Back in the seventies I saw an advertisement in the Financial Times offering a franchise in a successful restaurant chain. As I had some spare cash and an interest in owning a restaurant I decided to answer the ad.
Michael Eddowes had placed the ad. He had already created five Bistro Vino restaurants in and around South Kensington and was looking to open more.
At that time I had moved my banking to a new branch of Barclays DC&O which had opened on Kensington Green. I was their first commercial account. I knew of the opening and was on the doorstep at 9am on their opening day.
Colin Grey was the manager and we got on famously.
So having read the ad in the Financial Times I suggested to Michael Eddows that we meet there, which we did, and then the three of us went around the corner to Mr Chow’s for lunch. I wanted Colin’s assessment of Michael Eddows in my consideration as to whether I should invest or not.
It was an interesting luncheon. I asked Michael why did he need to money. He replied that he wrote about difficult subjects and the research for that cost money. I asked what was his current project and he answered the Assassination of JFK.
Having lunched with Clive Irving (as detailed elsewhere on this site) I asked him if he had read the Warren Report. “Yes”, he replied. “Twice”. “How long did that take?” I enquired. “Just over two years the first time and just under two years the second time” came the reply.
By this time we had been talking for about two hours and Colin had to get back to his office. He left and Michael and I continued for a while, then Michael invited me to his office/home a short walk past Harrods to Yeomans Row.
His workplace was littered with files and papers and in centre stage was the 26 volumes of the Warren Report with hundreds, if not thousands of yellow tags sprouting out each notated with comments like “Compare that with what xxx said on page xxx”. Fascinating. There’s more that links Simon Ward, Mandy, Christine and Lee Harvey Oswald and his Russian wife into the whole episode as Michael portrayed it.