Working at the Witches

Post date: 03-Apr-2020 13:33:47

I moved to London in January 1963 to take up a Civil Service post as clerical officer in a military psychology/science department of the old Air Ministry which was in process of reforming as Ministry of Defence. After a few months living in a civil service hostel in Highbury, I was evicted together with two friends, Mick Thompson from Newcastle and Taff Jones from Swansea, for playing loud music (Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, a hit song ‘Please Please Me’ by some new band called the ‘Beatles’ ....) and holding fairly raucous drinks parties in our shared bedroom. I moved to a bedsit in Belsize Square in NW3, and didn’t look back. The nearby coffee bars, pubs, music clubs, the availability of cheap flats and bedsits, the glorious natural open spaces of Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill, and the attraction of the area for young people from many regions of UK and from other European countries were an instant hit for me. I quickly began to supplement my monthly pay-check by working evenings in coffee bars; especially those with regular live music and a Bohemian atmosphere; the Witches Cauldron and Moon and Sixpence. Operating the Italian coffee machines and serving drinks from behind the bar, it was a great way to meet girls and make friends.

In 1965, Belsize Park NW3 and Belsize Lane in particular went upmarket and culinarily trendy by opening the first dedicated bistro in the area, called ‘The Strolling Guitar’. What’s more, as the name suggests, it offered nightly live strumming and a few songs from the owner, Tony, who proceeded to poach staff from the Witches Cauldron and Chateau Briand restaurant, residing a couple of hundred yards further up the lane opposite the spacious, popular, Victorian, wood panelled Belsize Tavern.

Pete Davis

Pete - pictured above - is writing his memoirs which includes details of his times at the Witches and other cafes and restaurants in Belsize Park. It also describes his adventures travelling to the Middle East, Afghanistan, India, etc in 1965, plus much much more. The above excerpt opens one of the chapters, and he has another excerpt 'Witches Cauldron on the Beach' in the Stories Section. I hope to update these references when the whole volume is published (PE)