00:00We're here at Kenneth Clive's in Pattingham and there's a photo here of a dashing young man and
00:05beside it is another dashing man. Kenneth, hello sir. Hello. Ken, this is an old picture of you
00:14back in the day, isn't it, when you started off your career working in Birmingham, this picture?
00:18Correct. So, it's time, Ken, you're hanging up the coat hooks. You're retiring. So,
00:27we're having a little chat off camera. You told the missus you were going to retire about 20 years
00:32ago, didn't you? I did. So, you're a liar. So, is she pleased then? Is she pleased? Yeah, she's over the
00:37moon. So, just talk us through, Kenneth, you've been a fixture here for how many years? 43. So,
00:43talk on, give us a little condensed version of your life in, as a tailor, what do we call, what do you
00:51call you? Well, we started the 31st of March 1964. Yeah. When I left school, I'm scundied
00:58from school. Yeah. And I started at Hepworth's. Where was Hepworth's? Hepworth's was Dudley
01:03Street, Wolverhampton. Okay. And was that suits and jackets and, yeah? Tailoring. Yeah. Made to
01:09measure suit tailoring company. So, you started there as a young lad. How long were you there
01:13for? So, well, I was in that branch until I was 21 and I got promoted very young to the
01:20Kittyminster store. Yeah. So, I spent 14 months in the Kittyminster store, hugely successful,
01:27and promoted to Dudley branch. Yeah. Which was a nice large branch in Churchill Precinct of,
01:35which I had a four-year stay there. And then I got promoted to Birmingham New Street. Yeah.
01:42Which was a very, very large store. So, when you were working out of Birmingham New Street,
01:46where were you living? I was living in Wolverhampton. So, it was a bit of a, what, jump on the train
01:51every day? Train every day. Yeah. So, then what happened from there on then? I had a huge success
01:56in Birmingham. And then I was promoted to the youngest executive cadet ever. And then I was
02:04promoted to London, the West End. Wow. So, that was a big... That was a big heevil. Yeah,
02:09yeah. And were you eager to get to London? Or, you know, I'm not too sure. I think it would
02:17be too daunting for me, that kind of a move. I was very, very eager to get to London. Yeah.
02:22It was a very nice, big experience. I ran the whole of the West End. Yeah.
02:26Including another 30 shops. So, how old were you when you were working in London, roughly
02:31then? I was 26. So, you... 27. So, that, I mean, that's, you know, a young man in London,
02:38a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. I was. And I lived in a nice little town called
02:42East Sheen, just outside Richmond. Yeah. I had a company flat. Imagine what that would
02:47cost now, to live there now. It's worth 2 million, the flatties. Yeah. And I was paying
02:52£7 a week. How about that? As a subsidised rent. If only you'd have took a mortgage out
02:57back then. They sold it beneath my feet, unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know I was looking to live
03:03there. And did you, you know, you're a young man in the big smoke, but you've got a lot
03:08of work responsibilities. Was there plenty of time for you to enjoy the London life? Yes.
03:13Yeah. Plenty of time to enjoy that. Yeah, yeah. Of course, in 79, we launched Next. Yeah.
03:23Which I was very heavily involved in. Next, as in the Next that we know now? That's right.
03:28Oh, right. Next is Hepworth's. Ah. And we gave them all our shops. You know what, now you say
03:32that, that rings a bell, actually, I think. Yeah. So, the Next stores, as is now, that used
03:38to be Hepworth's, which you were running. Yeah. Oh, interesting. We took this director
03:42on called George Davis, who is famous now at ASDA. Yeah. George at ASDA. Oh, okay. Interesting.
03:48So, he came on board Hepworth's when you were in that transition period to switch into Next.
03:54He switched it to Next. Yeah. His baby. Yeah, yeah. We all helped him. Yeah. And I put up
04:00with him for his antics for three, three years, four years. Yeah. And decided, right, I'm
04:07off. Yeah. And, er, in 83, this is when I opened this shop. Now, right. So, you had
04:13your fun in London, but the Midlands and the Black Country was calling then? Always my
04:17favourite. Yeah, yeah. I came home every weekend to my friends. Yeah. And, er, everything.
04:25I just used to come home from football matches on Sundays. Yeah, yeah. And then, er, I had
04:30the chance of a money from Next. Hmm. And opened Battingham in 83. So, at one point, there
04:37were three stores here, weren't there? There was a little advert that would pop up. So,
04:41you had Kenneth Clive Men's. Yeah. And, go on. Kenneth Clive Hearst. Yeah. And, Kenneth Clive
04:48Heels. So, were they all kind of linked? Yes. Yeah. All launched. All the way through.
04:52Yeah. All the way through. Oh, wow. Going together. Interesting. So, Ken, we should
04:58say, before you go, you've got some, erm, bargain deals to be had. Very good bargain
05:02deals. Yeah, yeah. What's, erm, 50% off, I can see, on some of the stuff? Well, we're
05:07up to 50%. Everything's got 33% off. Yeah, yeah. But, er, it'll be 50% soon. Yeah, yeah.
05:17Good stuff. So, what's, you know, why now, then? Why now? Do you feel you've, you've had
05:28your fill, you've done your bit? And I've exceeded my time by 20 years. Yeah. Yeah,
05:34yeah. Erm, and we want some holidays, and we want to do something. Yeah. So, what's on
05:43the cards, then? Any, any particular places you want to tick off and kind of visit that
05:47you've not had a chance to? I want to drive a coach. Okay. My father was, yeah. One of
05:55Don Everill's his top drivers. Oh, right, okay. And we had a lot to do with him. Yeah. That's
06:00one of our bookie lists. Yeah. And I wanted to be away for Christmas. Want to be away for
06:04Christmas, yeah. I wanted to, I've never had a Christmas off. Ah, interesting. Oh, yeah,
06:08always working. Christmas. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. True, yeah. Any particular places you're thinking
06:14of that you might like to go for Christmas? No, no, I'm open-minded. Yeah, yeah. I don't
06:18do holidays. It's a wife. Yeah. She chooses a holiday. So, memories over the year, then,
06:25Ken, you've had, I guess you build up relationships with customers when you've, you've been here
06:29that long. Well, they were friends, really. Yeah. Friends and customers, and also customers
06:35repeat. Yeah. Yeah, they keep coming back. Is that then what makes it difficult in a way
06:42even more difficult to say, right, this is it? Yeah. Because of that. Very sad. Yeah,
06:47because you're, you're kind of shutting that door on relationships, I guess, as well, aren't
06:50you? Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. So, over the years, so you do smart wear, you do suits, what have
06:57you done? People getting married, that kind of stuff? We do really high business upstairs.
07:02Yeah. Which we've done for a number of years. I hope, shall we let you get the phone?
07:05No. We do a really high business for a number of years. Yeah. Um, probably 30. Yeah. 30
07:14years. Yeah, yeah. Um, it's just been all fun. Yeah. Never, never a day I've not wanted
07:20to come to work. Yeah. And there's a few people, old footballers, isn't there, that knock around
07:26patting him. We've got John Richards, we've got, um, Don Goodman was a big fan of the area,
07:30wasn't he? Yeah, he used to come in quite often. I was going to say, yeah, I wondered if you've
07:34seen some faces over the years. And the manager was the one before him. John Goff comes in.
07:39Yeah. And, um, the old manager used to come in. Jack
07:43Hayward even used to come in. Did he? With, er, with, um, the England cricketer. Yeah. I
07:51forgot her name. Yeah. Rachel. Rachel. Rachel Hayhoe Flint, of course. I nearly lost it myself.
07:58She was in most weeks, most months, offering me tickets for the Wolves match. Yeah. But
08:02as an occupational hazard, I couldn't go. Well, that's the thing, isn't it? When you're
08:05running your own business, you know, your busiest days are kind of when everybody else is off,
08:09so they want to go shopping. So, yeah, yeah, totally, totally. So, you've had some good years
08:16here. Some nice memories. I've had 43 good years. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And we've made lots
08:23for charity. Yeah. Fashion shows. Well, yeah, we'll flash up a few images of some of the press
08:29cuttings. You've had a Royal Ascot day at the rugby ground you used to hold for a number
08:34of years. We did that for 16 years. Yeah. That was popular, wasn't it? It was a good event.
08:39We used to, we rode the biggest bike in the world. Yeah. 26 seater. Yeah. For Crossroads
08:44Care. Yeah. And we did things for the paramedics. Yeah. I've got the wards up there for that,
08:55the badges. So, it's fair to say you've been very community spirited in that sense. Oh,
09:00I've got to in a little village. Yeah, yeah. Where you don't get passing trade. Yeah. You
09:05have to pull your customers in. But it's been fun. Yeah. Great fun. So, it's, we might
09:11not see you knocking around Christmas time because your last day will be November-ish?
09:16Probably the last week in November. Yeah. Hopefully. So, I wonder if you'll get away for this Christmas.
09:23Who knows? I will. Most definitely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've told the kids. I know. You've told
09:27the kids. So, we don't know what's going to, what can we say about what's going to happen
09:32with the premises here in the future? The premises will be re-lit, to what I do
09:39not know. Yeah. It's a chap who lives not too far away, isn't it? In a Staffordshire
09:47village who's bought it. So, it's a local man who's bought it. Yeah, yeah. Well, Ken,
09:53thank you for all you've done serving the community and fundraising really and, you know,
09:59being a colourful character. I know we came down and did a Love Your Village feature not
10:04long ago and you were obliged and posed for my camera. So, it's been much appreciated.
10:10And it'll be a sad day in a way. I'm sure for a lot of people, you know, I live in the
10:15village just next to it. But when you come past and don't see that name, it's a name everyone
10:20knows, isn't it? That must make you very proud, really. Very proud. Yeah, yeah. Any words
10:25for your customers then, Ken, who are going to see this, who've popped in over the years?
10:29Just thank you for your custom, thank you for your repeat business, and I'd like to look
10:34forward to seeing you on a social calendar. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clive. Thank you, sir.
10:39Thank you, Mr. Clive. Thank you, sir.
Comments