The talented Mr. Perry...By Paul Knight

Ben Perry is has big in personality has he is in stature…He stands in at 6ft 8” and weighed in at 22 stone (at the time of our business relationship)…when asked by an irate punter “Just who the hell do you think you are?” Big Ben simply replied “God…because I have the power to separate your head from your shoulders with one smiting blow.” Yes, the Ben Perry Haymaker was an equaliser that when in affect would put the explanation mark on the fact you just got hit by a 22 stone giant.

Although an intimidating sight, with his skin head and devil beard, he was more Gentle Ben than anything else and if any punters who used to visit the Goth and punk club “Slimelights” in the nineties would be able to tell ya, he was a good laugh.

It’s hard for me to take my old partner in crime seriously after witnessing him curl his huge frame under a small oval floor rug, whilst E’ing out of his face, to show the world he was really a turtle. He would stretch his neck, while making a turtle face from his shell (the small oval floor rug) and try to eat imaginary lettuce.

It was all very surreal…but not as bad as when Ben and a small group of friends tried to re-enact the ‘Wizard of Oz’ whilst on LSD. Watching a grown man tuck a chequered tea towel down his pants, while sporting a twine mop on his head, acting like he is stuck in a tornado, screaming “Where’s Toto?” Is an image that is not easily forgotten!

I’ll never forget the first time I worked with Ben, we were positioned in Burger King in Leicester Square, stopping non-customers from using the upstairs toilets. I know that must seem both petty and a waste of our time but despite the jokes and insults…it was one of the roughest gig’s going. When our company (Scorpion Security now trading under the name ‘Silent Security’) first got involved, it was being abused by drug dealers, prostitutes, transients and kiddie fiddlers…it was a family restaurant that was not a safe place to be.

The rent-a-cops that were in there before us never tackled the problem…why would they, they were getting £4.85 an hour. We, on the other hand, were getting 3 times that and were up for a rumble…so after months of fighting, death threats, stabbings and major displays of dominance…Scorpion made an example of all of them and marked their territory with the scent of blood.

Of course, once you have it how you want it…it needs to be maintained, so hence the heavy artillery to keep those who were not paying customers out of the comfy, out of sight upstairs area. Plus anyone who as ever walked through Leicester Square of a night time can testify that there is a huge amount of trouble with the drunk and drugged revellers, Triads and thugs (who can’t enjoy a night out without either mugging someone or getting in to tear-ups), these too needed to be stopped at the door and that is why we were there.

I remember having to stand on the first step just to come to eye level with him, I was a new guy with Scorpion at the time whilst Ben was an established body…but we clicked straight off the bat and the rest, as they say, is history.

I have some absolute cracking memories of Ben (you will need to read the sequel to ‘Coding of a concrete animal’…of course first you will actually need to read ‘Coding of a concrete animal’) and it was a crying shame we fell out of touch…the last I saw of him was when he worked for ‘Autoglass’ in Black horse Rd…if any readers, know him…please get him to contact me through this site.

Thanks for the assist…and stay frosty.