I owe a lot to Hella Pick. She was based in Geneva when the Guardian editor, Alastair Hetherington, asked her to follow the negotiations leading to Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) on 1 January 1973. She agreed so long as she could cover the story from London. She suggested I could cover the detail of the entry talks in Brussels, where I was a freelance journalist, and she would fly into Brussels for summit meetings attended by heads of government.
Her reluctance to be based in Brussels, not the most glamourous city, was my gain, the beginning of my long career at the Guardian. She became a warm and trusted colleague, allowing us to exchange personal confidences as well as political gossip.
