Sir Clement Freud

I am immensely saddened by the news that Sir Clement Freud has died.

Something not mentioned in the Telegraph piece today was that he was a director of the Playboy Club in London before it’s demise due to a licensing wrangle many years ago.

I once worked for Playboy, part of the team responsible for opening a number of new venues across the UK in the 1970’s. We had just opened the Portsmouth Club and as a PR exercise had sponsored the Miss Southsea Pagent. I was tasked with organising the event and was the MC for the heats and the final. ‘Clem’ was invited to head the team of judges for the final.

I used to smoke in those days and my favourite ‘weed’ was Gauloise. He, on the other hand, had recently given up smoking and was in that difficult transitional period when he could not abide the smell of cigarette smoke around him.

Nervous as hell I was chain smoking back stage when it came time to brief the the great man for the final round of competitor questions and the crowning of the winner.

I was roundly chastised in that wonderful voice and intonation. I was so annoyed at the time that I forgot my nervousness and did a fairly creditable job as MC as a result.

On a lighter side, I did get to drive his car – one of 6 (I think) race prepared Ford Capri GT’s that never made it to the track but were bought up by enthusiasts, Sir Clement being one of them.

30 years ago and a little bit of my life.

Safe journey Sir ‘Clem’.

Hullo!

So, I’ve started a blog. I never though I would. But as I get older and I have more time to sit back and view what goes on in the world from a distance then I find myself more inclined to voice an opinion or a make a suggestion or simply comment on something that’s happened.

Maybe it’s advancing old age and senility – who knows?

Over the last couple of years I’ve posted on Internet forums and in the ‘what’s your view’ columns of various on-line newspapers. The problem with such forums is that your carefully crafted piece disappears within a day or so – never to re-appear again. Also, it rarely gets read properly – readers tend to cherry pick the bits they like or (more often) dislike and concentrate their responses on that rather than what you are trying to say as a whole.

A blog, as I see it, opens up one’s thoughts and feelings to a much more diverse group of readers and it stays visible for as long as the author wants.

As you will see from my profile, the first ten years of my working life were spent ‘customer facing’ as an officer on the big passenger ships of the Orient Line sailing from the UK to ports around the world. With that as my background and now with several hundred thousand air-miles under my belt, my current focus of attention is on the airline industry and what passengers get for their money so there will be an item or three on that thorny subject for sure.

I have many other concerns and opinions and many of them will surface at some time or other.

I have lived in many places in the world and I have met and lived amongst a lot of interesting people.

I have done things in my life that many people would dearly love to do themselves but whose life circumstances have denied them the opportunity.

It’s a lifetime of memories and experience that I want to share along with occasional ‘pearls’ of wisdom. I hope you enjoy it.