WE WILL MEAT AGAIN !

Sometimes a person comes into your life at an early age and their influence travels with you throughout your years.

Jill Hawkins is such a person.

I knew Jill well before my pre-teen years as we grew up together in Bideford.

Her mother was a ward sister at the hospital where dad worked.

Our paths were to separate and then cross again over the years and her influence has certainly helped me to make sense of those moments in life when one needs to adopt a pure “business-like approach to matters.”

We both went to the same secondary modern school but Jill then went on to attend the local girl’s college Edgehill.

Just before I moved to Wellington, Jill and her mum moved to London, where Jill gained a place at the Wimbledon Art College.

Her next move was to obtain a position with the Victoria and Albert Museum, working in their Library. This gave her an insight into the methodical processes involved in organising and cataloguing material.

Jill had always maintained a great love of film and entertainment in general and her experience at the V&A helped to land her a dream job — working in the BBC television archives.

After a few years working her way up the ladder Jill was appointed as the Head of the whole Archives, at that time based in the Brentford area of London. I was so proud — she had become number one in a profession that had always been so dear to her heart.

I remember one day when I made a trip to the BBC at Windmill Road in London to see her and she took me on a guided trip around the archives. There were racks of film canisters stacked in canyon-like aisles and I felt that I was literally “walking through history.”

You can see a video tour of those archives below.

A few months after my visit to London I received an exciting call from Jill.

She announced that her time at Brentford had come to an end and she was moving on. She was to be deployed to the United States to open a US based library. Her initial base was to be New York City.

I have of course visited her in New York on several occasions but there is one visit which I will always remember.

I arrived at her apartment in the late afternoon and she immediately asked if I would join her and another female work colleague, Freddie, for dinner that night.

I declined saying that I was very tired and hot after my flight and that, in the words of comedian Tony Hancock in his famous radio ham sketch, “my ears felt like a pair of braised lamb cutlets.”

Now Jill burst out laughing at this, which I though was very odd as, yes it was funny, but not that funny.

Let me now fast forward a few days to a special day, my birthday.

Jill told me to meet her at her office because she was taking me out for a special surprise. We walked from her office to Central Park and then entered a very plush apartment building.

We seemingly travelled upwards in that elevator for miles, finally getting to the top.

Jill informed me that her friend Freddie, the lady who I declined to have dinner with previously, was giving a party for a lady who also had a birthday that day, and that I was invited.

The door opened and Jill introduced me to Freddie — none other than Freddie Hancock, the widow of comedian Tony Hancock!

My chance remark about braised lamb cutlets and the mention of Tony Hancock had sparked off this bizarre chain of events. He was one of my all-time boyhood heroes and this was just the most amazing birthday surprise ever.

The view from her apartment overlooking Central Park was stunning. I only had my Kodak Instamatic with me — so this is the best shot I could get.

Freddie presented me with a copy of her book, a ticket for the American Lottery, and a birthday card.

But even stranger things were to happen at that party.

I started talking to one of her guests who told me that she was on her normal “period of leave.” when I asked her what she did she explained.

“I am one of the permanent secretaries to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger,” she said, “We work months on and months off and when we are on duty our bags have to be packed to go anywhere in the world at a moments notice.

Yes, I was of course used to being in the company of celebrities but this was indeed taking things to a whole new level.

As we walked home that evening Jill asked me what I wanted for lunch the following day — ham or braised lamb cutlets !