Call Sign August 2009 - Page 13 - Famous people I’ve Had Breakfast With…

Frank’s brekkers with a Hollywood superstar! It was around 7.30 on a Saturday morning many years ago when Dial-a-Cab driver Frank Pegler (E77) was called to an account address in South Kensington. After completing a local return trip with the housekeeper, he was invited into the house itself where he was met by a grieving woman cuddling a small dog that was wrapped up in a carpet. "My dog has died," the woman said, tears running down her face. "Do you know somewhere I can have him buried and how much it will cost," she asked Frank? Frank was used to questions such as where was the closest car pound or which direction was the M1, but animal burials wasn’t on the list. He could only think of the Wood Green animal sanctuary, but it was far too early in the morning to call them. "Have you eaten," the lady with the dog enquired? "Carmen will make us all breakfast and then we’ll call the sanctuary," she added. So Frank sat down to eat with the DaC account client and her housekeeper, tucking into a hearty early morning breakfast. At 9am he called the animal sanctuary and they quoted him £40 burial fees, but would not allow the owner to stay and witness the burial. "That’s no good to me," retorted	Famous people I’ve Had Breakfast With…
	*Brian and the late Ava Gardner*
	the lady, "he’s special and I want to be there for him at his final resting place," she said firmly. "Do you have a garden" she asked Frank? "No," was his reply, "but I know someone who does!" Thinking of his parent’s house, Frank phoned his stepmother in south London to explain the situation. "Your father isn’t here, but come down anyway," she said. Frank discreetly whispered down the phone for her to start digging and with the account client, housekeeper and the wrapped-up dog safely on board, Frank made his way south. The dog was duly laid to rest in Frank’s parents’ garden and they all retired to the front room for tea. Before leaving to return to Ennismore Gardens SW7, the lady dog owner handed a small envelope to Frank’s stepmother	and thanked her for her hospitality. When Frank’s father got home some time later, his wife told him Frank had visited but didn’t stay long as he had some people with him. "And you’d better read this letter which was left for you," she added to her still mystified husband. The letter thanked Frank’s family for their help and compassion at a very difficult time and enclosed £40, the equivalent of the burial fee at Wood Green. The letter was signed Ava Gardner! Frank then told Call Sign that his father had been a great fan of Ava’s during the height of her Hollywood fame, yet she had been sitting right there in his house and yet he never got to meet her! Ava Gardner died on January 25, 1990. © Call Sign Magazine MM9

BANK OF ENGLAND OPENS ITS DOORS …to reveal working rooms and architectural treasures
On the weekend of 19th and 20th September, the Bank of England will invite visitors behind the scenes at this world famous bank. The Open House weekend will provide Dial-a-Cab drivers and their families with a rare opportunity to examine the detailed architecture of the Bank and visit the rooms in which some of the UK’s key monetary decisions are taken. The Bank of England and Museum will be open to visitors for 30-minute guided tours. No booking is required, but you should arrive early to avoid long queues. Entry times are from 9.30am to 5pm with the last entry at 4.30pm. Put the date on your calendar now… Visitors will be invited into the Bank’s Threadneedle Street site, a location it has inhabited since 1734. The majority of the Bank was rebuilt in 1925 by architect	Sir Herbert Baker, but he retained and incorporated some of his predecessor’s much admired earlier work. There is an opportunity to see the Garden Court at the heart of the Bank, where Mulberry trees reflect the origins of paper money. The tour will also include the Court Room, which houses a wind-dial originally installed so that the Bank’s directors could forecast the arrival of merchant shipping in the Port of London. The Committee Room	where the Monetary Policy Committee meets to make its decisions will also be open to view. The Museum entrance is in Bartholomew Lane, just off Threadneedle Street. There is also a permanent Museum display that tells the story of the Bank from its foundation in 1694 to its role today as the United Kingdom's central bank and which includes material drawn from the Bank's own collections of silver, prints, paintings, banknotes, coin, photographs, books and other historic documents. Exhibits range from Roman and modern gold bars, to pikes and muskets once used to defend the Bank. Computer technology and audio-visual displays explain the Bank's role today. There is no charge for admission to the Bank of England Museum or for any event. For more information visit HERE /museum.

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