“Never meet your heroes” is what they say. As a young man I had two – the Jaguar E-type (naturally) and the 7-litre, Frua-bodied AC428. Of the latter, only 79 were ever made and, unlike the E-type, the 428 was and remains little-known. Every year I went to the Motor Show at Earl’s Court to worship b…

15 months ago / 131 visits / 2 comments / 2 people like

For boys born before 1960, Meccano was as memorable a part of childhood as school or Christmas. Invented in 1901 by Frank Hornby, and produced in Liverpool for over 70 years, it is said to have engendered generations of engineers, the very backbone of Britain’s industrial greatness. The Meccano Guil…

2 years ago / 923 visits / 6 comments / 5 people like

(Article for the Capri Club Magazine, 1999; Addendum 2010)

10 years ago / 750 visits / 1 comment

Oliver Shewell Franks, Baron Franks OM GCMG KCB CBE KCVO, 1905 - 1992 was an English public servant and academic who has been described as 'one of the founders of the post-war world'. He was certainly one of the most important and influential men never to hold a position in government. Possessed of…

10 years ago / 606 visits / 1 comment