My Street

"This is fairly long I don't know how much time you've got to spare. I used to be a Sea Scout and it was Bob-A-Job week. My Mother said, 'Well, try the Commodore Hotel on the East Cliffs and see if they've got anything.'

Well, the manager was very kind he said, 'Yeah you can come here.' He said, 'Bob-a-Job?' 'Yeah, you know, we’re scouts, we work.' 'Alright', he said, 'Well, do the washing up. You don't mind?' I said, 'No, I'll do that.'

So I worked the first day and he paid me – I think it was five shillings which was an enormous amount really.

The next day I was polishing some cars in a garage in Southbourne and a Jaguar pulled up and the fella jumped out. He said, 'Hey, where were you today?' He said, 'I want you all week.' I said, 'Alright then.'

So anyway, I go and work there for the rest of the week and at the end of the week – he said, 'I'll pay you at the end of the week', I said, 'OK' - he signed the card and gave me my 25 shillings and said, 'Now what happens to this?' I said, 'Well all that goes to the Scout funds, that's what Bob-a-Job week's all about'. So he said, 'And what do you get?' I said, 'Well, we don't get anything personally.' So he gave me 25 shillings, he said, 'You worked very hard here's 25 for yourself as well.'

I was highly delighted with that and I thought oh this catering is a pretty good sort of job so when I left school my mother said, 'What are going to do?' I said, 'Oh I think I'll be a chef!'