The Tesco Set
Tescos is a massive well-known superstore business. In Slough it exists as a huge "warehouse" on "stilts". I try to avoid it when necessary because the amount of goods on offer is so overwhelming, and it is not always easy to find specific items. However, they do tend to sell things at discount, and that is helpful on the pocket.
Anyway, before the "warehouse" on "stilts" was built there was a much smaller Tescos, and I used to be a part of what might be called the Tesco Set which took place in the café !! This was a simple informal meeting of friends back in the 1990s. One them was an Italian who used "to hold Court". His name was Primo Taburini who among other things had a brief "connection" in the past with the Mafia. He also had the habit of droning on, and on...virtually non-stop! Apart from that he had a background in catering, and claimed that he once worked for the Royal Family, and played an important role at Skindles in Maidenhead. He could also on the odd occasion be a bit of a sexual fantasist (typical Italian!). He also used to come up with all sorts of "stories"...such as the following...both of which seemed to have occurred in Naples..
Primo went to rent a flat, and paid over the amount of money owed to the owners. Later on, the real owners suddenly appear, and he realized that he had been duped! On another occasion, he parked his car near a shop which he entered to buy something. A little later, he returns to find that the rubber tyres of his vehicle had been taken off their axles, and stolen!
His late wife notably was skilled in clerical work, and once used to work from home to help in the production of photo fit images of suspects. This was undertaken on the behalf of the local Slough constabulary. She also had direct access to the Police National Computer, or the PNC the codes to which she had to change each day.
Polish Les, and Australian Chris used to be part of the Tesco Set. Both characters appear on this blog elsewhere. Another individual was the man of many names. This was the "name" of someone who called himself Ali, and was a bit on the dodgy side. But he did not mind me teasing him about it. He knew Primo pretty well. One thing I recall about Ali was his collection of colourful crystals which he had found in Pakistan. They were amazing, and I suggested that one could create a business out of them.
To return to Primo. He has a very rich son whom he much admires, and is doing well in the computer business. His name is Adam. He is involved with a data centre known as E-Shelter which at the time of writing is largely financed by Bill Gates. Primo also claimed that Adam used to work for Sir Norman Foster (a famous "eccentric" architect).
Tom Friedlander
Tom or Thomas was my old American Jewish friend, and he would come and visit the superstore. He actually termed the café meetings as the Tesco Set! He had a wonderful cultured English accent. But on very rare occasions he would pronounce some words in a "funny" way....for example data is pronounced dayta in English, but he says it as darta an Americanism with an English accent!
Tom or Thomas was my old American Jewish friend, and he would come and visit the superstore. He actually termed the café meetings as the Tesco Set! He had a wonderful cultured English accent. But on very rare occasions he would pronounce some words in a "funny" way....for example data is pronounced dayta in English, but he says it as darta an Americanism with an English accent!
Tom was educated essentially in the UK at Lancing, and the University of York where he studied philosophy. He was very interested in the theatre, and appeared as an extra in a 100 or so films, and tv programmes. Once I saw a brief glimpse of him sitting behind the actress Helen Mirren in a double decker bus in the film Last Orders (2001). He seemed to be quietly smiling to himself. If I recall correctly after this shoot she gave him a sweet! He also appeared in such films as Onegin (1999) and Quills (2000)..et cetera...He was very briefly seen in a music promotion video for Keane as a tramp! He even became famous in Slough when he was seen as a pirate in a popular tv programme.
Visually Tom was short, and of slight built. Visage-wise he reminded me of the self-portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci with his famous flowing hair, and beard. I have enjoyed his company for many years. As he says he is boring which is unfortunately true....but he does it with a certain charm which can be peculiarly enticing. In other words, he has an air of the "Je ne sais quoi" about his person.
Visually Tom was short, and of slight built. Visage-wise he reminded me of the self-portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci with his famous flowing hair, and beard. I have enjoyed his company for many years. As he says he is boring which is unfortunately true....but he does it with a certain charm which can be peculiarly enticing. In other words, he has an air of the "Je ne sais quoi" about his person.
He also has a set routine, and can be found in the early evening at a certain well-known coffee shop sitting usually in the corner staring into space "trance-like" with a large cup of tea...which he only really touches when it gets cold!! In other words, a bit of an eccentric in many respects, but a very pleasant one..and totally inoffensive.
He also has some very rich Jewish relations including the controversial Sackler family. I have known him since 1994 and we got on very well.
One other thing I recall about Tom is that he wanted help to pay off all his credit cards. Since he was not au fait at the time with computers I acted as his temporary PA in the old Slough Library that was and I started to rapidly tap in his numbers. This took a good while and I was very surprised how in debt he was to the many credit companies he was connected with!
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