More Cock-Eyed Optimism

by Nigel Quiney

Overview

This frank and honest memoir follows the life of Nigel Quiney aged twenty-one returning to London from the USA. He re-joins the family business of paper importers Ridley Quiney & Co. and leaves home. The new decade of the 'sixties is an exciting time and gay life is beginning to be more interesting, with more clubs and bars and even places where dancing is possible, subject to police raids. With his own studio he now has the freedom to entertain friends and it is in this period that he falls in love with Gordon Heath, the American actor/singer and begins a torrid affair with him. When this relationship finally finishes he resumes again his interest in design which culminates in his producing a range of unique gift-wrapping papers which immediately become best sellers. Thanks to the politics of the family business his gift-wraps were not taken up and thus he created his own business, Nigel Quiney Designs. This launches him into the excitement of Swinging London with increasing sales both at home and across the USA. With an expanding business he travels back to the USA where he indulges in the expanding gay life in New York and Los Angeles as well as promoting his gift-wrapping papers. In holiday times he discovered the joys of being gay in Ibiza and Morocco at a time when little tourism existed there.

In the mid-sixties he meets Ted and Gillian Thorpe. She, under the name of Eliot George wrote one of the first gay novels to be published - The Leather Boys, subsequently made into a successful film. Later when she was furthering her career by writing screen plays in Hollywood she and Nigel met. The following year Ted was looking for someone to share expenses when he planned to cross the USA in his Lotus Elan and Nigel put himself forward as his traveling companion. This started a life-long friendship and the two cross country drives produced many memorable and hilarious situations at a time when the English were a very rare event for Americans to come across.

This is the second of four memoirs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783015238
Publisher:	eBookPartnership.com
Publication date:	09/19/2014
Series:	The Pentateuch, the Old Testament #02 , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	10 MB

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 loneliness 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 dominance 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 he began to write these memoirs.