February 2018 - The Show Goes On
Members of the Horndean & District U3A met for their regular monthly meeting on Friday 2nd February 2018 at Merchistoun Hall. They listened to a delightful, honest, amusing and inspirational talk by Avril Owton called "The Show Goes On."
Avril always wanted to be a ballet dancer and she started ballet lessons at seven years old at the Doreen Bird School of Dancing in Sidcup. She left school at 16 and went to study for 3 years at the Arts Education School in London, full time, where they had lessons from 9am to 6pm daily and studied all types of dance. After 3 tough years she left with an Advanced Certificate and a lifetime lesson in discipline, stamina and drive. She worked extremely hard to achieve her aims. She is now a Life Member of the Royal Academy of Dance.
Avril's first job was in panto at the Salisbury Playhouse. Later whilst at the Corp de Ballet she met many famous people including Rudolph Nureyev who had recently left Russia. At that time jobs were hard to get and she did summer shows which entailed two shows daily. It was hard work and definitely not glamorous - a gypsy type life living in digs and out of suitcases. A dancer's life is a case of survival and between dancing jobs Avril worked on the stocking counter at Swan & Edgar in Piccadilly.
Auditions for jobs were advertised in the Stage & Television Today and there was an audition advertised for the Tiller Girls. Avril and her friend went along for an audition and were accepted and began training for the Tiller Girls for the line up at the Sunday Night at the London Palladium. She signed a contract for six months and was there for 4 years. It was extremely hard work and they were often exhausted. When the girls started they had new high heeled shoes which gave them dreadful blisters but they had to smile thru! The 16 girls in the line-up had to learn a new routine every week. Average wage at that time was £8 per week, they earned £35 at the Palladium.
The girls had to do their own hair which had to be short and their own make up. The tall headdresses were heavy and uncomfortable and hurt. They had to be fitted with different costumes every week. The girls had a final rehearsal at 5.30 and went live at 8pm and they didn't dare go wrong! Avril will never forget the thrill of appearing on the Sunday Night at the Palladium, meeting many famous people including being there at Judy Garland's final performance.
Having been a Tiller Girl was good marketing material. Avril went on to work on the programme "Beat the Clock" with Norman Vaughan where she presented the prizes. She also worked on the "Billy Cotton Band Show" and was there when Cilla and Lulu first started.
The Tiller Girls were first started in 1886 by John Tiller and became famous worldwide. He gave girls from the slums of Manchester a start in life with strict rules and high moral standards because they represented the "Tiller Girls." They were trained to strict military precision.
Avril married and had two children and she opened a dancing school. This marriage ended and she met her second husband Tom who owned and ran the "Cloud Hotel" in Brockenhurst. She had two more children and worked hard at supporting her husband in running the hotel, by being the washer up, chambermaid, cook, waitress and she recalls it was often akin to Faulty Towers.
In August 1991 everything changed when her husband died at 45 years old and she was left with four children, no money and a failing business. She had absolutely no experience of managing a business. She thought to sell but her accountant encouraged her to stay and after reading an article "It's Your Life So Get Proactive" she decided to continue with the business. She then decided to bring the hotel into the 20th century, providing en suites etc and borrowed money from her bank HSBC with an interest rate of 15%. Avril sold everything she could, including her beach hut to help finance the work needed. It was a difficult three years but the business began to improve and she found she had talents she didn't know she had. She won a one week course at the London Business School where she learnt a great deal. She has walked the Malvern Hills for charity, gone on a zip wire and had a ride in an air ship across the Solent - all wonderful experiences which showed her she could achieve anything she wanted.
In 1995 Avril became the Hampshire Business Woman of the year. She has spoken all over the world and loves meeting people. However her family is the most important part of her life. She became the Chair of the Institute of Directors, Hampshire & IOW. She wrote a book "Delighting your Customers" which she was in turn delighted to see on the bookshelves of Waterstones. In 2006 she became Shine Woman of the Year; 2008 she received an MBE for her work in hospitality and her charity work; 2011 she was voted one of the 100 most influential women in hospitality, leisure, tourism and travel. 2016 Avril was the winner of the Inspirational Award at the Variety Catherine Awards.
Her final advice was to have a positive attitude and be with positive people to get positive results. Also to encourage people to celebrate their success and forget about the fear and self doubt which hold us all back. Never give up and go the extra mile to get success. She wants all to shine and sparkle and be proud and to keep smiling no matter what. Her final thought "Where there is no vision people perish." The members showed their appreciation of a most entertaining and inspirational afternoon provided by Avril.
Diane Stoner
Speaker Coordinator