neutral during World War II, it escaped bombing and occupation unlike its neighbours Denmark and Norway. It was clear in the 1950s that relationships were, to say the least, strained. Much rebuilding was required after the war in occupied countries, notably Norway, because of the Nazis 'scorched earth' policy. Lack of funds in Norway compounded the problem. Sweden, on the other hand, was able to develop its economy unhindered.
Before returning home we travelled overland to Gothenburg. The accommodation was more traditional bed and breakfast but comfortable. We were left more on our own here but were still able to visit several new buildings in the outer areas including housing schemes similar to those in Denmark and elsewhere in Sweden.
Family terrace houses, Nockebyhov near Stockholm Photo 1956
Götaplatsen, Gothenburg showing Museum of Art (1922) and Concert Hall (1935) Photo 1956
Ribershus 'housing estate' , Malmö (built 1937-1943) Photo 1956.
Malmö Opera and Music Theatre (built 1933-1944) Photo 1956
