Hazel

This being the result of a couple of paperbacks picked up at the Raynes Park platform library towards the end of March.

Written by one P. B. Yuill, a nom de plume for Terry Venables (footballer) and Gordon Williams (journalist) - although one wonders why they bothered, given that all three names appears on or near the front of both books. This being two of the three Hazel stories, subsequently made into a television series running to no less than 22 episodes by Thames Television in the late 1970’s. So Yuill did well. About the time that we acquired our first television, which may explain why the face on the cover of my copy of the books is vaguely familiar.

So we have two stories built on one James Hazel of the East End, once policeman, now budding private investigator. A man with a foot in all three camps, with a drink problem and with a penchant for the ladies.

Part of the wave of stuff in the 1970’s which glorified (and sanitised) East End people, East End slang and East End gangsters – with two other parts being ‘Up the Junction’ of reference 4 and ‘Minder’ of reference 5. An up side of this was the recognition that coming from a bog standard estate (to use a phrase made famous by Past PM Blair) did not mean that you had to stay there. A down side was the fashion for otherwise respectable people to fraternise with seriously unpleasant gangsters like the Krays.

All this at a time when it seemed to be normal for plenty of London policemen to operate at the margin. Some violent, some bent and some with bent tendencies. Also at a time when it was normal for London policemen to be rather too friendly with their clients – rather in the way of Simenon’s Maigret with his. Not always easy to tread the right path between knowing the enemy and being tainted (or worse) by the enemy. Including, in Simenon’s case, the subtext that in the olden days you had respectable villains, more or less serious tradesmen in their way and with whom you could have sensible dealings – and then the rubbish at the bottom of the heap. The people, for example, who would murder old ladies for a few quid to pay for a few pills.

A fair sprinkling of sex, about on a par with the Bond novels. So books to appeal on that account to adolescent and perhaps older males.

A rather thicker sprinkling of what we are told was East End slang – a sprinkling which fairly rapidly became tiresome, getting in the way of the story rather than helping it along. Plus, I suppose that, with the demise of the old East End, this sort of slang is now more or less extinct and confined to television screens.

A very modest amount of football chatter – for which we presumably have Venables to thank.

At least two flash cars: a Triumph stag and a Jenson Interceptor. I do remember owning flash cars being important, not that I ever qualified in that department – but it all seems very old fashioned now. Maybe now that we can all do 80 or 90mph down the 70mph motorway in our bog standard Fords (or whatever), not really much point any more.

I got through the first (reference 1) fairly quickly, but slowed down through the second (reference 2). I wonder whether I will bother with the third, should it turn up at Raynes Park? 

These two headed for the big box in the garage labelled Methodists’ Book Fair.

PS 1: Maufe gets a mention at reference 6 for his work on the First Clubland Church in Walworth, a famous graduate of which was Michael Caine, another chap who did well out of being an East Ender, or at least something close thereto.

PS 2: my copy of the book snapped above is also a Penguin, but my cover has a picture taken from the television series.

References

Reference 1: Hazel plays Solomon – P.B. Yuill – 1974.

Reference 2: Hazell and the three card trick – P.B. Yuill – 1975.

Reference 3: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077020/. The television version.

Reference 4: Up the junction – Peter Collinson, Suzy Kendall, Dennis Waterman, Maureen Lopman – 1968. Film.

Reference 5: Minder – Leon Griffiths, George Cole, Glynn Edwards, Dennis Waterman – 1979-1994. TV series.

Reference 6: Edward Maufe: Architect and Cathedral Builder – Julie Dunmur – 2019.