Mr and Mrs David Dickinson

In the mid nineteen sixties I met my wife-to-be in a nightclub. She is the international cabaret artist Lorne Lesley, and we've now been married for over forty years. Lorne is half African and half Welsh and hails from Tiger Bay,  just like Shirley Bassey. Lorne is very glamorous, a lovely striking lady, and she has more talent in her little finger than I have in my whole body!

When I met Lorne Lesley I was working in the textile industry, but I was ready for a change of career and as I got to know Lorne better we decided I should become her manager. Together we traveled the world. It was during this time that my interest in antiques began to flourish. The cabaret bookings took us to europe and many other far flung exotic locations and as Lorne's shows didn't start until late in the evening we had all day together to go out shopping and exploring the towns.

Small Shop , Big Step

I learned a lot just looking around shops and market stalls and by always asking lots of questions. Getting my 'eye in' the world of antiques. I reckon that dealers love to be charmed and that if you are polite, and ask before hauling the merchandise about that traders will be happy to answer all your questions and give you as much information about a piece as they can. Spotting a bargain is not a question of luck but the application of acquired knowledge and experience.

In the nineteen seventies I bought a little shop in the centre of Disley, a region of Manchester with my boyhood friend Chris Haworth, Chris enjoyed collecting and I had already started buying and selling antiques. The little shop was a big step.

A Risky Business

Things went really well for Chris and I and we shared good fortune and some good luck. In 1980 we sold the shop in Disley for a handsome profit and rented a 'glamorous emporium' in Wilmslow, the Mayfair of Cheshire. Many people warned us that the venture was risky and sadly business was never good and three years later we two decided to dissolve the partnership, but we remained the best of friends.

I went on to run another shop but this antiques business is not all 'go, go go' and in 1991 with a further recession looming I decided to shut up shop. I carried on in the trade and concentrated on selling antiques at prestigious antique and fine art fairs. For several years I made a good living by taking stands at Olympia and other major antiques fairs three or four times a year.

Read how a chance meeting leads to an unexpected change in career ... next page