I had no idea what I could do for part-time work, which had to be regular for the flow of income, yet not disrupt my studies, but I’d cross that bridge when I got to it, I decided.
Enter the evening course classmate for that: Steve Hunt. He was one of the two classmates (the other being Hugh Lansdowne) on the evening course who’d nagged me into applying for SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) through the clearing system, resulting in three very happy and productive (knowledge-acquisition-wise) years.
Steve worked part-time at British Monomarks, a telex agency not far from his flat near Russell Square.
He mentioned me to the manager. I not only got in, I got to choose my hours, which were: 5pm–9pm on Mondays and Fridays. The reasons were:
- my lectures at SOAS finished at 4.30pm, so I could walk across Russell Square over to Queen Square and clock in comfortably by 5pm.
- I’d have done my lesson prepping over the weekend for the whole week ahead, leaving me free to work on Monday 5–9pm without worrying about the rest of the week. I could work 5–9pm on Friday as I had the weekend ahead to prep my lessons for the following week.
British Monomarks was not just a flexible employer, allowing me to work the hours that were convenient for me, it was also very compassionate. When a very dear Taiwanese friend died at age 23 in a road accident after we’d spent a lot of time together during my month in Taiwan the summer of 1979, they gave me all the extra hours I asked for to distract me from sitting around at home grieving. They saved my sanity that autumn.
Thank you, Steve Hunt (deceased). Thank you, British Monomarks. The two of you saw me through my first degree without financial worries. I’m very grateful.
(London, 1978–1980)
See also:
https://piccola-chinita.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-guardian-angels-in-ones-life-05.html
https://piccola-chinita.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-guardian-angels-in-ones-life-06.html
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