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disrupted by verbal clashes between these two stalwarts.
SEC meetings were held in the cramped confines of Randall's kitchen. He lived alone, behind a shop on the flat of Manly. Beyond the kitchen, the rooms were stacked to the ceiling with bundles of newspapers, all carefully filed away for future reference. A clerk in the Taxation Department; he once told me that the interest in his job lay with the principle of redistributing wealth.
One night Randall phoned me. The Party was still looking for a candidate for Manly and Frank Harvey had suggested that I might be available:
"Well, I suppose I could take a week or two off uni....It would be an interesting experience but let me think for a while."
Being a candidate would be exciting, but the ensuing defeat might be painful. First of all, whose toes might I be treading on in seeking nomination? Frank Harvey was consulted:
"Will Gumbert run?"
"He is saying that he won't."
"What about you, Frank?"
"No. I have too many commitments."
"If I have a go, will you support me?"