Good posting PaulB, I too had my snout in the Gravy working with the likes of Sangster and Porsche surrounded by yuppies constantly coming out with sayings like 'Air Rally' (Oh Really), Yar Right (Okay) and Quite Fun (Sounds Great)
It was another world dominated with photographers taking pictures of the then young Lady Di (Childminder, lol!) the uniform of the day was straight collar, blue jumper and a string of pearls (Henrietta's) & striped shirt with white collar & cuffs (Hooray Henry's).
It was a great time for some but as you say it came crashing down big time when the Poll Tax riots threatened to domino out of control, some people ended up going to prison or deeper in debt due to the stranglehold of the dreaded Poll Tax.
It was the time for Thatcherism to end, not before time.