Coincidences
plus ça change...
Carl Gustav Jung, the psychiatrist and philosopher, proclaimed that there was no such thing as a meaningless coincidence. I seem to have had quite a few of these in my life which have led absolutely nowhere and have appeared to be completely meaningless. But there was one which was truly astonishing and it occurred on the day that my first article was due to appear in the London EVENING NEWS (sadly this newspaper is now deceased but it was the rival to our present EVENING STANDARD). I had written it under the name that my family and most of my friends knew me - Peggy Briggs. Not unnaturally perhaps I wanted every bit of acclaim that was my due for bursting into print in such a prestigious London Daily.
On that morning, Bill Lampitt, the Features Editor, rang me before 8 demanding that I go straight up to London because what he needed to see me about "couldn't be done on the phone." Full of trepidation I raced up to Fleet Street. "What," he asked, "are you doing writing for the DAILY MIRROR?" and he thrust in front of my astonished eyes a copy of that day's paper featuring and article written by - Peggy Briggs! I began to protest that it was not by me but he cut me short. "You'll have to change it," he barked. "Your article is already set up for the mid-day edition." "Oh-er-well, Vicky" I blurted out - I had a friend called Vicky, it was the first name that came into my head - "Vicky Briggs." I didn't want to lose my identity completely. So it was under that name (and Margaret Norton and plain Margaret Briggs) that I have written ever since.
Not long afterwards I discovered that the other Peggy Briggs was well known in the newspaper world, and 30 years later when she died, in her obituary the Daily Telegraph referred to her as "an acclaimed Fleet Street journalist".
I should like to report that people rang me up to make sure I was still here. But nobody did!
Margaret Briggs