HARRY H
Harry is ‘quintessentially English’. The ‘Lovely Harry’, as his mates call him, is as English as black cabs, double-decker buses and red telephone boxes. He wears finely tailored Savile Row suits and Fratelli Rossetti crocodile shoes. He carries an ivory cane and has perfect double cuffs which he adjusts at regular intervals. He is today’s David Niven or Trevor Howard.
Harry possesses a taste for the good life and a sense of mischief that no true English gent is complete without. Whether it’s driving around in Jaguars and Rollers or eating ‘speed’ like it’s going out of fashion, he takes his pleasures wherever he can. He sails through life without leaving a shambles behind; behaving reasonably well, being honest, a man of his word and, not least, having a good time.
But Harry was born with a streak of mischief running through him. He’s not your average nine-to-five man, never has been and never will be. He likes to think of himself as an entrepreneur who will, on impulse, try anything once.
Nowadays, he tells me that he’s given up the ‘dirty rat race’. But like the true English gentleman that he is, he’s retired to a quintessential cottage in the country, with quintessential roses around the door, a quintessentially wire-haired fox terrier by his side, and an all-singing, all-dancing, waving, African grey parrot called Claude who Harry has taught to stutter.
Harry adjusts his cuffs and straightens his tie for the last time during our interview. He lovingly hands Claude a monkey nut while trying to convince me that he’s retired and is now a virtual recluse. Claude interrupts with a squawk and a screech, ‘He’s a g-g-g-good boy now!’
BACKGROUND
I was born and brought up in the garden of England – Kent. I have an older brother and an older sister. I was a normal kid from a normal family. I looked up to my father; he was a good man. My mother was the disciplinarian; she tried her best, bless her heart. I’ve always been a loner, I find it better that way. If I don’t trust anyone then I won’t be let down. I think it was my destiny to be a rascal. Even from the age of 13, I was heading down the wrong road, when I was busted for drugs.
LIFE OF CRIME
Nothing to speak of – only drugs, firearms and fraud!
WEAPONRY
When I was younger, I was hot-headed and would have a tear-up with anyone. Now I’m older, I realise there is more than one way to skin a cat!
TOUGHEST MOMENT
Realising my 13-year marriage had fallen apart.
IS THERE ANYONE YOU ADMIRE?
Great leaders, like Churchill. He was a strong man, a leader of his time.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN HANGING?
No. If we are to believe to take someone’s life is evil, then it’s evil across the board. Society is wrong to take a life. They are as guilty as the person they are trying.
IS PRISON A DETERRENT?
Like a lot of things, prison is only a deterrent until you’ve experienced it. It’s fear of the unknown.
WHAT WOULD HAVE DETERRED YOU FROM A LIFE OF CRIME?
A family.
WHAT MAKES A TOUGH GUY?
To me, a tough guy is a man who believes in something enough to kill or be killed. Great men like Malcolm X, the Irishman Michael Collins and the Scot William Wallis. They all died for a cause they truly believed in.
HARRY’S FINAL THOUGHT
The first thing a man should take into consideration before embarking on a life of crime is his family and his loved ones. Also, honour, pride, self-respect and his word are all important. A man is nothing if he’s not true to his word. It’s not easy to take another man’s life. I know from experience you’ll never be the same person, no matter who you are. Everyone has a conscience, whatever way he disguises it with excuses.
In his heart he knows not only that the person has died but there is an innocent party left behind, hurting.