After leaving BKS I was working as a temporary accountant for a London agency and was reasonably content with a mixture of work.
However James Tuten, my ex-boss at BKS, was in touch and although I resisted his approaches for months when he flew me down (on North East Airlines – ex BKS!) from Newcastle, where our family was on holiday with my in-laws, and threw in a car as well, I was bought!!
In August 1970 I joined him at Management Dynamics Holdings Ltd at Heathrow House on the Bath Road. This was a computer company owned by the Greyhound Bus Company in the USA.
James Tuten had problems with his three accountants, and once he had me on board, he fired them all. Heady stuff. Into the deep end. Again I had to learn a lot very quickly.
And of course, this is where I really came across working with computers which produced financial and management accounts.
However, Valerie and I decided enough of the UK and I told the company I wanted to move overseas again. They started to look for a replacement and found one quickly, but I started running demonstrations of various of the company’s systems to potential customers for the Group Marketing Director.
So my appointment, my first company car, my intention to leave and my actual leaving.
A great company who treated me well and I learnt a lot more about computer systems.
After being interviewed for jobs in Bangkok, Kobe and Santa Lucia I was offered an interview with Swire’s in Hong Kong.
Just before I left I had a leaving lunch with the Management Dynamics guys in the pub next door to the office. Falling down a one-inch step leaving the premises I fell and broke a bone in my wrist. A fact I didn’t realise until the effects of the six pints of Guinness had worn off later that evening. This meant I flew to Hong Kong with one arm in plaster for an interview. A great tension breaking technique I found out and I was hired by John Swire & Sons