Thinking of our younger years and recalling the good (music and films), the bad (power cuts and strikes) and the ugly (power suits and perms), we asked some of TNT’s readers and London veterans to look back on what’s made the city tick over the mag’s lifetime.
The professional predecessor
Graeme Johnstone, Melbourne, Australia
“I moved to London in early 1980 to be the editor of TNT’s predecessor, Australasian Express. It was a weekly tabloid newspaper, which had been going for about eight years. One of the great breakthroughs while I was there was when we started to get the weekend sporting results sent to us from Australia on a Sunday night by this marvellous new process called the ‘fax’!
Iron Lady: Thatcher was PM 1979-90
“I lived in a flat in Kensington with my wife, Elsie, and our (then) three children. When we arrived everyone said to us, ‘Are you mad, bringing your family over here? This is London, the centre of the world, and the way the Cold War is hotting up, when the first bomb goes off, it will be dropped here!’ Oh, OK, thanks for that warm welcome to the UK.
“A few weeks later the Iranian Embassy went up in smoke after a seven-day siege and the tone was set. The city streets were often tense, the evening news was always strident and a bomb went off one night not far from where we lived. Maggie Thatcher had just come into power and was slashing through industry and business with a machete and taking on the unions. “Rather than hang around London at the weekends, we would jump in the car that was part of my salary package – a VW Beetle with Australasian Express plastered all over it – and take off to see as much of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland as we could.
“When we went back to Australia near the end of 1981, we were obviously pleased to return home, but it had been a truly marvellous experience.”
1995: the rave scene in London hits a high
The tearaway teen
Georgie Manning-Harris, Sydney, Australia
“I moved to Whitstable [in Kent] in ’93 to live with my dad when I was 15. Then I met a guy and I moved to London with him a year later. Two of my closest friends also moved over from Australia and we all lived together.
“I moved around a lot – at one point I was in a house share with 14 other Australians and Kiwis. I think that was all part of living in London for me – there were so many places to rent and I liked to move in with people I didn’t know.
“I went to performing arts school and worked in bars. I used to look in TNT Magazine for jobs, and also to find out what club nights were on. It was great for that – particularly for finding out about events that were geared up for Australians.
“I went a bit party mad. There’s a massive party scene in London. I used to go anywhere that played hard house – so Fever, Fahrenheit, 414 … I would rave all night and then barely make it into college.
“My friends met British guys, took them back to Australia and married them, but I still live in London. It’s a very different experience now. I don’t think London’s changed much but I think I have – I don’t go raving anymore! Also, you hang out with such different people depending on where you live in London. There are so many opportunities here, always new people to meet and new things to do.”
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1989: Arsenal become league champions
The pub-going football fan
Kevin Murphy, Melbourne, Australia
“I moved to London in January, 1986, into a flat in East Finchley with some friends from Adelaide, where I was originally from. I arrived just after a big snow and in the middle of 30 days or so of 0°C or below.
“I was first directed to TNT by my flatmates, who used it to get their first jobs. I also used it for this and soon landed a job at the Pontefract Castle Pub, where I worked for about three months. I also used TNT to secure other work in cleaning. “The weekly TNT was our contact with Australia and, along with updates and scores for our football season, we found out about news events and political changes.
“After the casual transport infrastructure of Adelaide, the London system seemed far supreme. The Underground was always entertaining, but seldom did I feel at risk, even catching Tubes at 11pm or later.
“One regular outing for me and my friends was to local football matches – going to the now former Arsenal ground was a regular. We also had nights out at various pubs; the one distinction from pubs in Australia is that here they seem to be an extension of people’s lounges. You are comfortable, you sit and talk, and it is generally a fun night.
“Me, my brother and a friend also bought a Bedford van to do some travelling. We were able to do some work on it with items scavenged from skips that were out the front of the many homes being renovated in our area. We got wood, carpet and a roof rack for the van, and even paint.
“I remember one of my last nights in London was staying at an International Youth Hostel, which were just getting started in London. A group of around 20 people – mostly just met – ventured out for a big night at the pub and the next day we all went our separate ways.”
Your view from facebook.com/tntmag
Melissa Maierhofer: I moved to London in 1998 and spent nine years there. TNT was a great support for me. Travel, entertainment and accommodation! Working in HR in the UK I would refer all new arrivals to the magazine as it is a great resource. Five years on and back in Australia I still subscribe to the email updates as I loved my time in London and enjoy reading about what London and Europe has to offer the avid traveller. Happy birthday TNT.
Melissa A Butler: We moved to London in February 2004 and were told about TNT. We relied on the magazine to find accommodation, go to gigs and to book tours in the early years of our stay in London. Nearly 10 years later, I will still pick up a TNT Magazine when I walk past them.
Ingrid Morrow: We (my husband and I) moved to London in 1998. We knew somehow about TNT and had trouble finding it at first! After being in London for a short while we learned we could pick it up outside places like Old Street Tube. The highlight was picking it up on the way to work on a Monday morning where we caught up on news from back at home (Oz). We used it to book our first European trips – bus trips to Paris and Brussels – and for other travel ideas. We lived in London for 10 years and all the way through we would pick up a copy when we could. Thanks TNT – you were an intrinsic part of our time in London! Happy 30th birthday!
Colette Carr: My son married an Australian girl and I have three beautiful grandchildren over there. TNT helps me feel closer to them with news from Oz.
Photos: Getty
