At one time around 20 years ago, working for Aero, I was based in Port Harcourt, married-accompanied. Henrietta's Bar (now a church car park) used to be a good place to eat out in the garden restaurant and I often went there for dinner with my family. It was also known as the BBB (bar, barber shop and brothel - probably because it had rooms available by the hour, night or week). I used to get my hair cut there and my wife would give me a 'pink chit' so I could then go out for a few adult beverages with my chums without her trailing around the local bars on an Okada wondering if I was okay. One time, I had borrowed one of the famous Aero, orange 504 estates to go out with a few chaps (and a chapess) and after a few bevvies at Henrietta's while hair was being massacred, we set off for Cheers Bar. Just after departing there, fairly early at night, though dark, we were stopped about 200 yards up the road by a man claiming we had reversed into his car whilst leaving our parking spot. I had partially lowered the driver's window to talk to him, but Windsock in the back (who had survived a kidnap attempt in Warri when working for Bristow), suddenly got agitated and said she thought we were being set up. I started to drive off when the man reached in the windows in attempt to snatch the ignition keys, so I accelerated away and he threw himself across the bonnet in an attempt to block my view, let go the keys and instead grabbed my throat and tried to strangle me. I was driving around the GRA, going around corners and jamming on the brakes, trying to shake him off, to no avail. Then I noticed flashing blue lights behind and my chums said they were sure we were being pursued and shot at by MOPOL, so I decided to stop. The would-be assailant immediately disappeared into the night as the car was surrounded by a crowd of locals and a MOPOL smashed the driver's window with his rifle, and smashed the butt into the side of my head, breaking my spectacles in the process. One of my passengers started berating the MOPOL until I told him to shut up, stay calm and act cool. After about 15 minutes of negotiating the MOPOL calmed down, about 200 Naira changed hands and we were released to return to Areta for a well-earned drink. There was a dent in the bonnet of that Peugeot for about 3 months after and it drove around for some days with a floral, plastic table cloth in place of the driver's window. I was picking pieces of broken glass out of my face, back and my derrière for more than a week and had large finger-shaped bruises on my throat as memoirs of another memorable run ashore in Pitakwa - the Garden City
. Ah, fun days