Southampton Row

Meeting place in front of British Museum in London on Great Russell Street, opposite side of street about Museum Street from side of Tottenham Court Road.

Alec to walk from Tottenham Court Road, our contact man from opposite side, Southampton Row.

Time, near 8:00 in the evening if practicable.

Identification signs.

The Tournament of Tottenham.

In Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, there is a small alley or passage leading into Queen's Square, and rendered inaccessible to all but foot passengers by some iron posts.

The shops in this passage are of a subdued exterior, and are overshadowed by a dingy old edifice dedicated to St. George the Martyr, which seems to have begun its existence as a rather handsome chapel, and to have improved itself by a sort of evolution into a singularly ugly church.

Into this alley, one Saturday afternoon late in October, came a short, stout young man with sandy hair, and a perpetual grin denoting anticipation rather than enjoyment.

If he went to see his aunt, who lived close by in Milman Street, she might ask him about the ring, and there would be a fuss.

He was in no humor for attending any place of public worship, and so he spent some hours in aimless wandering about the streets, which, as foreigners are fond of reminding us, are not exhilarating even on the brightest Sabbath, and did not raise his spirits then.

At last hunger drove him back to the passage in Southampton Row, the more quickly as it began to occur to him that the statue might possibly have revived, and be creating a disturbance in the cupboard.

He had passed the narrow posts and was just taking out his latchkey when someone behind touched his shoulder and made him give a guilty jump.

I mean that almost literally.

We're in Bloomsbury, Southampton Row, where it meets Russell Square.

And the date is September 12th, 1933.

93 years ago today.

So he walked and thought and walked and thought until London stopped him.

Red light.

Southampton Row.

Russell Square.

In a sort of final moment of exasperation and frustration, I said, "Look, for Christ's sake, if I wanna waste my sodding time, money, effort, and energy on your ruddy tender, what's the harm in that?" And she said, "Okay, you can go in for the tender."

Today's guest, Sir Lloyd Dorfman, CVO CBE, started a company from a single currency exchange kiosk on Southampton Row in 1976.

No university degree, no corporate backing, in a market dominated by the world's largest banks.

We end up winning this bid.