My best Joe story ever!!–Upper sixth Finchley Catholic Grammar School c 1965/66.We’re bored and broke so we decide to set ourselves up in the window-cleaning business,working weekends.

Mr T, ever- the- artist ,produced business cards under the pseudonyms–Nelcon(me) and Tullworth(Joe) Clean Windows.We plastered North Finchley with our cards.The following weekend we started.On the Friday evening we hired a set of double-wooden ladders : the heaviest and most unsuitable ever for this type of work . We used my sister’s A35 van with roof rack(touch of Trotter family here),got a couple of buckets and rags and off we went.
Saturday am 0730 our first house– it was huge and full of small panes of glass.It took us a good 45 mintes to clean the front(fortunately we had no access to the rear!!) only to discover that nobody was in –so we did it for free !!!! But now came the coup de grace –Mr T now tells me that he’s scared of heights and can’t climb ladders !! Now he tells me !!
We trundled on with our customers watching our every move,sometimes pointing out where we’d missed–it was Saturday morning and they had nothing better to do than watch us!

After 4 hours of this lark,Joe and I sat down and we looked at each other : we’d had enough!We had earned just enough money to pay for the petrol and ladder hire so we decided to call it a day.
We had a bite to eat at my mum’s place in Finchley and then went off to watch Arsenal play at Highbury,both of us vowing never to do that again. But what a laugh we had many years after recounting our entreprenurial exploits.

Joe, I love you to bits.You’re a truly genuine,honest,warm,humourous and gifted mate.

Keep em smiling up there Mr T.

Bye for now

your loving mate, Mick xx