Chiswick

When I was 18, I started working at Gough Brothers, an off-licence halfway up Kingston Hill, just opposite The Albert. I'd work there every Friday evening and, depending on my rugby commitments, some hours on Saturday and Sunday, too. When I went off to uni, I worked there in the holidays.

The work wasn't hard to be honest. The evenings could be a bit busy and obviously the Christmas period was hectic but the days were pretty quiet and I'd spend my time reading while listening to the radio. (I can vividly remember standing by the till hearing Julian Cope's 'Charlotte Anne' for the first time.) I had a few regular customers and I'd serve them and have a chat and, when they'd gone, restock the shelves.

During the time I was working there, Gough Brothers were bought out by Oddbins and when there wasn't holiday work to be had at Kingston, I worked in Hampton, Balham, Kew, Lower Morden and Shepperton, too. After a while I was moved onto their secure (i.e. trusted) staff and I got moved around a bit more, working one whole summer on Carshalton, when I think I spent every bus journey to and from work listening to Shriekback's 'Jam Science'.

One day I was called up by the Chiswick branch to ask if I could work there the next day. It was my day off but I said I could work up until six pm, as I had plans for the evening. The manager said he could do with me working the evening, too, but I reiterated that I was going out.

The next day, I turned up at the Chiswick shop as I'd said I would and worked the afternoon. About five o'clock the manager came down to tell me that he and his wife were off out and that I was responsible for the shop until he got back to lock up at 10 o'clock. I argued that I'd only agreed to work until six and that my girlfriend was expecting me but he wasn't interested. I spent the evening fuming. When he came back to lock up he was chatty and friendly to the point that I felt slightly bad being sulky and uncommunicative.

A few days later he rang me again, to tell me he was short staffed and did I want some extra hours working for him. He seemed genuinely surprised and taken aback when I said no. Over the years, I often pondered just how that man saw the world: how he thought you could mess someone around, come back and be a bit friendly, and then think they'd want to do you another favour.

I thought of all this today when I went to meet @bertrandrustles for lunch in, you guessed it, Chiswick. On this occasion, though, it was an entirely happy visit, chatting, eating and enjoying the company of this charming and most interesting chap. I had intended to get a photo of Chiswick High Street - where the off-licence was - but you'll have to make do of this shot of Turnham Green Terrace, where we had lunch.