| Rolf Harris (An Apology) | Dated : Sometime 1987 |
Dear Rolf,
I to this day do not know if it was you or a prank from my work colleagues at the time, but if it was you, and your reading this (God Forbid), then please accept it as an apology!
I was 17, and had just started year 2 of my YTS, as a placement at an Aerospace type company near my 'then' home in Radcliffe, Near Manchester; now... your probably wondering Why I'm telling you this, but I need to build up the picture and where my doubt came from for what was about to happen.
As usual I used to start early at any company I've worked at, I put this down to being up-early since early childhood, not sure why, it was just that way; so put in mind that's it's somewhere around 8-8:15 am...
<phone rings >, I'm at my desk in the office, and there's no-one else around, other that blokes in the Warehouse, so I go and pick it up..
"Good Morning.... XYZ Company, Can I help you?"
"Hello... is Colin in?" <Colin was the owner of the company>
"Erm... I'm sorry, Colin doesn't usually come in till around 8:45 to 9am, can I take a message or would you like to call back later?"
"Ahhh...Yeah, could you take a message for me....."
"Sure, just let me get a pen and paper..... OK....what name is it please?"
"Rolf" <Now at this point, I should have twigged the Australian accent, but I didn't...anyways....>
"Ok...Rolf.... What's the message?"
The message was along the lines of a Charity function that was being sorted, I think, and by the Round Table, which I know Colin was into...
"Right, I have that message, oops, Sorry, can I have a surname as well please?"
"Harris..... Rolf Harris!"
< long pause >
"Yeah Right, Bollocks it's Rolf Harris, Ian????? Steve??? is that you, come on, stop takin' the piss!" (Those who know me, now see I've had 'Tourettes' for a good few years)
< longer pause on other end of phone >
"No.. really, it is Rolf Harris...."
"Aha! Yeah Right!"
"No... REALLY, can you please give Colin the message for me, thanks, Bye Bye...."
Now, shortly after this, both Steve and Ian (my fellow colleagues) arrived, and I didn't let on, but took the message up to Colin's desk, left it and thought no more about the matter.
Alas... Later that day, my phone rang (Internal Call) and it was Colin... "Hi.. .can you come up-stairs please?"
Now, I didn't think much about it, as I regularly got called up-stairs to see what next project was required, and trotted off up!
I walked into Colin's office, and instantly suspected something was wrong....
"Can you sit down please.."
"What's the matter Colin, you look a tad narked?"
"This message you left me this morning.... I've just had a conversation with the caller, and he's none-too-chuffed"
As usual, I immediately jumped on the defensive and fired one back... "Come on Colin, I know this is a prank cooked up between you, Steve and Ian; and a very funny one at that, you had me going for about 5 minutes"
"Nope... it was serious, but apparently he's had this exact same result many a time before, but has also sent me this fax as he was pretty sure I'd not get the message"
and lo-and-behold, he pushed a fax across the desk at me with some hand-written bumph and the jotting at the bottom as follows.....
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