Two weeks later, Harry took the day off work and arrived at Joe and Janey's well before 3 o clock, the time arranged. He sat with his aunts in the kitchen and waited.

Etta was full of energy and excitement. 'This is the first step Harry but we can build on it – invite Cyril and his wife to family dinners and you two can have drinks together and rebuild your friendship – then we can start to invite his children to play with your Elaine – I know Glory is too old and sophisticated for that kind of thing!' She smiled, 'But they can meet Elaine and our Janey's grandchildren.'

3pm came and went ... then it was half past and then 4 o clock. By the time 5 o clock struck, the mood had changed dramatically – Harry, who knew his brother wouldn't show up just looked sad. HE was used to coping with the disappointment. Aunt Janey looked angry at first and then determinedly bustled around trying to take her sister's mind off of the disappointment. Easier said than done – Etta was very upset but eventually she turned philosophically to Harry ...

'I had to try to make peace ... I promised my children.'

Harry took her hand. 'I know Aunty ... I know.'

*

In 1965 Harry dissolved his partnership with Stanley and early the next year he took The Knowledge, the comprehensive test to become a London black cab driver. This took twelve months and by the time he had passed in early 1967, Harry knew every street, side road and thorough-fare by heart. If a London cabbie is stopped in the West End and asks to go to a side road in Cricklewood or a cul de sac in Putney, the cabbie knows instantly the route he should take and how to get there – THAT is how the knowledge works and why it takes so long to complete and is a proud old system that sets Black Cab drivers aside from many of the mini cab firms of today who rely on sat nav or directions of their passenger.

Still unable to afford to buy a car outright, Harry hired a black cab and hoped that his new vocation would allow him to earn enough to buy one outright within a year or two – most probably two as his daughter Gloria had become engaged to her boyfriend David and Harry anticipated paying for a wedding in the next year or so.

He was very happy though because he loved cars and he loved the feeling of being independent. Now at last he wasn't tethered to one place to earn money and this would be the final vocation of his life, driving a black cab until his eventual retirement. During that time he picked up celebrities, members of the royal family and members of parliament; he would be asked to drive as far as the other side of the country and he would be commissioned to remain a day with tourists on many occasions and on a few of these was invited to lunch with them and even to join their party watching football or at other events.

He became a popular regular with tourists, especially Americans, some of whom used to write him cards every Christmas and recommend him to their friends – once he received a phone call from an Arizonian who had read about him in a Los Angeles paper where a satisfied customer had posted a notice of recommendation!

Harry's time driving a black cab in London is a subject worthy of an entire book – he had many adventures and a ton of interesting experiences, but one event in particular stands out in his mind because the passenger he picked up had a very personal connection to the story of his life and his family.

It was around 1968, a year after Harry had begun to drive a black cab and a year before he was able to buy his own vehicle.

Harry was driving along Manor Road near Stoke Newington when he spotted Mrs Waterman waiting at the bus stop for a 106 bus. Instinctively he pulled over by the queue of four people who looked at him curiously wondering why he was pulling in as nobody had hailed a taxi.

Mrs Waterman peered into the window and recognized him at once. 'Harry! How are you?'

He answered that he was fine and asked her where she was going (a hospital in the East End) and then offered to drive her.

'Thank you but I didn't intend to get a cab,' she responded and he waved away her objections.

'I don't want any money. Hop in and I'll give you a lift.'

She did so and they talked while he drove her. Naturally one of the first things Harry asked was how Cyril and his family were. It transpired that like Harry, Cyril hadn't had any more children after the two; the oldest was getting on seventeen and the youngest was eleven at this point. Their names were David and John.

Harry briefly wondered if David, the eldest was named after his and Cyril's father Dovid.

'How about Rita?' he asked conversationally, 'Is she keeping well?'

Mrs Waterman pulled a face for an instant and confessed to Harry that she didn't get on so well with her son's wife. Rita was, in her opinion too strict with the children and too bossy with Cyril. 'The children have to be in bed by a certain time ... well little John anyway, not so much David now he's a big boy and I tell you Harry, I don't like the way Rita sometimes contradicts Cyril.'

Harry said nothing for a while but at last he felt compelled to speak honestly. 'Mrs Waterman, I have to say and I hope you take this the right way, but to be honest, with the way Cyril has treated me over the years, I don't have a great deal of sympathy for him having a bossy wife.'

There was silence for a minute longer and Harry began to fear he had said too much but then Mrs Waterman leaned forward towards the partition. 'Harry, can I admit something to you?'

He nodded and she leaned even closer.

'The greatest mistake of my life that I'm sorry about was when I broke up two brothers. It's something that's been on my mind for years now. We should have taken both of you or neither of you.' She sat back and the journey continued in silence for a short while.

When Mrs Waterman spoke again, it was to ask Harry how he liked driving a cab and how his wife and children were doing – then they arrived at her destination and he dropped her off on the corner.

Getting out of the cab, she turned and smiled. 'Keep well Harry,' and then she was gone.

Slowly and thoughtfully Harry reversed the cab and drove back the way he had came and her words kept playing over and over in his mind ...he thought about what she had said for many days to come.