The Date was around Late Summertime of 1988, the Takeaway Trade Never really picked up too much during that Summer, and things were getting Worse, Trade was Dropping and in turn that Meant I was Making Hardly any Money, and I can Remember the Takeaway Lack of Business was starting to effect my Family Life! I was doing a lot of Arguing with Susan and Moaning at the Kids, so things Needed Changing, I had put a Lot into the Takeaway and Did Not want to Close it for Good!
I Cant Remember what Day of the Week it was, but I do Remember Susan Phoning me up one Night, to see how things were Going, and as Usual, Not Too Much was Happening, she then asked "How I was Feeling" I Remember saying to her, I Felt like Putting my Head in the Deep Fat Fryer! Now that wont have done me a lot of Good, I know, but that is How Bad I Felt, Susan said Straightaway, "Shut that Bloody Shop Down and Come Home"
And for once in my Life, I Did Not do Too Much Thinking of the Concequences of what will Happen, I just Turned Everything Off and Walked out of the Takeaway! I got into my Van and went Straight Home, I Remember Susan and the Kids, being Very Surprised and Very Happy when I got there! That in Hindsight was Probably the Worst I had Ever Felt in my Life about "My Job or My Working Life" I Remember the Next Day after it all Settled Down, I thought to Myself "What the Hell am I now going to do about a Job, Now"
I also had to Contact the Landlord, to tell him what had Happened, and I Knew then, this was when my Troubles were Really Going to Start, I Did Not Like him either! I had a Lease on the Takeaway, I Cant Remember "How Long it was For" but, I knew he (the Landlord) was going to want that Paid Up or he would go after what was "Put up as Collateral, on the Takeaway" and that was "My Mothers House" I then had to seek Advice from Various different People, including, Citizens Advice Bureau, Business Advice Places, a Solicitor etc, what a Nightmare that all was! After doing all this for a Couple of Weeks, the Outcome was amongst other things, I had to Straightaway go, Bankrupt!
What a Shock this was, I was like Most People of my Age (around 30), had some Debt through being Married with Kids etc, but this was Really Something Else, they were Going to go through my Life and Finances etc like I had never Experienced before and have not Experienced Since! As this would eventually Turn Out (the Bankruptcy), Apart from One other Incident in my Life, Would Probably be the Worst Period of Time in my Life! ===================================================
As for some Music, I think I may have Featured the Following Track before in this Blog, but who Cares, this I reckon is One of the Best Soul Records Ever Released! It was Written and Recorded in 1963, so its now 50 Years Old, It was not actually Released as a Single until about 2 Weeks after Sam Cooke was Killed on 11th December 1964! The Song is the Great "A Change is Gonna Come" what a Fantastic Song this is, it was Later to be used by the "Civil Rights Movement" in the USA during the 1960's.
This Song was a Change of Direction for Sam Cooke, as he had Previously Recorded Songs for the "Pop Market" and Feared he would Lose his "White Fans" if he Recorded a Song about "Discrimination and Racism" in the US during the 1960's! The Song Peaked at Number 31 on the US Billboard Top 100 and Number 9 on the US R&B Singles Chart.
I was born by the river in a little tent Oh and just like the river I've been running ever since It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
I go to the movie and I go downtown somebody keep telling me don't hang around It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
Then I go to my brother And I say brother help me please But he winds up knockin' me Back down on my knees
Ohhhhhhhhh.....
There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long But now I think I'm able to carry on It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will Related articles
It was now Summertime of 1988, Trade in the Takeaway was Picking up a bit, but still Not Enough to make a Decent Living! It was Fast Approaching to our Trip To Wembley Stadium to See Michael Jackson's Bad Tour Show. But one thing Needed to be Sorted out First, before the Day Arrived, Our Mode of Transport, I only had my Van, so we Needed to Hire or Borrow a Car for the Day! Luckily my Middle Sister had a Little Vauxhall Fiesta and she Agreed to let us Borrow it for the Day, I cant Remember if I got out any Insurance for that Day, I would have Probably been made to, by Susan and my Sister!
The Car I Remember was Bright Yellow with Green and Black Interior, it was only a Small Engine, so Fairly Cheap on the Petrol, this was a Few Years ago now, things have Changed (Petrol Wise) Now Though!
The Day we Actually went to Wembley was 16th July 1988, I Remember this Date, as it was the Day that Prince Charles and Diana went, there was also a Video of the Show Released, that same Year! I Remember we got there Really Early and also Walking on all the Wooden Boards that were all over The Pitch of Wembley, to Protect the Surface!
As I have said before, My Wife Susan Liked Jacko, I Dont Mind him, but his Music was Not what I Really Liked, but he did put on a Great Show, I also Remember his Keyboard Player was Greg Phillinganes, who's Album I had Brought a Few Years Previously also Sheryl Crow was on Back Up Vocals! As I said it was a Great Show, I Believe it Lasted at Least 2.5 Hours, and there was about 72,000 people there, the Biggest Concert Audience I have Seen and Been in!
We had a Clear View of Charles and Diana as we were Quite Near the Front over to Jacko's Left Hand Side! The Worst Thing about the Whole Day, was Trying to get out of the Car Park at Wembley after the Show, as you could Imagine, there Thousand's of People all over the Place and Thousand's of Cars Everywhere, what a Nightmare!
I Believe we were Nearly as Long getting out of the Car Park, onto the Road Home, as we were in Wembley, Watching the Whole Concert! Another Bad (no pun intended) Memory of the Night, was when we Eventually got on the Way Home, after about an Hour of Driving, with the Heater on Full, I Started to Doze Off!
Before I Realised what was Happening, we went Right Up on the Verge for what seemed Hundred's of Yard's, Luckily for us it was all Grass Verge along that Stretch of Road, What a Wake Up Call! I Pulled over to the Side of Road and had a Rest for a While and something to Eat and Drink, that really put the Sh*t up me and Susan! What an Ending of a Great Night Out that was! =====================================================
Now for Some Music, as Mentioned in above Post this Week, Greg Phillinganes, Keyboard Player on the Michael Jackson's Bad Tour, also had a Couple of Solo Albums Released in the 1980's. In 1981, he Released the Album called "Significant Ganes" it Featured a Great Instrumental Track Called "Maxxed Out" Incidentally, Greg Phillinganes Sister is "Carrie Lucas" who used to be a Recording Artist on the Solar Record Label (and Married to Dick Giffey, Founder of Solar Records)
Back in Early1988, things were now going really Slowly in the Takeaway, Business were getting less and less, but I thought "Things would Pick-up when the Weather got Better" I was just about Hanging on to the Business! One of the Worst things I Remember was Every Saturday Morning, the Landlord Used to Visit for his Rent, his Name was Peter Samson, He Lived in Nearby Lowestoft and had a Business Selling Flowers.
As I said I Never liked Saturday Morning's or him for that Matter, I always had to Scrape the Rent Together at the Last Minute, (even going as Far as to Take Monies out of our Housekeeping), what I did not like about him is, Apart from his Manner, was he must have Known the Previous Tenant's Struggled, and Probably knew they Cooked the Books as well! Over this Slow Period I found Myself Making less and less Homemade Stuffs, because I Never had the Money to Buy Any Ingredients, I used to Stand there "Willing Customers to come in and Buy Something" I Remember I had a Tv in the Shop, behind the Counter, I found Myself watching that More and More, as Time went by!
A Couple of things I well Remember around this Period were, I used to Leave my Money for the Next Days Chips at the back of the Till, No one could See it though, I had to Leave the Cash with the Owner of the Paper Shop (nearby), the Night Before, as the Spud Bloke used to come Early the Following Day and he Paid him for me! Anyway I had a Couple of Idiots that used to come into the Takeaway and Buy Some Chips now and again, now they Must have seen me one Night putting the £6 behind the Till.
A Couple of Days later they came back in, and Asked for something other than Chips, so I had to go out back and get whatever they asked for, so I got what they Wanted and they Paid and went out of the Shop, when I went to put there Monies in the Till, I Noticed the £6 Gone, what a Pair of Arseholes, as if I had Monies to Waste, I Never saw that Pair Again! Another Memory was, I once gave this Boy of about 12 Years of Age, about £5 Worth of Takeaway and he had about £1, so I let him have the Food and he was going to bring the Money back the Next Day, I also Never saw him again! Perhaps I should have Known then, that "This Business is Never going to be a Success" =======================================================
Now for some Music, back in 1983 The SOS Band Released their 9th Single, Entitled "Just Be Good To Me" from their 4th Album "On The Rise" The Single and Album was on the Tabu Record Label and Written and Produced by "Jam and Lewis" The Single Turned out to be The SOS Band's Biggest Hit in the UK and Reaching Number 2 on the US R&B Chart.
Over their Recording Period (8 Albums and about 11 Years) "The SOS Band" had some Great Music, I think their Best Stuff was when it involved "Jam and Lewis" they had some Great Tracks! This Track being one of the Best!
We got the Keys to the Takeaway Shop in October 1987, soon after me and Susan started to Clean the Place from Top to Bottom, it was more of a Mess outback than I thought it was! Every day after the Kids went off to School , we went down the Shop for more Cleaning, I'm not too sure but I think we took about 2/3 Weeks to thoroughly Clean it, we couldn't spend to much Money on the Shop, because I Needed that for all the Ingredients, Meat and Food etc etc.
After the Shop was Ready and all food stuffs brought, I then Started doing some Homemade Pies etc, I had Planned to Make most things Myself, but in all the Rush, I ended buying some things, with the Idea to do more Home made Cooking after the Opening! We had a load of Flyer's Made up by a Printer in the Area, and by this time I had thought of a Name for the Takeaway, as my Father (now Diseased) had Helped with the Shop, I decided to Call the Shop "G.C's Takeaway" that was my Father Initials "George Charles"
So around Mid November of 1987, I Finally Opened the Takeaway, the First Session was a Night Time I believe, I was out Front of Takeaway doing the Food and Serving, Susan was out the Back, Keeping Everything Else Under Control! As it turned out, My Mother, Never Helped at all, she Never did anything, in Hindsight, it would have been Easier if She had Helped, in some sort of Way! Anyway the First Night went O.K, I Remember I didn't make a Mint, but all I wanted at that Stage, was to Make enough to Keep the Takeaway Ticking Over!
I Remember I soon got into a Routine, I used to Work between 12 pm and 2 pm and 6 pm and 10 pm, on Week Days and A bit Longer on a Saturday and Half Day on Thursday and Day Off on Sunday, and when Lunch-Times were Slow, I would be Making all the Food Stuffs for later, Susan and the Kids used to come to the Shop a Few Times During the Week, but Always came down on a Saturday Night when it got Busier. I Remember Susan Used to Peel Fresh Potatoes for Chips, but this was too Time Consuming, so I ended up Buying a Fresh Bag of Ready Cut Chips, from a Seller Named "Westrup" in Great Yarmouth and he Used to Delivery most days, I Remember they were £6 per bag! So after a Couple of Weeks of being Opened things were Going Alright, Money and Coping Wise, and with the Christmas Trade coming up in a Few Weeks time, things were Looking Great! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for some Music, a Band I see in Concert back in 1984 was Mtume, see this Post for that, I Remember the Concert was Great, and One of their Better Tracks, that had been released a Couple of Years earlier was "Juicy Fruit" The Track was taken from their 4th Album of the Same Name and it was on the Epic Record Label, they eventually Released a Total of 6 Albums. The Single Turned out to be their Biggest Ever Hit, Reaching Number 1 on the US R&B Chart and Number 45 on the US Hot 100 Chart! The Album Reached Number 3 on US R&B Chart and Number 26 on US Pop Chart! The 2 Vocalist in Mtume were Band Founder James Mtume and Tawatha Agee. James Mtume went on to Write Numerous Tracks for other Artists and Bands.
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