This week, 35 years ago, I left London (and here’s what I wrote in my journal)  

The recent passing of Denis Waxman, the co-founder of the business now known as Hays (then known in the UK as Accountancy Personnel), prompted me to retrieve my journals covering my post-university travels and time living in London.

As I detailed in another blog post (from 2019) I started my recruitment career, as a 22-year-old, on the 6^th of February 1989 with Accountancy Personnel in London.

I lasted nearly twenty months before heading back to Australia, via Egypt, Kenya, Burundi, Zaire (as it was known then, it’s now The Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Tanzania.

Here’s what I wrote 35 years ago, this week, about my life in London and my future. I have added comments in bracketed italics for context and updates. I was three months past my 24th birthday at the time.

24 September 1990

Well, here I am sitting in the restaurant at Heathrow Terminal 3 about to catch an Egypt Air flight to Cairo to start my holiday and journey home.

It’s a funny feeling leaving London. It had been my home for 20 months. It will always be the place where I first fended for myself and had my first full-time job. There is so much I love about London. The cosmopolitan atmosphere, especially the warm summer evenings in Clissold Park, where you would see so many different races and religions out there enjoying themselves. The concerts, shows, movies, etc, were all within easy reach of home.

Of course, the football had a big impact on me. I finished up buying about £80 of souvenirs all up. The last game I saw was Arsenal v Tottenham at Highbury, which was a boring nil-all draw. Arsenal should have won. The boys are looking good, though, so it looks promising even though Liverpool has won their first five games (Arsenal were the league champions that season, finishing 7 points clear of Liverpool) .

I’ve really felt a part of London. I never felt overawed by the size, even though the sheer number of people at events and places was still hard to get used to, even after 18 months.

I’ve made a close circle of friends. Kim and Andy, Vicky, Nick and Debbie and Stuart all came out on the last Friday to have drinks and a meal, which was good (I lost contact with all of them within a few years of returning to Australia).

John Killick and I finished up going to all Arsenal’s home games and enjoying each other’s company. He wants to be back in Oz within three years (John’s return to Australia was another 13 years away. We remain in regular contact about our respective lives and Arsenal’s fortunes)

The house that I lived in was a good laugh. Frankie with his brash Englishness that accounted for three girlfriends in succession. Julian, the quieter one with the dry wit. and a love for cricket and crosswords. Emily, eating lots of junk food and fast food, not really knowing where her life was going or whether her life was going the way she wanted it to (Emily did get her life together and has forged an impressive career in corporate communications. Her current role is director of communications and engagement at The Alan Turing Institute in London).

And of course, my own mad sister (Mary), who has created an immediate impact upon her arrival, having every other man pursuing her, asking her out and cracking on to her at parties. She’s got a good job at a school near Brixton on supply. She has her hands full at times, coping with the brats, seven-year-olds swearing at her, but overall, the hours and the money make it bearable. She was originally going to head home in November because her ticket expires in early January, but she is keen to stay, as there is little for her at home at the moment due to the downturn in the economy. I am encouraging her to stay. It has been the first time we have lived together and seen each other every other day for about five years. We’ve got on very well and had some good times (Mary stayed in London, and remained a teacher for another decade, marrying an English farmer in 1995, with whom she had two children and died of breast cancer on 18 January 2012, at the age of 44, never having returned permanently to Australia).

There were a lot of things I didn’t do in London but I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m back (it was 7 years – I returned for three weeks in August 1997). I couldn’t live there on a permanent basis. I missed the beaches, golf courses etc, at home too much. But 20 months was a decent amount of time. I feel good about the place without getting too sick of the downside. Things I will miss: Clissold Park; watching Arsenal; Collin’s fresh baguettes; London buses; Piccadilly Circus; Leicester Square in early evening; Sainsbury’s unsliced wholemeal bread; the concerts; going to Arundel to watch cricket; English country B&Bs.; Sunday lunch at (friends) Doug and Jane’s; 67B Ferntower Road (my London home) parties; shopping at the HMV and Virgin Megastores; reading Martin Johnson’s cricket reports in The Independent; the English press slagging off their cricket and football teams; Saturday afternoon shopping in the West End; The Angel; Black cabs; Friday evenings at the Waterside Inn with Tom and Paul supping a cold Sol with lime (“Paul” being Paul Marsden who, 17 years later, sold his majority stake in London recruitment business Astbury Marsden for £12.5 million and then co-founded Twenty Group); The New River fish and chips; the pubs; BBC 9 o’clock news; Film 90 with Barry Norman; and Sunday papers.

Things I won’t miss: summer in London; winter in London; hot tubes; arrogant British Rail ticket staff; Australians sleeping in my room; Frankie’s belches, the financial uncertainty of my job: the crowds; English TV game shows; pub opening hours; English pizzas; taking three hours to get to a beach; crowded motorways; the shower at 67B Ferntower Road; the beggars; taking forever to get home from a party and not being able to buy Twisties.

Unfortunately, my journal doesn’t record too much about work while I lived in London. It’s packed with details of all the trips, concerts, parties and other experiences I enjoyed between January 1989 and September 1990.

These are the few work-related entries that I wrote.

17 June 1989

Yesterday was the last day before my holidays, and the night of the Accountancy Personnel ball at the Café Royal, which was a huge success, even though the place was not as impressive close up as it appears from the outside. The food was very good, and the drinks very expensive.

30 July 1989

The weather has continued to be stinking hot. The papers today say this summer has been the sunniest on record, which I can easily believe. I’ve been absolutely cooking at work in my woollen suits with no air conditioning at all. This heat has coincided with a decrease in enthusiasm for work, and as a result, my fees have suffered.

18 September 1989

The latest news is that I’m in a new office, Holborn. Eileen (my manager’s manager) had a career chat with me. She said I was going well, and how pleased she was with me and, “How about a move to Holborn with a view to senior consultant promotion by Christmas?” So there it is. The ball is now in my court to produce fees. The office is much bigger and more lively. Six perm consultants, four temp consultants, two public practice consultants, as well as three managers. So plenty of life. The applicant flow is much better. And best of all, I have some responsibility. There are three virtually brand new consultants who need help and advice.

Victoria office (where I was working) – well, what a mess. Kathryn has landed herself a plum job as staff manager at Dixon Wilson, a medium-sized firm of chartered accountants. Kim (my former manager) has gone to Harrison Willis (a direct competitor, no longer operating), a great shame as she has put up with so much, but Eileen just didn’t seem to care. Anyway, Jane came across from Moorgate to manage Victoria, with both Vicky and Nick remaining there for the time being. Poor old Nick went on holiday for two weeks and came back to a new office. Ben (Wood) heads off to Australia in a couple of weeks and has a job with AP in Sydney, so he is set. Paula is running temps at Tottenham Court Road.

I will give Holborn a couple of months, then I will decide whether to stick it out or head home (I stuck it out). It is now down to a matter of money. I just can’t afford to stay unless I do better fees (which I finally did).

5 November 1989

On the work front, things have been good. Last week I was promoted to Senior Consultant with a £2,000 increase in my base salary. I also did my highest fees to date, £15,961, which could have been much more had a few things come off. But the office was way down, mainly due to Bridget and I having to carry a total of four trainees. They really don’t have much sense of urgency about them, which has necessitated Bridget (my manager, who I had a huge crush on, pictured below with me and colleague, Eddie, at the 1989 Holborn office Christmas party) yelling a bit. The change in office to Holborn has really helped relax me.

19 November 1989

The past week has been fairly stressful, generally due to a complete lack of fees. both individually and office-wise. I’m sure I will hit Susie soon. She is such a pain in the arse. I can’t believe anybody can be so thick. I just hope I can make a couple of placements this week.

15 December 1989

Today, Saturday, I played squash for Accountancy Personnel in an intra-office match at South Bank Squash Centre. It was a bit of fun. I was thrashed in all matches, but had a good sweat and run around. I sweated out a few beers that I’d had with Keith (Crossman, who I am still in regular contact with, 35 years later) and the Argyle Arms the previous night. There was a free bar and buffet after the matches. We finished up by 2pm, by which time I was absolutely knackered.

7 January 1990

I wrote to mum and dad at home outlining 1990 for them, basically saying that I wanted to leave London at the end of August (I left late September) and spend three months travelling home before arriving in late November (I only had enough money for two months travelling and arrived back in Australia on 16 November 1990). I intend to study an MBA in 1991, probably in Sydney (didn’t happen then – didn’t happen ever). I feel that I need to test myself further academically, as I had many distractions during my stay at TAS Uni, not that I regret anything. I have read financial and current affairs publications with much more interest in London.

Hopefully, AP in Australia will provide a living for me for however long it takes to complete my studies (0 from 2 in this sentence). Still, it’s all thoughts at the moment, so I’ll have to wait and see how 1990 works out. London has no real future for me. I really couldn’t continue to live the standard I’ve put up with. Not that it is particularly bad, but I miss the open spaces, beaches, cricket and my family and friends

6 March 1990

The big news on the job front is that I’ve been offered the managership of King’s Cross office. Eileen hasn’t talked figures yet but I should be able to get a three or four month guarantee out of them (nah – one month). Last month we did an office record of £91,330 at Holborn which was great even though my personal contribution of just under six grand was pathetic. AP has introduced an incentive scheme for the next three months or an extra 5% will be paid on fees above £8,000 per month

John Killick has gone to Moorgate office to manage. I will see him tomorrow night because we’re going to Highbury to see Arsenal play Nottingham Forest, where they need to win (which Arsenal did, 3-0) to stay in touch with Villa and Liverpool.

I’ve got myself into a nice little mess with <redacted> from work. I <redacted> at the end of the commission period drinks. She finished up <redacted> but I’ve now created a monster. She turned up at home uninvited and unexpected last Friday and wouldn’t leave until <redacted>. She wanted <redacted>. I just hope she doesn’t think there’s anything in this except <redacted>, or else I could be in trouble.

Related blogs

30 years ago: Landing my first job in recruitment and surviving my first two weeks

How Mitre 10, campus life and London made the recruiter in me

Shared-house living was the responsibility and chaos I needed at 22

Mary Louise Clennett 8.12.1967 – 18.1.2012

Vale Denis Waxman – global recruitment industry titan passes away