On his 96th birthday, our founder members pay tribute to our Honorary Chairman,
pictured here at Riversdown House with family and friends!
I thought it would be fun to share a memory of when I first met Richard—or “Don,” as his close friends call him—in Canterbury around 50 years ago.
After a dark and inhospitable winter in England, my wife and I were keen to return to Spain, where we had first met when I was the Sales Manager at the Castellana Hotel. A close friend, Robert Sirabella, who had recently opened Linguarama’s school in Madrid, liked my idea of starting a translation division. He suggested I take a TEFL course to pay my way as an English teacher until the venture took off.
He recommended a two-week intensive course at Canterbury University. As a college dropout, I thought a spell at university would be useful, so we both signed up, as the training would also serve Carmen as a Spanish teacher.
On arrival, we were ushered into the auditorium and found seats in the third row right close to the exit—just in case! The room filled up as the starting time approached, and a middle-aged man, slightly younger than my father, sat next to me and smiled politely but said nothing. To break the ice, I asked if he knew much about Linguarama. “I’d never heard of them,before” I said. “Are they any good?” He looked at me again, slightly askance, and again said nothing as the show was about to start!
Ed Wilton welcomed us and, to get the ball rolling, asked for volunteers to teach him English as if he were a Japanese businessman with no prior knowledge of the language. Several volunteers got up and, despite their best efforts, were unable to get any intelligible response from the student.
Finally, my new “friend” next to me put up his hand. “Can I have a go?” he asked. We were all absolutely gobsmacked as, within just two minutes, he had the “student” delightedly mastering some very simple phrases. Of course, it was Richard, himself, who had us all instantly motivated to learn Linguarama’s “Direct Method.”
Despite my unfortunate start, we passed the course with flying colors and were offered a job immediately after Christmas. Robert had clearly greased the wheels! We had an amazing time in Spain, although the translation division never took off. On my first day, I was plunged into nine hours of teaching complete beginners. I was amazed at how well the “method” worked and, in the process, discovered my new vocation.
Carmen, on the other hand, faced a group of cocky Algerian engineers who claimed to be complete beginners. The nervous young teacher, armed with her props, picked up a pen. ”A pen,” she said. They all laughed. “Yes, we can see it is a pen. What else are you going to teach us!” Suffice to say, after suffering 90 minutes with that boisterous group, she decided teaching was not her thing! Fortunately, Robert took pity on her and offered her a job as his secretary.
We had a wonderful time at Linguarama. Robert, the mysterious “pied-noir,” was a great boss. Every so often, Richard would appear on his regular trips to check on his European schools, and he always brought his mother with him, who was then in her 90s. I fondly remember sitting next to her at a staff lunch. “Do you know my son?” she asked me in her broad Wigan accent. “He’s done very well, hasn’t he?”
Richard has been a prolific writer. While most people know When Cultures Collide, my personal favorite is The Road from Wigan Pier—a fascinating account of his adventures and achievements around the world. It starts with delightful stories of his post-war excursion to Spain as a student on just 10 pounds, followed by Chapter 2 in Finland with its “undefinable appeal” and his close association with the Wallen family. What a great friend Matt was! When he came to Spain, he could drink us all under the table!
I was incredibly surprised and honoured to get a mention in the book on page 335. Having married in Chile in 1976, we decided to move there permanently in 1981. I contacted Richard about opening a Linguarama school in Chile, and he came to visit us in 1982 as part of his Latin American tour.
I was most embarrassed on our first evening as potential business partners. I suggested taking him for a stroll around downtown Santiago so we could find a nice place to sample some Chilean food. It was getting dark by the time we left, the streets were empty, and all the restaurants were closed to allow staff to get home in time for the 10:00 PM curfew. We ended up having a hurried meal at the Lung Fu Chinese restaurant in a basement right opposite his hotel!
Fortunately, Don has more pleasant memories of the trip… right up until he got a call from the British Embassy advising him not to fly to Argentina, as he would probably be arrested. The Falklands War had just been declared!
I received a letter from him when he got back to England. In view of the uncertain political situation in Chile, the war with Argentina, and other legal complications with an ex-manager of Berlitz who had registered the name “Linguarama,” he gave me some definitive advice: “Go it by yourself, Philip!” he wrote. “Just make sure you send us plenty of students to Riversdown!”
And I did! Thanks for the push, Richard! You paved the way for IBC Language Training (International Business Consultants) and my subsequent incursions into Organizational Effectiveness with the Covey Leadership Center and VitalSmarts.
We are so delighted and honoured that you agreed to come on board at CCAS as our Honorary Chairman. Happy 96th Birthday, Richard!
PS: Hope you are recovering after all the coordination, Caroline!