Rochester seems further than you think from Northampton, but with some excitement and a McDonald's breakfast it flies by quick enough.
Today, a car filled to the brim of my team passed through the Dartford crossing to meet Veronica Richardson.
In the car
Me: the brains of the outfit
Charlie: support and heavy lifting
Dad: the driver
Mum: she just wanted a day out really
The chance to interview Veronica was a stroke of luck and reinforced the phrase "it's not what you know, but who you know". In her time, despite many requests has only ever done one media interview. She said she just doesn't like it, however, this one occasion she has offered to help me.
It took a little persuasion and some reassurance but we set the date. Veronica is a very interesting woman. She's completely not what some people might expect or in her words 'the typical Holloway babe'.
Veronica was with Charlie Richardson for many years, they met a short while after a he served a long stint in prison for the so-called 'Torture Trial'. Despite his serious reputation she fell in love with him and they were together very happily until he passed away in 2012.
Charlie is best known for being the head of the Richardson gang, a rival firm to the notorious Kray twins. Films, books and documentaries look at the life of Charlie and his crimes. It's difficult because there are so many conflicting stories and opinions about what happened and what type of man he was.
I asked her about her relationship with him, and she was very open and honest with me. She explained that they were a very strong family that went everywhere together. She spoke very fondly of him and their life together. I was surprised to see how she spoke of their business and working lives. Everything she said was 'together'. "We were in business together".
I think people assume that, because of the reputation of Charlie, Veronica would be the sort of wife who would be forced into the kitchen to make the tea and be glamorous on his arm of an evening. But she made it clear that this was not the case. She explained that this did happen occasionally, when certain groups of people were around. But for the most part, they felt equal.
It was interesting to hear a first hand account of being in a relationship with a man that, regardless of right or wrong, had a serious reputation for violence and crime. It seems like she's more than content with their relationship. I was shocked to hear how calm she spoke about the sort of things Charlie was accused of. She explained that for her, Charlie mixed in circles that were 'kill or be killed', people who knew what they were getting themselves into and that therefore it didn't conflict with her morals. She continued to explain that if she thought that Charlie was 'robbing old ladies' that she wouldn't be okay with that sort of thing.
The relationship between Charlie and Veronica is interesting. She is clearly a very strong woman and he was clearly a very strong man. I imagine their arguments to have been heated and loud but no different to many couples. It seems, at first glance that Charlie's reputation and affiliation with the Kray twins is of no more important to Veronica than what colour socks he wears.
I think after today it's clear that a psychologist or some sort of sociologist point of view will be helpful for the project.