It Was Back In The 60s

It was back in the 60s
that Big Carlo and I
worked, waiting on tables,
in a posh restaurant
on Kensington’s Church Street.
This establishment, of which
I won’t reveal the name,
attracted a clientele
that was famous and rich.
It was quite a long list:
actors, musicians, writers,
broadcasters and journalists.
It was rather essential
that one booked in advance
or else to dine in luxury
there was little chance.
The staff was multinational
as one would expect;
the Italians were there,
of Spaniards we had two
- one was assistant cook -
and a solitary British
who had the forlorn look
of a nobleman in distress.
When on rare occasions
the business was slack
we knew that the chef’s mood
would be verging on black
but we had a lot of fun
listening to tittle-tattle
of patrons indiscreet
or we freely chatted
with them, one to one.
We gathered from TG,
a baritone renowned,
that Maria Callas, alas,
was in rapid decline.
AB, an attractive blonde,
confided she’d starred
in ‘The Count of Montecristo’.
Miss C breezed in and proudly
said she’d become the mother
of a beautiful daughter.
SM made us all laugh
with typical Irish humour
recounting how the war
was won by him alone.
But at times the air was gravid
with bad news and despair.
I recall a Pan-Am pilot
who sadly shook his head
when I told him his President,
JFK, was dead.

© Luigi Pagano 2010