So, I made my move to London. I got a job, pretty much straight away, but finding accommodation was a bit harder. I initially stayed with my school friend for a few days until his no-nonsense brother suggested I try bed & breakfast hostels. For about six weeks, I stayed in a B&B near my job and, in visiting a nearby pub, I got my fix of disco and topless dancers - after all, it was the 1970s! The DJ in the pub was Mike an...

As a teenager, I was very shy around girls. I wasn't that interested, more interested in football and other sports. At a school disco, I spotted a girl I fancied and we danced in the frenetic styles of the time. And then, the DJ played a slow song, too slow to continue to dance as we had been doing. I noticed that other couples were holding each other close, slowly shuffling their feet and going round in circles. An older...