Lend Us A Winston Guv...

Delighted that one of my favourite national heroes - Sir Winston Churchill - is to be the new face on £5 notes. It made me think of the former Bank of England branch at at 82, King Street in Manchester's city centre; a grade I listed building that is as striking today as when it was first built in 1846. Designed by Charles Robert Cockerell an architect and archaeologist, I've always thought that this building has a strong, solid, yet noble appearance with its grand facade and giant columns - the kind of place to trust the running of our finances (how things have changed!). King Street has always been an upmarket thoroughfare, it was originally the centre of the city's financial quarter and the original Town Hall stood at the junction with Cross Street. I began my first full-time job a few doors away on King Street in January 1972, as a fresh faced office junior in a firm of stockbrokers. We sat at desks in a large, cavernous office dominated by by an over-sized wall clock; the tick-tock of which seemed to be almost deafening at times. Filing papers, shuffling information cards into order and writing figures in ledgers occupied my working day. The daily highlights were regular walks to the nearby Stock Exchange on Norfolk Street to deliver official documents, this was a welcome opportunity to 'skive-off' for a quick tour around the record shops and clothes boutiques of the day. The world of high finance was never destined to be my chosen career path and I left after twelve months.