After leaving school
The first person who really made me think about my life was the manager of the Regal cinema in Tring. He said “To be successful in life you need to know how to make a pound, and then, how to keep it”
During the same period I had bought a 1931 Riley 9. I stripped it back to the chassis and started to re-build it. The spring hangers were worn oval so I bought some Silentblok bushes which were a little too large and was directed to a man down the road who had a lathe.
This man was Stan Holder (P). He checked the hole size on the chassis, turned down the bearing housing and gave it to me to install. It wouldn’t push in. “Doesn’t fit!” I exclaimed. Stan took the part and a mallet and tapped it in. “You didn’t expect it to fall in did you?” he retorted.
Stan taught me a huge amount of hands-on mechanical engineering. I was so fortunate to have had his teaching and the practical experience at that early point in my life.
The Army
The Army did me the world of good. I went in as a National Serviceman but signed-on for three years shortly afterwards. Many of our young people today would benefit from the experience but I doubt that our current servicemen and servicewomen would want to train them. We were trained by solders who had fought in the Second World War and in Palestine and in Korea. After my service in the Army I could never be intimidated again, even by Russian frontier guards which occurred during my overland trip from London to Moscow in 1993.
Richard Arbib (P)
Richard Arbib, or Dick as I knew him, was a fascinating individual with whom I shared a love of audio in general and in tape recording in particular.
When I was in the UK Dick and I would have lunch, or rather he would take me to lunch. During those lunches we would discuss busines in general and my business in particular. He was, in part, my mentor.