WILD AND TAMED

BACK TO BRUM

Checked into the Northfield Y,bought my 1st bible & the Van Den Plas

I met Dave & we became good friends, also a Christian. We would always have a curry on my visits to him although he moved  a lot. He visited me in future days in Sussex & Scotland.

Went to see a presentation by SA'n cricketers Hansie Cronje whose tragic story is well known,Jonty Rhodes who I believe has rejected God & Shaun Pollock  still has a faith.

EASTBOURNE

I traveled down to this picturesque town on the Sunshine Coast. This would be my base of operations.

It would be a place that would stay dear to me to this day

COMMUNUAL HOUSE

I had a nice room overlooking the back garden & pretty topless sunbathing neigbours next door...I couldn't help it...where should I look? The others in the house were a motley bunch incl. a trainee in law who sued the landlord over an issue. The owners asked me to speak for them before the magistrate. I obliged...Trainee lost,moved out & then there was just me. The landlords asked me to manage the house,interview prospective tenants & keep order...so I bought a shotgun...no,no only kidding...it was an UZI!!

CHURCH

I joined Bridgemere Community Church nearby. They were a friendly crowd although the teaching was pretty thin. Helped out with the youth club & it was during the ALPHA courses which ends in a dinner at which one should bring a guest...I was the only one who brought a date...folks lived all their life there & still did not bring someone...that's the Brits for you.

My friend was one of the youth boy's single mother Beth. We had some coffee dates but no more...too many complications.

I met Peter Martin who ran a Christian recording studio & who's father would soon become pivotal in my life.

SCHOOLS

I worked for a bunch of language schools which was great fun & well paid. Some of the kids from abroad were very interesting & gave me gifts, some of which I still have today

TAKE OUT

I did a few nights delivering food in the summer & getting freebies...a job I had done before & would do again elsewhere.

DENNY KUUN

She was staying in Croydon,I picked her up & we spent a w/e together.

The romance was over but we were still very good friends...even to this day.

I was broadcasting with a radio station in Shoreham on the west side of Brighton doing a series of local history programs. One of them was about the Shoreham airport, one of the oldest in Britain, still using grass runways & the original Art Deco Terminal buildings which are protected & often used in film background, especially the Poirot series with David Suchet...look out next you watch one with an airport scene...funny as Poirot hated flying...By the way all railway station scenes were always filmed at the Peterborough,Cambs. station.

Eastbourne has also been used especially the Grand Hotel, prominade & Beachy head

CYRIL PERCIMONEY

He was touring the UK & came for a visit & stayed a few days...even today he talks about his time in EB. Cyril was part of the Hillbrow church so he was part of that crowd.

Well, he told me that he & Denny were now in a romance & they did get married. I took him to Dover for his ferry & on to Israel

EVELYN FOOTE

Our family friend for all the years lived in Seaford not far from EB so I visited many times.

I took her out for lunch,tea & sightseeing, also helped around her lovely cottage. Later she moved into a local care home.

Only one granddaughter lived in town & loved her very much. I fixed flights for Evelyn to fly to Australia,SA,Zambia where her family were scattered & also to Dundee where she was from.

She died aged 91 & I saw her just over a yr before.

CHR

I met with Derek Martin for a series of interviews including the board of directors for the position of Program Controller. The organization syndicated recorded Christian programs to Hospitals & stations around the UK.

I increased the network to world wide stations including quite remote areas.

Obviously, we had a limited budget but the equipment serficed. The building was a bakery in its former day thus it was still called the Old Bakery in Rusthall,nr Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

We had a duplicator,firstly Basil then Richard. There was a secretary plus a host of volunteers on the various programs that were talk,documentary,music based & off course light theology based.

One of the most popular programs I created was called Melody Mission which had 2 girls...Mandy & Nikki hosting. I wrote the script, sourced the music & produced the program. We were inundated with requests for  networking.

I revamped many other programs, working hard to update them. I brought a variety high & lower profile guests to work on the talk progs.

I upgraded much of our equipment & created a better awareness of our work, often doing talks with all the paraphanelia.

I traveled far & wide across the UK attending conferences & showpieces like exhibitions & concerts.

These included many engagements in the London & SE area of England. There were conferences in Bolton,Hull,Northampton,Plymouth & Derbyshire. I would always take a colleague with me.

I also worked with Catherine Francis who was a singer/songwriter & journalist. She did many voice overs & fronted some programs plus we went to a broadcaster's conference in Derbyshire.

Some of the bigger names I dealt with either interviewing,having present programs & setting specials (Some were Africa Experience,50th Anniversary of VE Day in which I had the folks from Shoreham airport involved included vet pilots & Evelyn Foote who was part of the plotting in Scotland)...which were profiles of these people...some others included evangelist were...

CHIS EATON...who has worked with some of the biggest names in the USA, although he was just a feller from Worcestershire

THE LEGGS

ADRIAN SNEL

NOEL RICHARDS

SUE RINALDI...whom I liked & dated but started to find a little weird & left field. She had been part of the 80's group HEARTBEAT

CAROLINE BONNETT...who was Sue's house mate...Actually she was altogether different; sweet,beautiful & a great personality & very,very friendly to me...maybe I got it all wrong...Sometimes we chase the wrong rainbow

HELEN SHAPIRO...who was a Jew but became a messianic Jew...& kindly keeps in touch...remember she was a huge star with Walk back to Happiness in the 60's

DON FRANSISCO

PAM THUM...who was absolutely delightful & so accommodating. Her lineage included Cherookee Indian

MARGARET BECKER

DELIRIOUS...who although popular I found to be a scam outfit cashing in on the ignorance of young Christians.

We had an OPEN DAY every year celebrating CHR's birth (Oct 1970)

I got to to know the Wilkinson Fam as Slim was an artist & he did much of the art work I contracted him to do. They lived locally. Diana was a pretty Portuguese girl but we have lost touch.

I ran a Broadcastors' School. Some of the students came to work for CHR later on.

One of the students Vanessa, professed to be a Christian & would come down from London. She was really cute but also liked a tipple or 2 or 3 or 4. I soon caught on she was more interested in my company than the Christian ethic. She actually worked for a Publishing House in Canary Wharf.

Two of the stalwarts of help for me were Norman & Ann Sayers. They had been involved with CHR before my time & continued to be a great asset.

We became great friends & I would see them socially many times. They had a beautiful home in Crawley Down nr East Grinstead & I would often leave my car at their home before flying out from Gatwick.

I did not see them for a while after moving north & sadly Norman then Ann a week later passed away in 2008...they were both in their late 70s...

WE SHALL MEET AGAIN

CHR came to end of its life when another ministry took over the operation. Through it I met Gary & Christine Preston, a lovely American couple...Sadly the new enterprise were more charlatans...It was time for me to move on.

I know Derek Martin & other board members were shocked & saddened

CROWBOROUGH

The town where Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle lived (He was a Scot)...but it was at the College I taught English GCSE (Matric) level.

I had mature students & school children students whose parents were concerned their darlings would not make it in the finals.

I couldn't believe how poorly educated some people had been & how disinterested they were in the classics.

BARBARA MONTAGUE

...was one of my students at the college, a divorcee with a young daughter.

We hit it off & we began seeing a lot of each other. She lived in a nearby town of Uckfield.

The 3 of us took a trip to the Isle of Wight taking the ferry from Portsmouth.

Barbara & I saw the new yr in by taking a trip to Maastricht in Holland with a stay in Dunkirk on our way back.

She was good to me & wanted to get married but there was a chemistry missing.

PICKHILL

...was in a rural area in East Sussex for the well healed. I rented a suite in Highdown House which had stunning views over the Downs.

Mike Floyd & his wife & fam lived in the other part but I had fair access to most parts. I did a ton of walking & often took Zulu their German Shepherd who loved it.

We all cried when he died suddenly...we think from the offensive practice of farmers poisoning their lands against badgers & foxes.

The Floyds had to move as they were renting ...the house had been sold, so I packed my bags again.

Jane Torville From Torville & Dean lived nearbye

I had sold my Van Den Plas to Barbara & bought the Ranchero from Mike.

I also used to go down to the golf driving range hitting 50 which was great, but no-one wanted to play a round with me as we spent most of the time looking for my balls (I mean the golfing kind!!)...What were you thinking?

1994

ROMANIA

In the June I took a trip to the country that had seen dark days under Caucescu.

I took a charter to Constantsa & checked into a Black Sea hotel in Mamaia. The next day I took a train to Bucharest...1st class for £3

There I stayed with the Radio station manager & his wife & did some teaching at the station.

I spoke with the Romanian Media Director & we remain friends & saw various other ministries; much of a dreary Bucharest including Caucescu's monstrous mansion & experienced a minor earthquake before heading back to  the Black Sea.

The Romanians at that time were just coming out of a desperate time in their history but I got the sense many wanted to work together to get things right

SHEFFIELD PARK & SA

Peter Roe who was a friend of CHR & a wizz with electronics invited me to stay in their lovely home in West Sussex on the estate of Sheffield Park.

I got a room,bathroom & board & was there for 6 months. He & wife Julie were wonderful hosts.

AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

I set off for SA & a tour that spawned the project AA. as a networked program & magazine article.

I stayed with J & T. I cleaned out the pool.

I drove up to Pretoria to interview the chairmain Martin Frings of the Christian Broadcasters in SA who were now getting licenses.

I then spoke with a studio manager making music with Christians & introduced me to the beautiful voice of RAYMOND CELLIERS

The biggest Christian church in SA is Randburg Rhema run by charismatic Ray MacAulay & spoke with their media man & then Lionel Petterson, their worship leader who before converting had been part of the pop scene in the 70's with Richard John Smith.

Next a flight to Cape Town & a stay with the Thomas family who had set up Radio Fishoek in that stunning area. I stayed with them in St James & would be there again in the future.

 A friend of theirs took me on a tour around the peninsula & a trip to the naval yards of Simonstown & a trip into SA'n submarine...WOW!

That night I was given a date...nice girl & we set off in a party to the Waterfront in CT

After returning to JNB, I drove down to Lesotho where I got lost in looking for my destination. God was good & led me there with the help of a beer hall patron. In fact there was no road to Mezenod & Tsikane Pheko & his fam & church fam.

I had been hours late...but they waited. We had a service after which they fed me & treated me with such honor, it was embarrassing. Tsikane had been receiving tapes from CHR & sent us pics of the construction of his church which was now completed. There were other missionaries there as well.

It was an experience to adjust to the LONG DROP TOILET...Don't  know what that is...look it up.

I set off the next day, only to break down in my RENT A WRECK, a cheap car rental specializing in Mazda 323's. Most of the day was spent in Maseru before heading out. I spent the night in Lillieshoek, Ladybrand,a place I had stayed at in 91 with Pete Gladwin.

Next day,refreshed, I set off for Swaziland & Trans World Radio nr Manzini.

They were gracious hosts & I was impressed by the set up. All missionaries being supported from their home nation church.

The Canadian director was a wonderful host...last I heard, he was at the Cary,North Carolina HQ which I would visit in the future

Cyril & Denny were married & expecting Kendal...a place in Cumbria where apparently the flame of love ignited

Also popped in to see Cilla. She had tears in her eyes when I left.

Had a dinner date with Amanda who then wrote the love letter which I received back home...I felt so bad for her. 

I organized all my stuff which had been sitting in Roosevelt to be shippped back home.

1995

CROSS IN HAND

Bought a small apartment in this tiny hamlet. Beautiful country & plenty of walks.One day was leaning over a field gate when a snoot woman asked what I was doing...I asked why she wanted to know...She said it was a fair question as it was her gate🙃...Yes well heeled area but us plebs were not welcome.

My gear from SA arrived & I stored much stuff in a farm stable I rented...often found the farmyard chickens poking around & sitting on my stuff...Hey Ho...did a lot of poop cleaning.

Got the idea of agency dating...now so popular doing it online.

I used about 3 reputable Christian companies & so the fun began.

There were all sorts of physique & personalities. Generally, we met in a public place, sized each other up & came to a common consensus as to whether it would work out.

There were lots of laughs & fun. Many of the women were clearly looking for a husband...I guess I was in the market too...for a wife;not a husband😉.

One was clearly having mental issues & began ranting when I cut the date short as there was no point going on...she was frightening!

Of all of them there were 3 that stood out...

Karina

...was of Sri Lankan background,very pretty & involved with the Brethren, who were very strict about many things. We met at the Don Fransisco Concert in West London & she was very patient to wait whilst I spent about an hour on the interview. We had dinner. . We saw each other off & on but again I felt the chemistry was not right.

Mary

..lived in East Ham...typical cockney & quite a drive around the M25 & through the tunnel under the Thames & back over the river on the huge span bridge.

She was sweet & from a Greek background & boy could she cook...I nearly proposed just for that...my favourite cuisine.

...But she had 4 children, an ex-husband & loads of baggage...lovely though she was, it wasn't going to work.

Janice

...now here was a girl that could have been a keeper. Lived in Croydon & even gave me a gift on our first date. Her Mum took to me & Janice laughed at my jokes...always a good sign. She was slim, pretty, well-behaved & a bioscientist...so why not? Well because...next chapter will explain.

BARCELONA

Derek Grainger picked me up early & we drove down to Newhaven for the ferry to Dieppe & then the huge drive through France.

We stopped at Monistrol de Montserrat for the views & then on down to Barca.

We camped nearby & did the sights of the Ramblas, truly an exhilarating experience...up the cable car...a bay trip on a boat & up to the Nou Camp...what's that?...where have you been?

We enjoyed beach parties,Sangria & loads of Tapas.

Then home stopping in Berga & in Andorra which was fantastic...In fact I left a jacket at the hotel & they mailed it to me back in Britain.

We then drove right on up to Dieppe for the ferry home.

Derek did like to drive.

1996

SA...Another sojourn to the land of sun, savagery & sadness...visited with a bunch of record companies setting up deals to promote their artists in return for their product.;the normal radio proceedure.

MAZENOD...Off to the nation of gentle people...this time I did a recording of the church choir & these could really sing. I edited all the songs down back at the studio & made it into an album. Slim did the artwork. I would present a master & a bunch of blank tapes to them on my next visit...they would sell or give them away at their conferences.

Refer to the Basuto people in a story I wrote...FRACTURED TOGETHER..richmaine.co.uk

JIVANNADI...Is a Christian mission based on the coast nr Durban. I interviewed the radio station manager, Christo van Eerden who lived on a farm nearby with wife & 3 daughters. There would be a strong , continued relationship in the future. At that time they were broadcasting out of a caravan but were building a multi functional studio.

GIEN LUTMERS...Was living in The Bluff & I stayed with her the night before heading through Transkei to see...

ROSE ATTERBURY & MOLLIE MQUEEN...in Gonubie;always such a pleasant time.

AGNES VICTOR...I nipped up to KWT to see Agnes & we had lunch.

Then the long journey back to JNB without a stop.

The Percimoneys were now in Saxonwold,an upscale part of town...Kendal was growing & Denny was pregnant again. 

CAROL VAN HEERDEN...called me when I was home. She had worked for one of the record companies I did business with in SA. I showed her around Eastbourne,set her up with a job with ICC, the Christian record company & took her to my church. I guess we had a little fling, including a trip to Holland with stays in Middleburg & Alkmaar. She was quite a bit older than me, with grown up children & failed marriage baggage....we drifted but I believe she is still in Eastbourne.

PEPPI

During the process of the dating agencies, I get a call from a very sexy sounding voice. Now the protocol was for the man to call...never the less I was intrigued

We set up a dinner date & so began a tempestious relationship that lasted nearly 2 yrs.

She was a couple of weeks younger than me,with a 10 yr old boy & 3 yr old girl...Chris was trouble & having a wayward father who ended up in prison for murder was likely to go bad too. Rhema was sweet but she & her brother were very spoilt & I believe she has ended up in Egypt where Peppi was from.

She had a French mother but a troubled upbringing. She ended up in England as a teenager & soon got involved in exotic work & early marriage. I would be # 3.

Her ex mother in law continued to be supportive. Peppi didn't like to work...I was the mug who dolled out money for cars & all sorts of things.

I helped her move into a nice home & did some DIY. I gave her my parents' dinner set which was never returned...that is a great regret.

I was baby sitter much of the time whilst she got involved in the church Bible school.

All in all I was taken in by her sultry, demanding & enchanting but effective personality which was topped by her exquisit beauty.

We were engaged in December of 1996, broke it off & then it was on again.

Why you might ask...why,yes why do we do what we know is unwise & wrong but yet we do it😥.

COC...Was a very charismatic church that Peppi introduced me to. The performance was all important. The theology sometimes left me scratching my head as it did not line up with God's Word. But the folks were friendly & I got involved in many of its projects.

I made a dear friendship with Bob Montague whom I took out for lunch & gave him rides when he needed transport. Bob was always a joy to me. He passed away in 2013.

I also made friends with the Willis family...6 of them incl  girls...all married now. Through Steve I got to know a shady character Tony Sands from SA where the Williss' had lived for a spell.

Renata Vankova was from Czech & we became quite close. I guess with so much going on in the church we just did not have time to date properly.

She returned to Czech & has since gone on to to Perth, Australia where she had lived before.

RAVENNA...One of radio contacts was on the Adriatic coast of Italy.

I took a friend of the station,Roger with me,He was so excited. The Copperwheat family were there as evangelists & running the radio station which was in their home. They were great hosts. We spent time in the town  & into San Marino that tiny nation spiralling up a mountain.

I also did quite a bit of radio work...bit surreal to listen to CHR productions through the bedroom door at night.

BYE BYE TOYOTA...Had traded the Ranchero in for a Toyota Carolla but some silly girl wrecked it by turning across me. I was Ok, so was she.

1998

CAROLINAS...Touched down in Raleigh, capital of N Carolina...thought of Kelly...hired a rental & took off on a road trip through so many historical places, not only Civil War,but War of Independence...also many Irish & Scots had settled the region when it was just known as the Carolinas named after Charles 1

Stayed in Lexington,known for BBQ...toured a local radio station in the am & headed out west for the Smokeys.

Stopped in the little town of Taylorville only to get served by the friendliest & prettiest waitress I ever did see...Y'all come back & see us now.

Then up to Boone...also a pretty town & down the ridgeback of the Appalacians... a place I would visit again in the future...home to the Cherokee...It got too foggy so I turned off east & stopped in Shelby for the night.

The next day I booked into a large motel in Charlotte, a place that would mean so much in the future. Visited at Rick Joyner's church Morningstar & then Ravi Zacharias's church in the evening...again 2 apostate organizations...I am wiser now...not so much then...Zacharias has just passed away in 2020.

A brief stop in Columbia, the capital of S Carolina...then got up in home going rush hr. Eventually headed on south & stopped off at a quaint little motel in a town called Denmark. Had my grits & waffles with good coffee before a stop at a local radio station where I was interviewed for a change.

Then on south & across the Savannah River...booked into a motel in the City. During the Civil War, that although Sherman burnt Atlanta, he gifted Savannah to Pres Lincoln. It truly has a southern charm & beauty. The main port is on the river but the cruise terminal on the Atlantic wharf.

Back into S C & a stop in Beaufort after meeting some military vets at a burger bar...what a burger that was. We ended up at their vet club. One of the guys poured out his heart to me about his problems. I felt so sad for him as he wept openly. We prayed & I directed him to the arms of Christ...my hope he would wake up the next day & seek out his Saviour.

Next I arrived up the coast in the fascinating city of Charlestown. I took a cruise from Patriots Point into the bay to Ft Sumpter where the 1st shots of the Civil War took place...walked around the USS Yorktown...so famous for its exploits in the Pacific during Midway & other battles in WW2 Walked through the Old Town To the Battery in White Point Park (These are all portrayed in the movie Gone With The Wind & TV Series North & South..

Spent the night in Georgetown further up the coast then up Moorhead City which really impressed me.

I wanted to reach the famous area where the Wright Brothers 1st flew in 1903...Kill Devil Hills. Spent the night & the day walking the field of the Wrights' exploits plus the fascinating Flight museum.

Back north & inland where I spent the night at Four Oaks. The next day I was a guest at TWR in Cary nr Raleigh.

...and then it was home again across the Pond that evening.

STOKE..Drove up to Stoke on Trent to talk with the folks at UCB, a huge Christian radio station...things were winding down at CHR

OKEHAMPTON...The Crossrythms organisation, now with a station of their own in Stoke had begun their ministry in Plymouth & held their annual music festival in the Devon Moors...I helped out,camped & got soaked. There was Caroline Bonnet again giving me the biggest,cutest smile. Also met so many from the ministry & music scene plus chatted further with Allan Ball UCB manager who offered me a post.

I leased the apartment, packed & drove up to Staffordshire. Stayed with a family in Mier Heath before finding an apartment on a farm in Shropshire.

Nice place,very rural but the heating was not good. I did enjoy the walks amongst real low down muck. One of the sheep dogs used to stay in my room...he just took to me.

UCB...Worked on the news team,did the outside broadcasts,made specials & had a couple of my own progs. The equipment was all the latest hi-tec

There was a cat that had attached himself to the station...Christian was a real character & always came running when he saw me.

Some of the people & events were...Luis Palau in Southport,also met up with John Gaughan there...He from Hermans Hermits as well as Paul Jones from Moody Blues...

Then there were 2 real charlatains...Benny (THE HEN) Hinn at the Albert Hall & Roberts Liardon whose British Reps were based with the COC church. Liardon wrote a book God's Generals about big names in ministry who went bad. He was already on that rocky road then & later fell badly. Met up with Charles Stanley who runs one of the biggest churches in Atlanta...Book Fair in Doncastor...conference in Sheffield where I interviewed Jim Bakker from PTL imfamy...That interview was requested so many times...For the record I am wiser now & do not endorse Bakker...

Did a rally in Perth,Scotland with Franklin Graham,The Late Billy's son, ( I had been to a crusade with Billy in 84 at Villa Park,Birmingham...Cliff Richard was also part of the presentation)Jars of Clay were there as well as  John & Anne Barbour, one of my favorite singers

Also Spring Harvest at Skegness, where we broadcast from our OB unit. I stayed on site in a caravan & of course so many other events including Doncaster Book Fair at the Race course & the Nottingham shire for a strange self proclamed 'healer'

One of the more popular repeat request interviews was with Bill Wilson who pastors Bronx Metro in New York claiming to have the biggest Sunday school in the world.

STAFF...Made plenty of friends at the station...The late Peter & Chris Youngman,Mike Francis,& the late Sally Field ...we became quite close,Then there was John Harrison...what a great voice. We also still keep in touch...He now is back in his home of Yorkshire.The late Trevor Kirk who knew all about all music, Mike Farrington whom I stayed with for a w/e in his Liverpool home & tribe of kids...Steve Cox whom I'm still in touch with, although he left the station yrs ago as well & Tony Cummings...the one & only,let him lose in a hi tec studio & anything could happen...& it did!