The events that led to this fine story took place a few years back, when my friends Lizett Bond and Kerry Morse paid a visit to the UK. As usual when Kerry is around things get a little out of focus, nevertheless this tale is worth repeating and New Year’s Eve is as good as any time to do so. And it is also an appropriate time to remember those who are no longer here to celebrate a New Year, one such individual was Jim Bamber, the great cartoonist and artist who passed away in the summer. He is greatly missed by his friends.<\/em><\/p>\n

So to those who persevere with this site, may I wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2015.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

John Brooks, December 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Think of Jane Austen country. What comes to mind? Landed gentry, leisurely strolls through verdant pastures, sheep, cattle and, of course, the horses? Yet, might there be horses of another type hidden in those peaceful, green hills? Sense tells us this is prime horse country, what if sensibilities were interrupted by the roar of something that travels on four \u201clegs\u201d of a different kind?<\/p>\n

I love horses. I cut my teeth on \u201cNational Velvet\u201d.\u00a0One of my favorite daydreams consisted of riding The Pie across a pasture, wind whipping my short hair. In this daytime fantasy, Mi coached from the fence line.<\/p>\n

Imagine how I jumped when the opportunity arose to actually spend some time in the English countryside.\u00a0When I discovered that the village of Bentley, my destination, was in Jane Austen territory, I adjusted, trading in Mi and The Pie for Colonel Brandon, Mr. Willoughby, and romance.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Jane Austen country, so steeped in history, was soon to provide some modern surprises, and the contrast between historical and modern would prove pretty striking.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nThere were several reasons to be in Jane\u2019s neck of the woods.\u00a0 First, the MP4\/3 McLaren.\u00a0\u00a0A Formula One racecar with historical significance and modern interest, I would have the privilege of observing the shakedown of this fine steed at the famous Donington Park racetrack.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The second was to spend time with a Jaguar XJ and a bright yellow Porsche 997 Carrera. These fine carriages, provided by the manufacturers, awaited our arrival at Heathrow Airport after a flight from Los Angeles on Virgin Atlantic.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Our destination was the Bentley Mill Inn. Cars aside, during my visit I wanted to meld into the community and meet the locals. I wanted to belong, if only for a short time.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

It was dark as we rolled into the outskirts of Bentley, and after an unplanned tour of the small village, we found our lodgings.\u00a0 Ann and David Hallett, proprietors of the converted mill, proved the quintessential English hosts. A cross between English country gentleperson farmers and extremely cultured, worldly travelers, we were welcomed into their home.\u00a0 In spite of the comfort and quaint ambience of this establishment, there was an air of quiet refinement, as one would expect. A paper mill, originally built in 1640, the Bentley Mill sits virtually atop The River Wey.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

And there were more delights to follow. A short walk from the Mill sits the Bull Inn. The classic English Pub, right down to the fireplace, the locals and the atmosphere, The Bull Inn serves breakfast, bar snacks, drinks and dinner.\u00a0 Oh, heaven!\u00a0 If I wanted to experience another world firsthand, I\u2019d found it. Or as Ms Austen would say, \u201cone half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other\u201d. The regulars at the Bull Inn are right out of a PBS Masterpiece Theatre production.\u00a0\u00a0Sandy, an occasional bartender at the Bull, is the perfect character to stand behind said bar, a lot of fun, and \u201cSex In the City\u201d has nothing on her. One would expect an old curmudgeon, but instead, the owner of this establishment is an ultra modern sophisticate, driving a Porsche and vacationing in Vail, Colorado.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Feeling as if this was now my local, dinner at the Bull became a nightly ritual. One special evening at the Bull was topped off by dinner with renowned race cartoonist and artist, Jim Bamber and his wife Sally.<\/p>\n

How could one resist the urge for further exploration? In order to access the hamlet of Bentley from the Mill Inn, one has two choices; get in a car and trek the A31 or, the best to any traveler, stroll right out the front door, turn right on the narrowest country road ever and hit the footpaths through the pastures.\u00a0 Bentley was meant for ambling and the juxtaposition of historical cottages and new mansions was marked as I sauntered along.\u00a0 The imagination is well exercised with a pasture promenade and, like Jane Austen, I preferred \u201ctaking a turn in the shrubbery\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0I fancied an encounter with Miss Steele as I traveled the footpaths to the little village of Bentley.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Another day trip included a visit to Austen\u2019s home in Chawton, where she resided for the last eight years of her life and penned some of her best works.\u00a0 The house is now a museum.<\/p>\n

An excursion to the city of Winchester also provided some timeless contrasts. Being December, the weather was quite chilly and rather dreary, but a Christmas Market at Winchester Cathedral, along with street musicians and the aroma of\u00a0assorted treats, set the mood. I was transported to another century. Walking into Winchester Cathedral, I was struck by the presence of the humanity who had trod these floors before me.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

However, leaving Winchester in the comparative safety and luxury of a new Jaguar XJ jolted me back to modern times.<\/p>\n

However, speaking of centuries past, The Bishops of Winchester inhabited Farnham Castle in the village of Farnham, for over 900 years. Bentley is just a stones throw from Farnham.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Since my countryside reverie was about to be interrupted, combined with, or attached to, a trip to Farnham, I began to wonder just what this little escapade would bring to the table.\u00a0 How could it possibly compete with Bentley, and Ann of the Mill, or Sandy of the Bull Inn, of sheep in the pasture, or ancient bibles, and, well, all of it?\u00a0But seriously, as the purpose of the trip was car stuff, what could complete this trip more than a visit to the \u201cshop\u201d of a major historic racecar player?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Once there, the contrast took my breath away.\u00a0 Obviously a horse and cattle operation in times past, the fantastic barn had been restored to its original splendor. What was behind those wooden doors?\u00a0\u00a0How about a fantastic collection of vintage racecars.\u00a0 Vintage, in Jane Austen country, is a relative term.\u00a0 What constitutes a vintage car?\u00a0 Well, cars are a relatively new creation and Ms. Austen would not have known them, so we are modern\/historical in a relative sense.\u00a0 Our prejudices are just challenged. But I digress.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The purpose of the visit is a photo shoot. And not just any old vintage racecar either; a McLaren MP4 Porsche powered F1 rolling stock. To record the event, eminent racecar photographer John Brooks is on hand, with all his paraphernalia, along with racecar historian Kerry Morse.\u00a0 Their goal, to photograph the McLaren, in the mist, in the cold, in the historic setting, to express the essense of the car and the people who influence racing.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

But, wait, there\u2019s more! Did I want a ride in an F1 GTR McLaren?\u00a0 The ex Ray Bellm 1996 F1 GTR still in Gulf Oil colors?\u00a0 Of course!\u00a0 Did I realize what I was getting into?\u00a0 Of course not!\u00a0 This fabulous looking McLaren rolled out of the shop, still wearing those championship Gulf colors of blue and orange. It was, well, romantic and loud and full of horsepower.\u00a0It was Colonel Brandon and I was in Jane\u2019s countryside. It was The Pie and a steeplechase. I wanted to cut my hair short and pretend!\u00a0 Did I turn down the ride? Of course not.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

I pried myself around the roll cage and into a tiny racing seat located to the left of the driver, as the McLaren is a center steer. Strapped into a seat that allowed for NO movement, I decided my safety was in the hands of my driver. \u00a0\u201cThese cars are built for catastrophe,\u201d I told myself, and, \u201cHey, this guy knows what he is doing\u201d. I plastered a quivering smile on my face and we were off. Nothing compares to a drive through the English countryside in a McLaren \u201cstreet legal\u201d racecar with a proficient driver.\u00a0 Behind us, yet another McLaren F1 followed, this example being of the production type. Bringing up the rear came Brooks and Morse, in the yellow Porsche 997, trying their best to keep up with the McLaren duo.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

I could scarcely turn my head, partly out of fear, and partly out of, well, the inability to turn my head in such tight seating.\u00a0\u00a0Feeling a bit like Plato\u2019s workers in the Allegory of the Cave, I was aware only of what was going on directly to the front of me.\u00a0 Conversation with my intrepid driver was impossible.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t hear my silent screams, and his reassurances would fall on deaf ears. Not that he seemed to feel any need to comfort me.\u00a0 I could see, in my peripheral vision, people staring at the ride. I focused on the road ahead, foot mashing an imaginary brake pedal.\u00a0\u00a0Seriously though, is there anything cooler than traversing speed bumps, in front of a school full of teenaged students, in an extremely rare and fast car?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

As we sped into the countryside, cows, horses and sheep grazed quietly in a pastoral setting, not even raising their heads at the roar of the McLaren. I was able to see these creatures, sort of\u2026they went by so fast!\u00a0 I felt as if the cows were tigers about to be churned into butter.\u00a0 Finally, we pulled into what appeared to be an upscale dairy.\u00a0 Upscale, indeed. We\u2019d arrived at a warehouse chock full of historic racecars.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see, historic racecars in a modern warehouse in the middle of land that makes me think that all creatures are truly great and small.\u00a0\u00a0 Old, new, old\u2026wow, forget Mi and Colonel Brandon, even Mr. Darcy\u2026bring me Mr. Firth, bring me Mr. Rickman!<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Eventually, I had to come back to reality, to my own half of the world.\u00a0 I had to say goodbye to Ann and David of the Mill, Sandy of The Bull Inn and to Brooksie\u2026.the \u2018other half\u2019 of SportsCarPros.\u00a0\u00a0A confession; the countryside, the Jag, and the sightseeing took precedence over Donington. While the intrepid crew of SportsCarPros was shooting away at the track, I was tooling around in that beautiful black Jag or in my own black riding boots, which doubled as walking boots.\u00a0 After all, as Jane once wrote, \u201cWhy not seize the pleasure at once, how often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lizett Bond, December 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The events that led to this fine story took place a few years back, when my friends Lizett Bond and Kerry Morse paid a visit to the UK. As usual when Kerry is around things get a little out of focus, nevertheless this tale is worth repeating and New Year’s Eve is as good as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,13,644],"tags":[869,181,585,149,871],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7738"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10067,"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7738\/revisions\/10067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doubledeclutch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}