This rather cheap little outfit makes me look like a Piccadilly rent boy! Red and white horizontal stripes belong on a marquee, not a person, and cap sleeves? I thought they went out in 1978! It's those ridiculously tight white cords again, this time paired with my clip-on braces to complete the scaggy ensemble. At the side of me Benno looks like a very staid school teacher when, in fact, he was only twenty-six at the time! (His real name is Richard but Rachel named him Richie Beneau, after the Australian cricketer, and the name stuck). We are in the flat in Camden before going out to the pub and the date is September 3rd, 1982.
Here is my diary entry...
As the alarm failed to go off this morning (due to my having set it incorrectly last night) it was 7.30 before I got up and had a bath. Tepid water because I had no coins for the damned meter. Benno took me to work in his car and then dashed off to his own work. I was told-off by Peter for leaving the windows in a mess last night. Elaine and I continued our bedroom window, filling baskets with hundreds of carnations and generally making it look very pretty. Lots of laughs again, especially at lunchtime when we nearly fainted with laughter at silly talk about 'Disco Leggies' etc. We were both exhausted during the afternoon due to all our laughing so we didn't really get much more done to our window except spilling green water on the sheepskin rug! I sneaked away at 4.30.
Had lots of post to read when I got home and then I had to dash around to get changed before catching the 8.00 bus to Aldgate. I arrived at Benno's just as he got out of the bath. He changed into his yellow outfit and we drove to Victoria coach station to meet Chris who came in from Plymouth on the 9.15 coach. It was really lovely to see him again. We went to Harpoon Louie's and had a few drinks. It was very busy and full of the usual gorgeous crowd. Chris was drooling over lots of men but he left with us at 11.00 to get a Big Mac. We bumped into Martin Kettleborough in MacDonalds on his way to the Coleherne.
We returned to the flat and talked for ages. Rachel came home at midnight and Benno and I went to bed at about 1.30. Chris slept in the dining room, partially squashed under the table in a sleeping bag!

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