Weekly news article by Robert Potter

RP - Here My Story from Steve Wraith of Gateshead (£50 fee payable to ``The
Bubble Foundation UK,'' Ward 23, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE pics sent by e-mail) by Robert Potter:

I'll never forget as a 10-year-old in 1982, sitting on the sofa one evening
and watching the news, for one item was coverage of the funeral of Violet
Kray, the mother of ``notorious gangsters Ronnie, Reggie and Charlie Kray.''

And this moment marked the start of a life-long fascination with the Kray
twins' story - one which would lead to my good friendship with Ronnie,
Reggie and Charlie.
A few years later whilst studying for my GCSEs, I stumbled across John
Pearson's book The Profession of Violence in a second-hand shop, with its
famous David Bailey photo of Ronnie standing and Reg looking over his
shoulder on the cover.
I cajoled my parents into giving me the £1.50, and this book became the
basis of my GCSE coursework. Thanks to this book, along with the
encouragement of my teacher John Yates to whom I'm eternally grateful, I
passed my exam.
I wanted to share my success with the Kray twins themselves, to tell them my
English and Literature GCSEs meant some good had come out of their lives of
crime.
I couldn't believe it a couple of days later when I received replies from
both Ronnie and Reggie, thanking me for my support and for thinking of them.
However they did say they wouldn't be able to keep up any correspondence and
I took them at their word.
Yet 18 months later I read an article in my mum's magazine about a lad
called Brad Lane who, to all intents and purposes, was Reg's adopted son. I
wrote to Brad and asked him to pass on my regards.
At the time I was making printed t-shirts to order with a friend and I
suggested to Brad that I make up a t-shirt from the cover of John Pearson's
The Profession of Violence and he encouraged me to contact the twins.
Within days I had letters back from both of them saying what a great idea
and that I should push on with it.
The t-shirts sold like the proverbial hot cakes around the country and, from
that moment on, my relationship with the Krays took on a new meaning, I'd
progressed from being a penpal to being a business partner.
The funny story regarding the t-shirts is that when mine reached London
there were some stallholders at Camden market who already had Kray twin
ones, which didn't please Reg as these were being sold without his consent -
and when I finally tracked down the source of these shirts, it happened to
be Charlie Kray!
To have not cut his brothers in on the deal certainly caused a bit of
friction, there was a six-month period where both twins referred to Charlie
only as ``mister,'' they refused to call him Kray as what he'd done was an
insult to the name but he was eventually welcomed back into the fold.
My first visit, in 1991, was sprung upon me, I'd gone to deliver t-shirts to
Brad in Doncaster and the phone rang while I was there. Brad turned to me
and said, ``My `dad' would like to speak to you,'' and it was Reg Kray on
the other end of the line.
I have to admit I was trembling at that point, but Reg thanked me for my
work with the t-shirts and then asked if I'd like to come and see him the
next day - my jaw just dropped!
I wasn't nervous about my first meeting with Reg in Gartree Prison, but
going through the gates unnerved me because its a very foreboding place as
I'd never been in a prison before.
The visiting room was like a large canteen and when Reg came through and
greeted Brad and I you could sense the presence about him, a lot of people
wanted to stop and say hello. He was dressed in prison shirt and jeans but
he had a solid look about him for a man of his age.
It was quite a formal meeting at first, but then we got talking about other
things like football, as Reg supported Arsenal whereas I'm a Newcastle
supporter, so we had a bit of banter about that.
I thoroughly enjoyed the visit and Reg asked if I would now go and see Ron
in Broadmoor.
I was a little bit reticent about this as I knew Ron was a paranoid
schizophrenic, but my mum was a nurse on a mental ward and she prepared me
for my visit, she told me the rooms would all be painted in light, calming
colours and that there wouldn't be any prison officers but nurses instead.
It was unbelievable to meet Ron, he certainly was my favourite of the two
twins. He lived in a safe timewarp where he could wear the Saville Row suits
and gold horn-rimmed glasses, his hair was still slicked-back in that
familiar style and he wore all the jewellery - the pinkie-ring alone that he
wore was worth £2,000.
Again as he walked into the room he captured everyone's attention and, like
his twin, but he was very quietly spoken, there were times when he was
hardly audible.
Unlike Reg who was all ``business'' on visits, very much the keeper of the
Kray flame if you like, Ron was more interested in what I was up to or my
family. He may have had a fearsome reputation, but Ron was very
approachable.
By the time I met both twins they'd become very institutionalised and had
come to terms with their sentences which they were two-thirds of the way
through. I always knew Ron would never be released but Reggie could quite
easily have been, it was only the reputation which kept him inside.
The Krays also instilled in me how important it was to become involved in
charities, it was typical of them to try and help those in need and this
became very much Charlie's role, prior to his imprisonment.
It's why I've become involved with the Bubble Foundation UK based at the
Newcastle General Hospital, which is a charity raising funds for babies who
are born without an immune system.
And I became good friends with Charlie Kray through the charity work, he was
definitely one of a kind, a ``cheeky uncle'' figure who'd always persuade
you to stay for one more drink.
I can honestly say that knowing the Krays was a life-changing experience,
it's been like reading John Pearson's book and then climbing inside to meet
all the characters, which is why I felt I had to write my own, ``The Krays:
The Geordie Connection,'' which covers the untold story of their years
inside and the final years of their lives, as does the accompanying DVD.
This year marks both the fifth anniversary of Reggie's passing, in October,
and the 10th of Ronnie's in March, at which through my role as both a family
friend and professional door person, I acted as Charlie's personal bodyguard
at the graveside.
My own career has moved on, I'm now an actor who's appeared on television in
a number of programmes, including Byker Grove, 55 Degrees North and Wire In
The Blood. But My thoughts are always with the Kray twins and I've taken it
upon myself to be the latest keeper of the Kray flame, as it's a story which
should be kept alive.
For more information on Steve, visit his website at
www.thegeordieconnection.com
Steve's book, ``The Krays: The Geordie Connection,'' is published by Zymurgy
To find out more about the Bubble Foundation, visit their website at
www.bubblefoundation.org.uk
As told to Robert Potter