Confessions of a Cock-Eyed Optimist

by Nigel Quiney

Overview

This volume continues to explore the life of Nigel Quiney during the decade of the nineteen-seventies. Both his companies - Nigel Quiney Designs, and Ridley Quiney & Co Ltd - are successful and expanding. By then the decade of the 'sixties and Swinging London was maturing and London had become an extremely popular tourist destination drawn to the creativity of the theatre, music, fashion, designs and the arts generally. It was in this decade that Nigel began to explore the Far East as a source for new products and suppliers for the family business of RQ and Hong Kong was the first of many destinations that he explored. Later in 1976, having accepted one of the official invitations to visit China he flew the tortuous journey to Peking and then by train to Dairen and then Tientsin. In Dairen he was privileged to be shown the underground tunnels and excavations which took many years to create and were part of a defence system should the Russians invade. Back in Peking he was wandering around filming in Tiananmen Square which was packed with people and giant wreaths out to commemorate the death of Chou En-Lai. He was ushered away by his Chinese interpreter just before the authorities swooped and confiscated all film and arrested the few foreigners who were later jailed. He had escaped by just minutes. The same year Nigel was introduced to the amazing aspects of Bombay and touring Rajasthan by car. There he stayed at several palaces that had only just been turned into hotels where he and his two friends were the only guests. In the latter part of this decade Nigel explored Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia and South Korea looking for new suppliers which culminated in Ridley Quiney being the first importer of throw-away thin carrier bags into the UK. This memoir also records the love affair between Nigel and an American pop singer which sadly failed even after trips to Moscow and Ibiza. Later another affair, was also doomed.

This was also the decade when industrial unrest in coal mining, steel production and manufacturing was producing strikes as the demand and competition from abroad threatened their survival. Also the decade when our various governments seemed unable to deal with these problems to the point that the UK was likened to a Banana Republic.

Nigel’s love affair with America blossomed and in this period he took on the share of a flat in New York previously used by his friend, the musician and composer, Richard Rodney Bennett. In this exciting city Nigel promoted his Nigel Quiney Design products by taking space annually at trade shows and when not working took full advantage of the city’s varied gay life.

In Los Angeles, Nigel continued his close relationship with Edward and Gillian Thorpe and introduced his widowed mother to these trips where she became very much part of the entourage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783015245
Publisher:	eBookPartnership.com
Publication date:	09/25/2014
Series:	The Pentateuch, the Old Testament #02 , #3
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Born in 1939 in West Dulwich, South London to a middle-class family, his earliest memories were of the blitz and bombing raids. When the V2 rockets were launched

by the Nazis early in 1945 he was evacuated to Norfolk where he suffered homesickness and sadistic treatment from the resident matron. His schooling started happily but after winning a scholarship to Dulwich College he became increasingly unhappy and remote. He discovered that he was homosexual at the age of thirteen when the

publicity surrounding the jailing of Lord Montague for homosexual offences was headline news. Spending his Easter and summer holidays at the family holiday home at East Dean he enjoyed a very close friendship with a boy of his own age discovering the joys of living in the country. At sixteen, having failed all his "O" level exams except for English he joined his father's business in the City importing wrapping paper. After working evenings in a coffee bar in the West End he met many gay men and subsequently discovered the underground world of gay bars and clubs. At twenty-one his mother discovered that he was gay but quickly came to accept the situation. Later Nigel sailed to the USA on the Queen Elizabeth for a three month trip where he fell into many exciting gay experiences as well as discovering the amazing country

that he was exploring. Back in London he left home, had a tumultuous relationship with Gordon Heath the American actor/singer and when this eclipsed he began to create designs for gift-wrapping paper. These were rejected by his father's partner to be included in their range of papers so Nigel started his own company and the designs were an immediate success selling around the world. He thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Swinging London and travelled abroad a great deal experiencing a wide variety of relationships, and adventures, some dangerous and stimulating; sometimes hilarious. After his father died in 1969 Nigel discovered that his father's partner had secretly re-drawn the company's articles of association. On Nigel's father's death this removed the Quiney family's control in the business and left this partner with the biggest share holding; a major shock. Through the 'seventies Nigel and his mother became very close and travelled around the world together enjoying an honest and frank

relationship which allowed Nigel a freedom to enjoy his life as he saw fit knowing that his mother would always be supportive. It was also in this decade that Nigel experienced two love affairs that were ultimately doomed. These left him feeling very cynical about love. This decade also saw great expansion of the family business when Nigel realised that polythene products would ultimately replace wrapping paper. This ended up with many travels to the Far East looking for supplies and a fascinating first trip to China when it was ruled by Chairman Mao. In the 'eighties, Nigel decided that his gift-wrapping business should expand into greeting cards and by then his exports were greater than his UK sales. In 1982 Nigel met David Evans, the man who would become his life partner. In the 'nineties having successfully sold both his companies he retired from active business and with his partner travelled the world and began to write these memoirs.