The kids seemed to settle well in Neasden; they got on with the neighbours and liked their schools. We had an option to buy the house for £12,500, which was pretty cheap but, unfortunately, I didn’t take it up and the property is probably now worth over £200,000. When we moved in we brought our own furniture. I wasn’t bothered about the decor, but a friend of mine did it up when I was away on football duties. I think it’s the only house where there was a photo of me, playing for QPR, on the mantelpiece.
There was a big garden full of weeds and a greenhouse. I wasn’t into gardening: Ann kept it as neat as she could. One day, a friend came round and said: “I wouldn’t mind having that greenhouse.” I said he could have it for £100 and he bought it. It was Jim’s greenhouse, and when he found out he laughed. My two main passions were gambling and football, more the gambling, but the football was a relief for me on a Saturday if I owed people money.
I joined QPR in 1972 for the then club record fee of £112,000. My weekly wage was about £150 and there were performance bonuses. I made my name in the 1970s. When I was on form, it was difficult to stop me. In 1973-74, I didn’t miss a game and was top scorer. I remember George Best’s last game for Manchester United, which was against QPR on January 1, 1974. We beat them at Loftus Road, 3-0, and I scored a couple of goals. I used to drink with George two or three times a week.
When I was in Neasden I went to one Gamblers Anonymous meeting in Wembley. I listened to other people tell their stories about gambling and I found it amusing. In the olden days, you were allowed to laugh. I never went back, it just wasn’t for me. I was gambling when I was 15 and I’m still gambling today. I won five caps for England, but I only have two left, which my daughters have hidden away. One I gave to Jim Gregory’s wife, one I lost in a game of cards and the other I sold for £200.
One of my worst memories of living in Neasden is when the police raided the house in April 1978. They had a warrant to search for traveller’s cheques that had allegedly been stolen from Heathrow airport. The house was turned upside down, Ann was terrified and the kids were crying. They even dug part of the garden up. I said: “You can stay here all day and do the lot if you want.” They didn’t find anything.
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I didn’t see much of Ann or the kids when we were in Neasden because I was training every day and then I’d have a match on Saturday. I was gambling at the races, I’d go out drinking and wouldn’t get back till late. Ann decided she wanted to go back to Manchester with the kids, but because of my career there was no way I could return.
We divorced in July 1979, but get on very well now. After Ann and the children left, I moved out. Once I split up from Ann, the idea of getting on the property ladder went out the window.
Stan Bowles: The Autobiography, is published this week by Orion, £18.99. Interview by Louise Johncox