Portsmouth Music Scene


The Portsmouth Music Scene

Bob Jenkins


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I suppose it makes sense to tell you a bit about myself - okay, so I would think that most of you probably aren't that interested - after all, it's the stuff in this site that brings you here, rather than me - but I've had a few questions from visitors, so I thought perhaps I should introduce myself to you properly. Firstly, they don't come much more "Portsmouth" than I do; I was born in Manor Road, back at the end of 1949, in a little flat above the rear dray entrance to the Radical Club, a few doors along from the house that is famous as having the narrowest frontage of any house in England.
It was built as an afterthought, to fill in a wedge-shaped piece of ground between two runs of house, built from either end of Manor Road, and a local developer bought up the land, when my grandfather Edgar Bedford assurehim that if there was enough space to fit a front door, then he could damned well build a house on the plot! I went to school at George Street Junior Mixed and Infants - now Newbridge - and from there went on to the Northern Grammar School for Boys, back in the days before co-education at senior level (in Portsmouth, at least) and then went to the News, as a trainee journalist.

That little chapter of my life ended quite quickly, when I had a difference of opinion with an editor who everyone agreed was frankly totally mad, and then I had three and a bit years as a Civil Servant, first with the Tax Office (Collectors) and then with DHSS. After that, having earlier flirted with the pop scene, managing two local bands, I became a full time disc jockey, resident at the local Mecca two nights a week and working the usual "mobile" circuit, before ending up as a partner in what became the Sound Barrier club, in Goldsmith Avenue.
Five years of that was followed by a brief career with a local music and telecommunications company, after which I ran market stalls and eventually small shop units, selling books, records, cassettes, CDs and just about anything that I thought would interest people. Back in those days, I played a lot of sport, whenever I could find the opportunity and I joined Purbrook Cricket Club in 1976, principally as a bowler, although I stuck a few balls in the stream up at Purbrook Heath.
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Much later, I came back to the club as an umpire and stood for three seasons, until back problems forced me to give that up and retire to the bar and reminiscences fuelled by the odd jar of the amber nectar. I still have the bookshop I founded, back in 1985, which started in Cosham, moved to the Tricorn for more than a decade and has now been in London Road, opposite the end of Chichester Road, for the past 14 years, or thereabouts.
The founding of InterCash, back in 1993, came about a bit by chance, but it worked well and over the years we've built it up, so that now we have seven branches, in Portsmouth, Southsea, Waterlooville, Chichester and Winchester. By and large, although I'm supposed to be head of the company, in reality there isn't often much for me to do; good managers and a sound management structure means that InterCash would probably run just as smoothly if I was abducted by aliens and not dropped back to earth for ten years.

So, for five years we ran the Portsmouth Post, which was fantastically received by its readers - probably about 60,000 of them at the peak - but which advertisers just couldn't be persuaded to support as it deserved and finally, in 2007, I had to bow to the inevitable and close it, although we do keep a small on-line version going ... after a fashion! And now there's this site and the opportunity to make use of my two favourite attributes - my love of history and research and my "skills" and experience as a writer. I still live in Portsmouth, in the 1897 house in Gladys Avenue that my parents bought, back in 1960 and which, a year from now, in August 2010, will have been the family "pile" for half a century. It'll be my daughter's own house one day, and my granddaughters after that, I hope, so maybe they can take it through to the century mark ...
Most of the time, I can work from home, as I have a fully connected office on the top floor, which I converted from the roof space, in 1999, but it's close enough so that I can pop down to our head office, on the corner of Stubbington Avenue, or stroll a bit further to the bookshop and to The Tap next door to it!

I have one daughter, who lives with me at the moment, together with her daughter, whilst my stepdaughter and her husband bought the house next door, two summers ago - and guess who got involved in refurbishing that?!
I have two "step-grandchildren" living there as well, my granddaughter, who helps out in the bookshop at weekends and during holidays, and my grandson, who is mostly away now, having joined the army earlier this year. Oh, and we have a "time-share" cat, which is theirs, but spends most of her time between meals in our place! And that's about it, for now at least. If I can think of anything else, I'll add it later, but I think I'll mostly be concentrating on the history of Portsmouth for the present, rather than yours truly's part in it!
Cheers for now,
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Bob

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For a short time in the late 1960's Bob was manager of the local group called 'Egypt'

Tributes paid to man who wrote erotic novels
Family and friends pay their respects to InterCash founder
by SHEANNE MULHOLLAND The News 4th October 2012
TRIBUTES have been paid to a businessman who wrote erotic novels in his spare time. Bob Jenkins, who was well-known in Portsmouth for founding InterCash Bureau de Change, has died from prostate cancer at the age of 62. The entrepreneur set up a number of businesses in the city, including a book shop called Bookworm and a market stall, and he owned racing greyhounds.
He was also a writer and, having learned his trade at The News, he went on to write and produce Ad Lib Magazine and later the Port smouth Post, as well as writing two fantasy and 10 erotic novels. His step-daughter Sarah Butcher, 43, who lives next-door to Bob's home in Gladys Avenue, North End, said: `Bob was never bored, he was always up to something and had so many projects on the go all the time.
`But he was a real family man too. He Mr Jenkins's eccentric personality earned him many friends, and his daughter Charley Jenkins has been stopped in the street by people keen to pass on their condolences. Charley, 29, of Gladys Avenue, North End, said: `Dad was very popular around here, everyone knew him. `He was quick-witted and funny, and always had a joke to tell which .is why I think people liked him so much. `We'll all miss him.'
Mr Jenkins' funeral is on Wednesday at Portchester Crematorium at 3pm. Everyone is welcome. helped us all out at one time or another, and gave so many of us a job. `He was the kind of person who believed anyone could do well if you gave them a chance.' Julie Fowler, 49, of Clive Road, Fratton, who worked for Mr Jenkins at InterCash for nearly 20 years, said: `He was a great boss. `No one ever leaves InterCash because he was so good, and if they do they all want to come back.'

Entrepreneur lived a life full of variety.
OBITUARY
Bob Jenkins, who set up a number of businesses and projects in Portsmouth, has died from prostate cancer aged 62.
The cricket lover, of Gladys Avenue, North End, was born and bred in the city, attending Northern Grammar School - now Mayfield School. After leaving school at 16, he was given a job at The News and became a reporter. In his mid-20s Mr Jenkins left The News to work as a DJ at nightclub Sound Barrier on Goldsmith Avenue, Fratton, and beforelong was running the club. During this time he wrote his first two books - both of which were sci-fi fantasy novels.
He set up his own removal firm, BJT Removals, and later took on a market stall at Commercial Road in 1983 which he ran for five years. That year he founded InterCash and opened two stores. A year later Mr Jenkins founded Bookworms and ran it from Cosham, before moving into the Tricorn. In 1999 he moved both from the Tricorn. Bookworms reopened in London Road, North End, where it is today, and InterCash went into Allders - now Debenhams on Commercial Road. He went on to open another six InterCash stores across the city.
In the mid-1980s Mr Jenkins wrote and produced Ad Lib Magazine which consisted of short stories, and in 1998 he wrote the first of 10 erotic novels under the pseudonym Jennifer Jane Pope. In 2002 he started the Portsmouth Post which ran until 2008. Mr Jenkins was a keen carpenter and refurbished houses and all of his shops, as well as carving a cat for the roof of his home. He leaves behind daughter Charley Jenkins, 29, stepchildren Sarah Butcher, 43, and Shane Jaxson, 38, and six grandchildren.  Robert Jenkins: born December 7, 1949; died September 24, 2012.


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