5 Hamston House,
London W8
by Jilliana
Ranicar-Breese
In the late 70’s
I was living in Paris and was a dealer of dreams,
having clients extending from London, Paris, New
York, Vienna and Germany. But, despite being busy
during the day I was desperately lonely in the
evening. Could I possibly live again in London I
asked myself?
I had rented out my flat to two couples, one
after the other. They turned out to be erotic
dancers at Raymond's Revue Bar in Soho! One was
Egyptian called Shinasi and his Swedish wife and
the second couple, who my tenant passed on, were
Swiss and Moroccan.
I found a delightful young man in a Kensington
estate agency who seemed to take a personal
interest in me. He said he had just the place but
unfortunately it had been taken off the market.
However, he wanted to show it to me.
It was the flat of my dreams. An attractive first
floor flat in a small red brick Edwardian Mansion
block. Art nouveau stained glass front door and a
hall full of Victorian mirror tiles making the
hall cum dining room look larger. A kitchen and a
bathroom off the central circular hall. Two
bedrooms and a lounge with a grand piano all
tastefully decorated with mahogany furniture. My
dream destination and I wanted it.
The owner was Jack Jones who was a batman for a
British diplomat. I think they both lived there
but that part is unclear or whether he had
inherited the flat. He also cleaned the silver
for the Lebanese businessman in exile opposite,
Mr Hakim from Beirut.
After seeing the flat I was disinterested in
viewing any others.
I went back to Paris and thought again about
moving back to London. It was 1980 and I was now
commuting between the two capitals setting up to
exhibit at the monthly Ephemera Society fairs and
buying for my Paris clients in London and my U.K.
clients in Paris. I specialised in conjuring and
pre cinema objects, Ephemera, books and prints as
I had joined the Magic Lantern Society and even
the Mechanical Music Society. My clients taught
me everything. I learned fast and had no
competition for 15 years. No channel tunnel, no
EBay, mobile phones, Etsy or Facebook to change
our lives forever.
I flew back to London one Friday and got into a
bath, exhausted, around 5.00 pm. I concentrated
my thoughts on my dream flat, even thinking of
wall plugs and the position of my lamps. I was
right there 'walking' around that flat. I didn’t
know it but I was manifesting that flat for a new
chapter in my life. I shot out of the bath and
raced to the phone, dialling the agency. It was
after hours as agencies closed at 5.30 pm but my
mind was set on that flat. The young man answered
the phone.
'Jilliana, I've been trying to call you in Paris.
That flat in Hamston House you wanted came back
on the market today.'
'I'll take it!' said I.
And I did!
Written
in Casa de los Bates, Motril, Spain on 7/2/17.
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