Confessions of a Cock-Eyed Optimist

Book excerpt: 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.Nigelaas 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 cityaas 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.