My earliest memory of the Bluecoat is probably of a Sandon children's party, going down a very long slide in the hall, in fancy dress, and being teased by a conjuror.

That would probably be in the late 1940s. Then, much later, having lunch in the Sandon with my parents, usually whole plaice for 2/9p, waitress service, real fires, the artists' and musicians' tables, Herbert Tyson Smith from his workshop/studio. Then later still, in the 1980s onward, having my own studio. When I first got my second room I turned the radio up and went into the new second room (which had been architect Ken Martin's secretary's) and shut the door to see how loud it sounded. I couldn't get out but managed to attract the attention of the strange man who was always in the courtyard with a plastic bag on his head - and he got help.