Goldeneye eller: Om du inte åker kommer du att ångra det resten av ditt liv! Del 4 av 4
Av: Kevin Koltz
Publicerad:
2026-05-01
From Sweden with Love contributor Kevin Koltz, our man in New York, returns with the fourth and final part of an exclusive article series for the FSWL website about his memories from visiting Goldeneye (now named The Fleming Villa) in Jamaica in 1989. (Don't miss Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this article series.)
And Then There Were Five But We Can’t Blame That On a Bask of Crocodiles
“I don't fancy myself as The Vanishing Man.”' — Ian Fleming, The Man with the Golden Gun (1965)
Now I’m sure our Team Leader’s Significant Other (now wife) would have liked to have made the trip to Montego Bay to see my cousin off. Our departing member having injected a calm yet completely game sensibility into the past week’s festivities, we were all sad to see him go, but I’m equally sure she saw another two-hour ride straddling the Isuzu parking brake being less than appealing. She also knew that our trip back to Goldeneye would include encounters with crocodiles and mangrove swamps. I wouldn’t say she politely declined, more of a distinct four-letter word verbiage followed by to whom and where it could be applied.
With my cousin’s jet leaving Montego Bay and disappearing over the Northern horizon, with a slight Cold War jog around Cuba of course, the four of us got down to some serious location hunting. Our planned stops were locations 30 minutes East in Falmouth, Jamaica: the
Jamaica Safari Village, featured in both
Live and Let Die (1973) and the
Steve McQueen vehicle
Papillon in 1973, and
Vanzie Swamp Salt Marsh or mangrove swamp in
Dr. No (1962).
Looking back, I understand why we didn’t try searching out more locations when there were so many more we could have experienced. First off, enjoying Goldeneye to its fullest was the trip’s main objective. Secondly, exact reporting on locations and the handheld technology that could aid you in your quest hadn’t reached the level of sophistication it has now. We knew we wouldn’t be going to Kingston and the multiple locations found there such as
King's House (doubling for Government House),
Liguanea Club (the location of the Strangway bridge game at Queen's Club) and
Morgan's Harbour (where Bond meets and confronts Quarrel), in addition to many others found in St. Ann’s Bay, Falmouth and Montego Bay. Of all the locations I’m most surprised wasn’t on our agenda, due to proximity, was
White River where Bond, Quarrel and Honey evade guards in
Dr. No. I questioned this, but I think those of our group who had already experienced White River simply weren’t interested. However, other nearby
Live and Let Die locations such as Solitaire's Villa at
Tower Isle and
Green Grotto Caves near Discovery Bay plus newer locations such as
Port Antonio where they shot
No Time To Die (2021) would be among sites I would consider going back to Jamaica to experience.
The Trespassers Will Be Eaten sign in Jamaica 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
The sign reading Trespassers Will Be Eaten is kind of hard to miss on Jamaica’s A-1. It belonged then to the one and only Jamaica Swamp Safari Village but is still the warning today for Swaby’s Swamp Safari. Judging by the number of pictures I took there, I must have kept my daily film usage in check over the week to compensate. Upon our arrival we discovered we had lucked out being the only ones there at the time. Considering the number of crocodiles on the property I’m sure we were all thinking, ‘Sure. The only ones here... NOW,’ but we played it cool not wanting even nervous laughter to draw beady high on the skull eyed attention.
Yours Truly at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
After the four of us got our requisite shot under the Original Film Site of James Bond’s “Live and Let Die” sign, we were asked if we wanted to get up close and personal. Foolishly, we all said, “Sure!” Up close and personal meant stepping into a pen with a live crocodile.
One of the crocodiles at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Our guide had a long wooden pole which I naively thought was for our protection. Our eyes all went wide when we saw him prodding the croc with the stick thus pissing off the reptile completely. Of course, I’m stepping closer to get the shot...
Yours Truly being reckless to get the shot at Jamaica Swamp Safari Village. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Which I did, right as the croc’s jaws snapped wide then snapped shut over the pole leaving its shattered remains considerably shorter.
Guide and crocodile at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Like say Mr. Howell, the Professor, Skipper and Gilligan in a slapstick panic on
Gilligan’s Island, you never saw four people get out of a pen faster in your life. I’d give you a more modern example of slapstick panic but there aren’t any.
Bridge to “James Bond Island” at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Vowing to never do that again, some more forcefully than others, we moved deeper into the safari towards “James Bond Island.”
View of “James Bond Island” at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Much like the scene progression in
Live and Let Die, we first stopped to look at the “little nippers” being held (probably more protected) in a holding tub.
Crocodile near “James Bond Island” at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Their cuteness level being diminished considerably after our recent “up close and personal” encounter, we moved onto the island for a massive photo op. In the 16 years since shooting the famous Crocodile Run stunt, performed by the Safari’s owner
Ross Kananga, the island and swamp area had become overrun with vegetation.
The “James Bond Island” at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
It didn’t matter. It was still a following in the footsteps of film history moment and one where our cameras took multiple takes of us not having to find an alternate exit route.
Yours Truly on the “James Bond Island” at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
The shack on the property that doubled as the exterior to the film’s heroin processing facility is really the Safari’s Reptile Center.
The reptile center at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Still there and looking much like it did back in 1973, it also displayed the remains of a
Live and Let Die cast member.
Live and Let Die cast member at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Or so we were told causing a bit of a factual discrepancy. Seems Old Albert the crocodile, who made henchman Tee Hee (played by
Julius Harris) the prosthetic, pincer claw assassin he was then, was really an alligator named Charlie and being such was not a species of reptile native to Jamaica. A sign in the Reptile Center had Charlie being born in the United States in 1910, dying 74 years of age at the Safari in 1984 and having a final weight of 2,600 lbs. (1179.34 kg) Just from the remains you can tell Charlie was a big boy, but not to be confused with another alligator named ‘Big Boy’ featured during the escape stunt. That particular ‘Big Boy’ would pass away at 45 years of age in 2006. His remains would also be put on display but at his home for many years, the Beaver Water World in Tatsfield, Kent, UK. So, what cast member was Charlie the alligator? Not wanting to get close to either crocodile or alligator again, I’ll take Charlie’s story on faith, but if you think about it ‘Big Boy’ passed in the UK. I think Charlie the alligator is the reptile in the
Live and Let Die sequence where
Roger Moore opens the pen to lead an alligator into the heroin processing facility. Or is the whole story a croc? (Please... you had to see that one coming.)
Yours Truly inside the reptile center at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
To the right of the Reptile Center was the pier where Bond made his escape after setting the heroin facility on fire and beginning the boat chase. This area too was very much like it’s seen in both
Live and Let Die and Steve McQueen’s
Papillon. In the latter film, McQueen and
Dustin Hoffman struggle in the mud to wrangle a crocodile. That
Papillon scene was shot just off that pier.
Pier left of the reptile center at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Trespassers Will Be Eaten sign at the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
With the Trespassers Will Be Eaten sign receding behind us, we had a short ride in the Falmouth area to the Vanzie Swamp Salt Marsh, featured as the Mangrove Swamp in
Dr. No.
The Vanzie Swamp Salt Marsh area on Jamaica in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
If you’ve ever seen
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and heard the hit opening title song Holiday Road by
Lindsey Buckingham, the Mangrove Swamp was kind of a “Holiday Road” moment. You get out of the car, look at the time, shake your head in acknowledgment of the location, get back in the car and drive away. I think we may have added a few “Dragon” jokes to that rundown, but you get the idea.
Yours Truly at the Mangrove Swamp on Jamaica in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Last Dinner Out
“Worry is a dividend paid to disaster before it is due.” – Ian Fleming, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963)
That Friday being the Goldeneye staff’s day off, we would be having dinner out. With the property having to be turned around the next day for both outgoing and incoming guests, it only made sense that the staff be given a well-deserved break. It was either our Team Leader or the teacher in our group, both serious Bond collectors, who suggested
Moxons Beach Club restaurant in Boscobel. This little gem of a place was just a ten-minute drive West and had been owned by the late
Timothy Moxon who went uncredited in
Dr. No playing the role of Strangeways. The restaurant featured outdoor dining with panoramic ocean views and very high-quality Jamaican cuisine.
Bob Marley helped put the place on the map during the height of his tragically short career. Even if the Jerk Chicken hadn’t come highly recommended, I would have ordered it anyway since I had no idea when I’d be having the real thing again.
With my cousin gone and our own departures hanging over us, the evening was understandably more subdued compared to other nights on the trip. Unfortunately, there was one person who was clearly more subdued than the others. Namely... me. It was the combination of being sad to leave and not wanting to face the music once home. This annoyed our Team Leader to no end and after giving me some grief over drinks before our food came, I suddenly heard, “Hey! He made the trip. Give the guy a break.” It was the partner of the teacher in our group. Well, if he wasn’t a friend for life after this vacation he certainly was upon hearing that. Message received though. I needed to lighten up, and the trip wasn’t over yet.
Our last night at Goldeneye was a “Let’s Make the Most of It” affair. Being pretty much packed and having one more morning to wrap things up, we all kind of just went for it. Great conversation, lots of laughs and good-natured ribbing and a case and a half of
Red Stripe just begging for attention.
Yours Truly’s last night at Goldeneye in Jamaica 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
It was around 4 am when we decided to call it quits and leave the final half case to the incoming guests. The final visitors to experience Fleming’s “Gorgeous Vacuum” before closure and rebirth as a resort.
Goldeneye: The Modern Resort
“Nothing is forever. Only death is permanent.” ― Ian Fleming, Diamonds are Forever (1956)
While Fleming in his 1958 House & Garden interview was proud of the fact that, “Nothing has changed,” the Latin phrase Tempus fugit certainly applies to Goldeneye. Whether time has flown or fled, the change is undeniable.
Chris Blackwell’s expansion project was technically underway when we were there, but it would gradually continue over the next two and a half decades. He would close the property again in 2007 and 2010 to add even more beach front and lagoon front villas. As of April 2016, it exists as a 52-acre, 45-key resort. Being not fluent in Hospitality Speak myself, I looked it up. A 48-key resort is a hospitality property with 48 individual guest rooms, suites, cottages or villas available for booking. In the hotel industry, a "key" represents one rentable unit, regardless of whether it is a single room or a larger family suite, so while there may be more units comprising the resort, there are 48 keys: 26 Beach Huts, 9 Beach Villas on Low Cay Beach, 6 Lagoon Cottages, 3 Lagoon Villas (including the 5-bedroom Vesper Villa), 3 ocean front villas near the main property and the original Fleming Villa. It also features two restaurants, bars and an infinity pool.
Goldeneye today is considered a boutique or small-to-medium-sized property. It’s also a very exclusive property. Where six people paid $3,600 a week in 1989, the Fleming Villa could now cost you anywhere between $5,500 to $9,142 for a single night depending on the time of year. Trying to find an average, it usually comes in at $6,200 to $6,400 per night but during high demand weeks, the Villa is often listed at $64,000 per week. Yes, the property is a full-on resort now, but that’s roughly 17 to 18 times more expensive in 35 years. A 1,678% increase, but who’s counting? I am, because I have my doubts that I’ll ever be able to go back. It’s one of those feelings made famous by a guy named Wolfe about not being able to go home again. Then again... I’m not sure I want to.
The Ian Fleming Villa on Jamaica today. Copyright © 2026 Island Outpost. All rights reserved.
I first saw the changes to Goldeneye on of all things the Travel Channel’s series “Bridget’s Best Beaches” in March of 2009. Compared to now, the changes were subtle, but they didn’t strike me as such when I saw the episode. The pool slated for the grounds was there and the Garage that we had parked by had become the Media Center with its own self-contained gardens and wet bar. Where we had walked into a courtyard area featuring a small garden before walking into the main living room, that space now features a fountain. The Eastern beach landing had totally been redeveloped, and I can only assume the steps down to the beach no longer shook. As for the property across the channel on the Key to the West, where I believe the original donkey racecourse once existed, it was in a state of redevelopment. The bridge across the channel didn’t exist but the Western end of the original beach plus the lagoon-side of the Goldeneye Villa property now had three additional villas on it.
I am glad that still Goldeneye exists, even in its resort form. Unfortunately, the Goldeneye we were about to leave would soon be gone.
Back To Reality
“He touched her for the last time and then they turned away from each other and walked off into their different lives.” ― Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955)
In the few hours of sleep I had that final morning, I managed to scratch my cornea. Probably due to prolonged lack of sleep during the week and Red Stripe dehydration. After having a quick cup of
Jamaican Blue Mountain to get me going that morning, the one thing I was determined to do was get in one last swim. This posed a problem. I really didn’t want to pack a wet swimsuit.
The Fleming Beach at Goldeneye in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
To my surprise none of my fellow travelers were on the beach that morning. I assumed they were packing and didn’t relish having something wet in their luggage either. Can’t pack a wet swimsuit if it isn’t wet, so there was a solution to the swimsuit problem. Like everyone else on the trip, the exception being my cousin I believe, I had my skinny dip moment on Fleming’s beach. The author himself was known to swim in the lagoon au naturel, so here was my chance.
The lagoon au naturel near Goldeneye in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Being greedy to want to see as much as I could before leaving, I risked swimming over the reef around Fleming’s rock. Here is where I discovered the problem exploring the reef while the tide was out.
Yours Truly swimming around Fleming’s rock in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Water over the reef gets extremely shallow. You can’t make arm nor leg movements without grazing the reef. I managed to float over it steering my direction with only my hands, but I got a few scrapes in the process. It was worth it because the reef was beautiful and I now had a reminder of being at Goldeneye that... well... needed to heal. Between the coral rash and my scratched cornea... so much for getting on the plane at 100%.
The Fleming Beach at Goldeneye in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
After walking the entirety of the waterfront to say my goodbyes, I made it up to the house for the last breakfast and those much-needed final cups of Jamaican Blue Mountain. At the time I wasn’t much of an egg eater. Both my appreciation and cholesterol levels began to change that morning.
Violet had prepared Fleming’s recipe for Scrambled Eggs that was featured in the short story “007 in New York.” The recipe also goes by the name Scrambled Eggs ‘James Bond’ but you’ll never hear me calling it that. The recipe for 4 people is as follows:
• 12 fresh eggs (presumably brown eggs), salt and pepper, 5-6oz. (140-170g) of fresh butter (salted) and a mixture of parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil.
• Break the eggs into a bowl. Beat thoroughly with a fork and season well. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan melt 4oz. of the butter. When melted, pour in the eggs and cook over a very low heat, whisking continuously with a small egg whisk.
• While the eggs are slightly moister than you would wish to eat, remove pan from heat, add rest of butter and continue whisking for half a minute, adding the finely chopped chives and fine herbs. Serve on hot buttered toast (yes, more butter) using individual copper dishes (for appearance only) with pink champagne (Taittinger) and low music.’
I can tell you after making this dish a few times that just going with a combination of parsley and tarragon as a replacement for chervil will alter the taste. The chervil is needed for that anise flavoring. For our last breakfast we didn’t eat off copper dishes nor had pink Taittinger, but the Fleming dish that morning was a nice send off. I don’t think Violet altered the recipe for five people because I know I wanted more.
My last serving of Blue Mountain coffee was something I managed to keep to a cup and a half, knowing we had the return drive ahead of us, but I was determined to have it again. It would be half a decade before I finally could afford the first $20 a pound bag (a steal) I came across in New York’s West Village at Porto Rico Importing Company on Bleecker Street. They also have East Village and Lower East Side locations where the current cost of Jamaican Blue Mountain, when in stock, runs $106 a pound. Ouch.
Having repacked dirty clothes as the week progressed, what I had left consisted of toiletries, my still dry swimsuit and the still wet sneakers that had made it up Dunn’s River Falls. Seeing mold on the latter they quickly went into the trash. After showering I joined the others in the living room to enjoy our last few moments in Fleming’s home.
The Isuzu I-Mark car used during the trip to Jamaica in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Packing our luggage back into the Isuzu, no one was comforted more by the fact that straddling the parking brake was no longer necessary than the Team Leader’s Significant Other (now wife) herself. I think the car was also silently relieved to be holding less weight. Driving out of the gate and stopping, most of us made a quiet, personal little ceremony out of the gate’s closing.
Yours Truly at the Goldeneye entrance in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
I remember the group’s teacher and I both touching the blue gatepost then looking at each other. That look said it all. ‘Would we see it again?’ The jury is still out for me, but my friend who would continue to travel the world with his partner and later husband, passed away in 2024 having never returned.
A farewell to the Goldeneye entrance in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
The Isuzu certainly wasn’t quiet as we made the trek back to Montego Bay, but the conversation was understandably more subdued. It had been an incredible week and facing the real world back home was something nobody wanted to do, especially me. Upon arrival, I would be staring down both unemployment and four members of my immediate family who had decided to come to New York City at that less-than-ideal moment for a visit. Family visits were rare, and don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but all I wanted to do was sleep for a day, clear up my watery eye, shake off some of that Red Stripe abuse and oh I don’t know... find a job!
The last memory I have of Jamaica before boarding the plane was, of all things, being sad seeing the rental car go. That Isuzu I-Mark had really come through for us and in the process, it had become the 7th member of the trip.
Final Thoughts
“Never say 'no' to adventures. Always say 'yes,' otherwise you'll lead a very dull life.” ― Ian Fleming, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
There’s this notion that when you reach the end of a journey, you tend to find yourself looking back at the beginning. I’m paraphrasing here because to quote the actual author is way too pretentious. In my case the literal beginning was my work status, which I’ll get to. The actual quote is more about seeking life experiences, then looking back and gaining deeper wisdom. To know where you started essentially for the first time. In my case, I will never regret taking the risk to go to Goldeneye in late 1989. That’s a given. I was able to connect with something I love on a level that still overwhelms me. It’s only now that I realize just how important that trip was then. My family did their best, but they never gave me the kick in the ass to truly get out in the world and explore. My friends on this trip... DID! With their encouragement, I said “yes” to adventures, and for that I am forever grateful.
As for making rent that November? I’ve been fortunate to benefit from what I refer to as Miracles Out of Nowhere. Here I will quote the source. Miracles Out of Nowhere is a 1976 song by Kerry Livgren, founding member and primary songwriter of the American rock band Kansas. The “Miracle” that occurred in late October of 1989 relates to the surprise phone call I received when I got home. You see, before my departure from Discovery Channel, their Office Manager, a wonderful woman named
Val, gave me a single name that belonged to an employee at a now deceased network called Financial News Network (FNN). Before the trip I had sent out a Hail Mary resume. The single name I had walked from Discovery with had given my resume to her boss who headed up the channel’s Segments Department. Affectionately known as the FNN “Hen House,” it seems the all-female Segments Department was in need of a new team member that was preferably... male. After nailing the interview my income problem was solved. I received my first Producer credit a few months later and it remains the only Miracle Out of Nowhere where my gender did most of the heavy lifting to land the gig. That and sheer luck.
Oh Yah... One More Thing...
“When the odds are hopeless, when all seems to be lost, then is the time to be calm, to make a show of authority – at least of indifference.” ― Ian Fleming, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
... About that Postcard. Ah, the postcard. For context on that one we need to dust off the DeLorean, fire up the flux capacitor to 1.21 gigawatts and set the time circuits to 1999. January 1st will do. Cautious optimism was the mood of the day when 11 European nations adopted the Euro. In Washington D.C. President
Bill Clinton got off. Impeachment acquittals will do that. Napster started to really annoy a guy named Lars. Panama was handed over to... wait for it (because they did)... Panama.
JFK Jr, his wife and sister in-law really put a damper on a July wedding. The Y2K Bug had everyone freaking out but in Entertainment news, we were Livin’ La Vida Loca.
Kevin Spacey’s career was flourishing. Moviegoers that had waited 16 years to finally return to a galaxy far, far away were left thinking, ‘Maybe we should have taken the Blue Pill.’ And speaking of “Finally,”
ALF was off the air by then, but that furry cat hungry alien would return with his own streaming channel on July 29, 2023. Thank you,
Ryan Reynolds.
So now to pick up this story for the Big Finish. It’s Fall 1999 and that November it was almost exactly a decade after the Goldeneye trip. Working for A&E and The History Channel back at a time when they were actually about Arts, Entertainment and History, these were the Banner Days of my career. A&E, like many of our competing cable networks, had an in-house band of employees who had musical backgrounds. Ours played Soul and R&B. I played Tenor Sax. Kind of. OK I sucked, but I was giving it my best college try despite not having played since high school. That November we had a pretty big performance coming up at a venue called The Kit Kat Klub on West 43rd street in Times Square. A Network Battle of the Bands. I had gotten married a year earlier, so my wife would be there. So would my Best Man... the Team Leader from Goldeneye.
Now the Kit Kat Klub had a reputation that would see it being closed to be turned back into a Broadway Theater six months later in April 2000. On the positive side,
David Bowie had performed an exclusive, invite-only concert at the Kat Klub as part of his short Hours tour. The show was recorded for a live webcast and later released officially as a live album. On the negative side,
Jay Z was arrested after stabbing
Lance Rivera, a promoter for Untertainment Records, during a Hip-Hop party held at the club. Unfortunately, over the course of the Kat Klub’s existence, there were more negatives than positives. Just before the Bowie and Jay Z events occurred though, there would only be positives at the Battle of the Bands for the crappy A&E Tenor Sax player struggling through our group’s rendition of
Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic.” Once the set was over, I joined my former Team Leader down in front of the stage where he had been quite present for the entirety of the set, rightfully throwing me ‘Don’t quit your Day Job’ looks. My wife, who was hiding safely in the back of the house out of embarrassment, would do her best Adrian from
Rocky (1976) imitation, fighting her way down to the stage to ask our former Team Leader... for HIS autograph. Before she got there though, something extraordinary happened.
The End
Just kidding. I suddenly heard this screaming from within the venue. “Oh my god!
Kevin Koltz!” Coming towards me was none other than... Val! The former Office Manager from Discovery Channel and my catalyst for getting the FNN gig upon returning from Jamaica. I hadn’t seen her in a decade. With Team Leader just over my shoulder, Val approaches saying, “It is you. Kevin Koltz. The postcard!!! That became legend at Discovery. I mean, the greatest (censored) to (insert former Discovery Channel boss name here)... EVER!”
After massive hugs and getting caught up a little bit, my wife finally made it down to the stage to see what all the commotion was about. After introducing my wife and Team Leader to Val she proceeded to say, “You need to know something. After you left Discovery, (insert former boss name) was telling everyone in the office, ‘Well... there goes Kevin’s vacation.’ She took great pride in that. Then... your postcard arrives.” Looking over at Team Leader, he had the smuggest, made for the ages, look on his face. It was self-satisfaction personified, and he had earned every bit of it.
We eventually got away from the stage so not to obstruct the next band going on. I said my “Goodbyes” to Val, thanking her profusely for the update and telling her how great it was to see her again. Not wanting to stay for the last remaining band sets (we certainly weren’t the headliners), the three of us started making our way out of the club to head to Sardi’s on West 44th street for cocktails.
Sardi’s on West 44th street in New York 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Making our way there, Team Leader finally says, “I think I recall telling you something about not going to Goldeneye and regretting it for the rest of your life?”
“Probably,” I said nodding and giving him a look as if I was jogging my memory. Then added, “But you’ll have to forgive me. I don’t remember anything.”
The End
This Time For Real
Yours Truly’s farewell to Goldeneye in 1989. Copyright © 2026 Kevin Koltz. All rights reserved.
Article and pictures by Kevin Koltz. Copyright © 2026 From Sweden with Love. All rights reserved.
Editor's Note:
The author’s personal memories and research are the basis for this exclusive article series.
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