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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...

Like Father, Like Sons #20

As mentioned in earlier blogs 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 house was open to the publ...

Like Father, Like Sons #19

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, 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 house was open...

SKOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER! #13

...broad – Europe’s climate and way of life suited me and after two weeks I never wanted to come home but home we did come as we still had our own visitors to attend to in the holidays.  Sometimes my friend Janine came round to stay for a few days and this would break the monotony a bit.  Once we dressed up in the Victorian dresses that were on show and walked round the grounds and then over to the church in them.  People must have thought they were seeing ghosts! Another time we decided to play tricks on the visitors by using the secret door in the Library. There were two secret doors, one which was always open and used by the visitors to wend their way ar...

Moving in - to a stately home! #2

...all over Europe to race at all the famous circuits, so the outbuildings were always full of bits of racing cars and their engines! All this stuff had to be moved and my dad did most of it by travelling back and forth each day with vans and trailers full of the contents of our house and outbuildings – an enormous undertaking! He knew some students and used to pick them up en route to help and they also stayed on to help tame the gardens which were very overgrown, the grass standing about 2 feet high. As I’m sure you can imagine, after nearly 20 years of neglect, the gardens were a sorry sight having once been very grand. Apparently, when the house was built...

An Englishman's Home is his Mansion! #2

...all over Europe to race at all the famous circuits, so the outbuildings were always full of bits of racing cars and their engines! All this stuff had to be moved and my dad did most of it by travelling back and forth each day with vans and trailers full of the contents of our house and outbuildings – an enormous undertaking!   Moving in!   He knew some students and used to pick them up en route to help and they also stayed on to help tame the gardens which were very overgrown, the grass standing about 2 feet high. As I’m sure you can imagine, after nearly 20 years of neglect, the gardens were a sorry sight having once been very grand. Apparently,...