My first years in the UK

My Forty Years in Northwick Close London NW8
by Carol Gould

March 2018

To this day no-one believes it but I found my flat in Cedric Chambers, Northwick Close in St John’s Wood, London via the Yellow Pages! I had come to great Britain in January 1976 to pursue a postgraduate degree in Theatre and Film studies with the American college, Temple University, with whom I had achieved my Honours Phi Beta Kappa BA degree. I had lived in a flat In Brompton Square, Knightsbridge, for eighteen months from January 1976. In mid-1977 the owner, Major Gilmore, had decided to leave his country seat and become a Londoner, and duly issued Notice to Quit to all of us in the building. To an American this meant I needed to skedaddle. My British neighbours thought it was absurd that I was panicking, telling me it would take months for the Major to ‘get us out,’ but my sixth sense told me it was unwise to hold on to the bitter end whilst trying to complete my advanced degree. ..................

.........In 1977 I decided to register with a dentist and found one around the corner above the Asian bistro in Edgware Road. Young Mr Brocklehurst (I was suspicious that he wasn’t ‘Dr’ as are all US dentists but let him look inside my mouth!) inspected my teeth and said ‘You’re American, aren’t you?’ I was astounded . He said ‘Your teeth are perfect.’ He explained to me that Americans were noted for excellent teeth. Perhaps we have too much fluoride in our water ? I had already noticed how much sugar my London circle put into tea and coffee. However in recent years in the 2000s I have noticed that young Britons have strong and beautiful teeth…...