Interviewing Jem Marsh

Yesterday I spent the day in the company of 'Mr Marcos', the indefatigable Jem Marsh. As part of a documentary on Marcos, Jem had agreed to be interviewed by John Sutton, an important figure in the early history of the marque who helped to put the car on the (racing) map. Of course there is only one way to travel to Jem's house in Bradford on Avon and that is in a Marcos, so my dad and I made the journey in his recently restored 1969 wooden chassis 3 litre V6 (pictured). We shouted at each other all the way down - this is what passes for conversation when you are trying to make yourself heard over the barely silenced and rather rorty V6. Restoring a Marcos can be fraught with difficulty - as owners are no doubt all too aware - and so Dad's first word on our arrival at Jem's was 'Marcos!', which he explained to Jem was a newly discovered English language expletive. Luckily, Jem and my father go back a long way and thankfully Jem's sense of humour is especially keen... After interviewing Jem on the history of Marcos - fresh in his mind after the production of his wonderful and lavishly illustrated book, Making my Marque - my father and I were treated to a truly excellent lunch, cooked by Lyn Marsh. Apparently Lyn runs the house as a B and B and on the basis of the food, the beauty of Bradford on Avon, the wonderful hospitality and the chance to meet the founder of Marcos, I would highly recommend a visit. Jem and Lyn are lovely company and my father and I enjoyed a great day with them. To talk all things Marcos with the marque's founder was a real privilege and pleasure. As for the documentary that I am making on Marcos, the plan is to sell DVDs with copies of Jem's book, so watch this space - and, of course, Jem's website!