But opening a guest house was perhaps, for me, merely a subject for amusing discussion, an imaginary escape route when pressures at Lindler & Haliburton were heavy, no more than an occasional pleasant day dream. Providing somewhere to stay that was comfortable and clean for gay men visiting London, making them welcome and hearing something of their lives was appealing, but new businesses set up by inexperienced people usually fail. There was a high risk of bankruptcy.
Yet the idea must have begun to take hold. At the last Hotel and Catering Exhibition a fresh-faced young salesman in a brand new suit persuaded me to buy a subscription to the trade magazine The Caterer and Hotelkeeper. If what lay ahead for me at Lindler & Haliburton was what had happened to my old boss in the IT Unit, a growing dissatisfaction which worsened with age, even festering into bitterness at wasting my life there, a radical change now while most of my working life still lay ahead would make sense.
Peter gave me another little stimulus to think about my future by sending me a copy of an article from the Wall Street Journal extolling the virtues of corporations concentrating on their 'core business' and contracting out most of their support services. Not surprisingly the author was a director of a company which provided office services and computer systems to several major US corporations, and predictably he made all he could of the benefits whilst skimming over potential drawbacks. In a clever piece of low key marketing he concluded that such arrangements might not suit everyone, but recommended that all organisations, private and public, evaluate the use of outside service companies as an option. How difficult it would be to argue against that, and once an evaluation began the door would be open to persuasive people such as himself.
Peter's motive was not one of animosity towards me - he was careful to explain that he wanted me to be aware of the trend rather than be surprised and overtaken by developments - but what if he was discussing the subject with others in the firm? The same day, as though collaborating with Peter to spur me into action, Andrew rang to suggest having another look at Goodmans Villa, the house he had taken me to see almost two years ago. It was no longer on the market but he thought if we approached the owner she might be willing to lease it to us. 'What started you thinking about that place again?'
'I happened to pass it the other day and rang the estate agent for a chat. There would be no harm in making a few enquiries. If we could get a lease on it for say ten or twenty years we should be able to make it pay.'