Richie

William Richardson was born on 13th February 1933 in Meten-Meer-Zorg, a small town on the Guyanese coast from which the famous Demerara sugar is derived.

'Richardson' is his grandfather's surname on his mother's side of the family. Richie's parents were very young when his mum fell pregnant, so he was named Richardson rather than after his father - Andrews. Richie only discovered this as an adult when he had to get all his documentation together before travelling to England.

He was always known as ‘Christmas’ anyway. When he was at school, he always laughed and joked, and he got the nickname ‘Father Christmas.’ This was eventually shortened to just ‘Christmas.’ When Richie came to England, people started calling him Richard again. However, if he ever bumps into an old friend from Guyana, he’s back to being called Christmas.

Richie left school at 14 and worked for an Indian mechanic who owned a nearby garage. When slavery was abolished, plantation owners hired workers from India as indentured labourers. Since then, there has been a sizeable Indian population in the area. (Richie has Indian and Chinese ancestors.)

Richie has always been confident that if he can watch somebody do something, then after a while, he will be able to do it himself. "If he can do it, then I can - that's how I learn."

Despite being the youngest of the boys working in the garage, he carefully watched his boss repair the vehicles and quickly learned to do the work himself. Once the boss saw this, he took Richie under his wing and taught him every aspect of being a mechanic.

He worked on all classes of vehicles, including bulldozers, trucks, cars, and tractors. 

Around this time, Richie's mother left Guyana and went to work in England. Initially, Richie thought she was going on a holiday. But he didn't see her again for several years until she sent for him and his brothers. 

They all lived together in her house in Thornton Heath in South London, and a few years later, the family saved up enough to send for Richie's dad.

Richie's mum had a good job working as a supervisor at the Roehampton Hospital. She got Richie a job in the CSSD (Central Sterile Services Department), a part of the hospital where all the medical devices and equipment are sterilised. 

One of the hospital nurses, who was friends with Richie's mum, was having problems with her car. It was in the middle of winter. According to Richie, Britain had proper winters back then: "All you get nowadays is a strong breeze and cold." 

The car, a VW Beetle, was covered in snow and wouldn't start. The hospital had a workshop, but the men working there could not get the engine to turn over. Richie's mum told the nurse to let Richie take a look. He borrowed some tools from his brother Simon and managed to fix it. 

The nurse was impressed and told her friends. Word of mouth spread, and Richie started to repair cars on street corners and in a neighbour's shed. 

His brother then told Richie about an Irish friend who was a mechanic and had a large garage in Tooting with some extra space. This man was also called Richie, and the two Richies agreed to share the garage. The Irish Richie was purely a mechanic, whereas the Guyanese Richie, thanks to his old Indian boss back home, could do Panel beating, welding, and spraying. So Richie helped the Irishman out with this. They became good friends and often went to dances and pubs all over London. Richie also loved to play Chinese Checkers and the one-arm bandits in the 'Banditshop' in Tooting. 

The garage, which he called 'Starlight Motors', was a success. Richie quit his hospital job and became a full-time mechanic.  Apart from his short stint at the hospital, Richie has always worked for himself since coming to England. "If you can work without a boss, it's a gift."

Back then, he also liked to drink 'High-Wine', which comes from Demerara and is an extremely strong spirit. 'It give me that 'kick', and it makes me work more.' Then, one day, he decided to stop drinking and smoking and hasn't done either since.

Richie also set up Starlight Cars, a minicab company on Selkirk Road in Tooting. Around then, Richie married Ulaline, a woman he knew from school in Guyana. They were always good friends, and they reconnected and married in London, where she worked as a nurse. They never had kids together. In Richie's words, "Ulaline tried, but she was unable to make a child."  She passed away in 2004 at the age of 69. 

Richie is a sociable man and has many friends, many of which were Irish. "I don't see an Englishman, an Irishman, a German or an African; I see a human being, a person, an individual." 

Richie regards everyone under his roof as his 'brothers and sisters.' He refers to this as 'African style,' which comes from the fact that most traditional African societies did not have words for uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, or niece in their language. Everyone was considered a brother or sister. Richie says, "However you twist it and turn it, we are all brothers and sisters—all human beings in this world." 

Richie is now 91 and lives in the heart of Tooting. He still does his own shopping, cooking, and daily exercises. He enjoys watching TV: "Anything that looks nice on the screen." His favourite show is Judge Judy, and he enjoys Westerns as he did as a boy back in the cinema in Guyana. 

He has no regrets about coming to England. He likes his flat—it's comfortable. He added that he's been happy in all the places he's lived in in London. He has no plans for the future: "When you get to my age, you can't plan for anything." He still plays the lottery because "You never know."

Alongside the picture of Richie's mother are many old photos of kids, which Richie revealed were his. When I asked how many children he has, he laughed, "Man, I can't count them all. They are from back in Guyana before I married." He added, "I'm not afraid and am proud to say so. I treated women well, but back then, I was a sugar boy,' and you will need a bigger camera to get that story recorded."