Story Search Results

Motor Racing Days #9

...y held at Silverstone. My dad had kept his old Volkswagon van as it was useful for transporting furniture etc from auction houses and we would pack this up and go off for the weekend. Gavin and I would sit on chairs in the back of the van and every time we went round a corner our chairs would tip over to the side and we’d be hanging on for dear life – my mum would sit in the front with Piers on her knee! No seatbelts then or child seats – I dread to think how we would have survived an accident! My dad would always get passes for the Paddock which was the area where all the racing car teams were next to the pits and only a privileged few would have these. A...

Motor Racing Days #64

...Although my blogs are about living at Hoar Cross Hall, I would just like to give a bit of background about my dad’s motor racing career in the years leading up to moving to the Hall as this will set the scene for later instalments of my story.  With the Silverstone Grand Prix recently in the news, I thought this would be quite topical! As mentioned my dad used to be a motor racing driver but he actually started off racing motor cycles in the 1930s.  Because of this he became a despatch rider during the Second World War and spent a lot of time in North Africa.  After the war he started racing motor bikes at nearby Donington Park and he raced there up to the...

Motor Racing Days #9

...y held at Silverstone.  My dad had kept his old Volkswagon van as it was useful for transporting furniture etc from auction houses and we would pack this up and go off for the weekend.  Gavin and I would sit on chairs in the back of the van and every time we went round a corner our chairs would tip over to the side and we’d be hanging on for dear life – my mum would sit in the front with Piers on her knee!  No seatbelts then or child seats – I dread to think how we would have survived an accident!  My dad would always get passes for the Paddock which was the area where all the racing car teams were next to the pits and only a privileged few would have...

Motor Racing Days #9

...y held at Silverstone.  My dad had kept his old Volkswagon van as it was useful for transporting furniture etc from auction houses and we would pack this up and go off for the weekend.  Gavin and I would sit on chairs in the back of the van and every time we went round a corner our chairs would tip over to the side and we’d be hanging on for dear life – my mum would sit in the front with Piers on her knee!  No seatbelts then or child seats – I dread to think how we would have survived an accident!  My dad would always get passes for the Paddock which was the area where all the racing car teams were next to the pits and only a privileged few would have...

Motor Racing Days #8

...y held at Silverstone. My dad had kept his old Volkswagon van as it was useful for transporting furniture etc from auction houses and we would pack this up and go off for the weekend. Gavin and I would sit on chairs in the back of the van and every time we went round a corner our chairs would tip over to the side and we’d be hanging on for dear life – my mum would sit in the front with Piers on her knee! No seatbelts then or child seats – I dread to think how we would have survived an accident! My dad would always get passes for the Paddock which was the area where all the racing car teams were next to the pits and only a privileged few would have these. A...

Motor Racing Days #9

...y held at Silverstone. My dad had kept his old Volkswagon van as it was useful for transporting furniture etc from auction houses and we would pack this up and go off for the weekend. Gavin and I would sit on chairs in the back of the van and every time we went round a corner our chairs would tip over to the side and we’d be hanging on for dear life – my mum would sit in the front with Piers on her knee! No seatbelts then or child seats – I dread to think how we would have survived an accident! My dad would always get passes for the Paddock which was the area where all the racing car teams were next to the pits and only a privileged few would have these. A...