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Motor Racing Days #9

...Youl and Piers Courage) and all our Godparents were racing drivers although sadly many were killed in those days and I would hear my parents talking about another one who’d died, often one of their friends. My brother Gavin's Christening showing the car my dad drove me in!  Also in this picture is Tim Parnell (third from left), a well known racing driver and family friend and Philip Robinson (far right), who drove for my dad in the 1960s.   Incidentally my Godfather was Pat Ferguson, who drove for Lotus and came 10th in the 1963 Le Mans 24-hour race but who was also known for attempting to escape from Colditz Castle (the infamous German prisoner-of-...

Motor Racing Days #64

...Youl and Piers Courage) and all our Godparents were racing drivers although sadly many drivers were killed in those days, often friends of my parents.  In the Christening photo above, Philip Robinson is on the far right and Tim Parnell (Gavin's Godfather and racing driver) is the man in the middle of the picture. Incidentally my Godfather was Pat Ferguson, who drove for Lotus and came 10th in the 1963 Le Mans 24-hour race but who was also known for attempting to escape from Colditz (the infamous German prisoner-of-war camp) during World War 2.  He’d already escaped three times from the Nazis which is why they sent him to Colditz, a place supposedly escape-...

Motor Racing Days #9

...Youl and Piers Courage) and all our Godparents were racing drivers although sadly many were killed in those days and I would hear my parents talking about another one who’d died, often one of their friends.  Incidentally my Godfather was Pat Ferguson, who drove for Lotus and came 10th in the 1963 Le Mans 24-hour race but who was also known for attempting to escape from Colditz (the infamous German prisoner-of-war camp) during World War 2.  He’d already escaped three times from the Nazis which is why they sent him to Colditz, a place supposedly escape-proof. However, numerous escape attempts were made including one of the most daring of all time, which my...

Like Father Like Sons #20

...LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS  As mentioned before my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team in the 1960s, travelling all over  Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics and driver.   He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in.  From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country.  There was quite a collection and I still have them; I used to put them on display in the Library when our...

Like Father, Like Sons #19

...LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS:    As previously mentioned in earlier blogs my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team in the 1960s, Shardlow Motor Racing, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics and driver. He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in. From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country. There was quite a collection and I still have them; I used to put the...

Moving On #35

...MOVING ON – THE END OF AN ERA:      And so, after ten years of growing up and living in a stately home, I have come to the end of my story. After my parents’ divorce it was agreed that my mum bought out my dad's half of the house and he had to leave his dream home forever. He and Gavin moved out to live in Burton-on-Trent and my mum carried on running Mediaeval Banquets for a few more years. She and the singer eventually got together much to my dad’s chagrin. The singer spent a lot more time at the Hall helping my mum run the banquets; however, Piers didn’t really get on with him. When he was about 14 years old my dad received a phone call from Piers...