Celebrate. The first Jim Clark books have arrived.
You can’t help feeling a bit pleased with yourself when you finally see the fruits of your labours and face the truth, the test of the real world, which is whether people will like it enough to go and buy one. It’s odd too how often, when you tell somebody you have written a book they say; “How long did it take you?” They never say, “How much does it cost and can I buy one?”
Crimond: Jim Clark's First Race
After farm tractors and rallies with the family Sunbeam Jim Clark went on to race his friend Ian Scott Watson’s DKW Sonderklasse. Ecurie Agricole was a breezy name for a Young Farmers’ motoring team and in June 1956 the pair drove to Crimond on the north-east tip of Aberdeenshire for a club race on an old airfield.
Read MoreIan Macpherson McCallum Stewart (1929-2017)
A letter to Motor Sport in January 1953 made the point: “Sir: I feel very strongly that Ian Stewart has not been given the credit he deserves for winning the sports car race at Charterhall. Every account I have read glosses over Ian’s superb driving and infers that he won only by having the fastest car. This is not true.
Read MoreScottish Rally: Jim Clark's 100MPH
“We got moving well when suddenly another Healey overtook. That was too much. As we went faster I said for God’s sake canny Jim, steady. But within minutes I relaxed. All his ability was already there. He was an absolute natural.”
Read MoreCecil Kimber, the MG Girl and Harold Connolly
Founder of MG, Cecil Kimber was ahead of his time. In the 1920s he wrote copy, designed advertisements and engaged the best artists to fulfil a vision he had of what we would nowadays call a lifestyle choice. This was more than simply buying space in newspapers to sell cars. Kimber was creating a brand.
Read MoreJim Clark, Farmer
Jim Clark left Loretto in 1952 aged 16. He was needed back at the farm. He once said he left when his father realised he was not studious, but there was something apologetic about his assertion that: “Father had no qualms about taking me away from school. He thought I would learn more on the farm than I would from school books.”
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