Mewsing

 

Simon enjoyed working on the mews house. He had a fellow called Dave helping him. Dave was from Fulham and seemed to know what he was doing.

‘We’ll do the outside first. Roof and windows and re-pointing. Pop the old double-glazing in. When that’s done we’ll do inside. Start with the stairs. Leave the kitchen and bathroom till last. Lot of serious plumbing needed in there mate.’

‘A lot?’

‘Well there’s a cast iron down-pipe for starters…even some lead. You’ll want that out. Everything’s PVC these days.’

Simon likes it when Dave gets technical. Makes him feel like one of the boys.

‘By the way,’ says Dave, ‘there’s a bit of paperwork for you. Bills and that.’

Which is a roundabout way of saying the lads need paying.

So Simon learned about drains and damp courses and he liked the work. The house had been a stable at one time, part of the Grosvenor estate. The plan was to turn the street level into a combination studio and living area. Upstairs would be bedrooms and storage. There were piles of bricks and old window frames everywhere. Bashing out walls was dirty and dusty but it made a contrast with bashing out record reviews and interviewing pop stars.

Sometimes he fell asleep on an old mattress in his dirty overalls. Sometimes he would change into his trendy gear and go to places like Ad Lib and the Scotch where he would find people like McCartney, Jagger, and various Small Faces. He picked up a lot of gossip. Some of it he would use in Monty’s music rags. Some he would keep to himself. Monty had a strong aversion to law suits.