BTCC, Rockingham, 20th September 2009

Last Sunday I took my son and his best friend from school to see the penultimate round of the British Touring Cars Championship at Rockingham. This was our first visit to the circuit and I found it a novel experience. Laid out in a gently banked oval, the track was built to cater for the type of racing associated with the famous Indianapolis 500, often called 'Indy Car' racing. The infield contains the corners and chicanes, which means that the spectator can only view the racing from the grandstands that form a crescent around the outside edge of one side of the oval. It is possible to access a viewing area above the pits and this does offer an exciting perspective; however, this is standing room only and is limited in terms of numbers. There is no chance then, to move around the circuit positioning oneself at interesting sections of the circuit throughout the day. Despite this we did manage to find a position in the stands by the afternoon that gave a good overview of the racing but still allowed for some sense of the formidable speed of the cars as they exited the straight and entered a long left-hander, called simply 'Turn 1', before negotiating the hairpin at Deane into the infield. What makes BTCC so exciting for fans of the series is that the pit lane is opened between races, allowing access to the drivers and a close-up glimpse of the cars. For my son and his friend, autograph hunting and freebie collecting (caps, posters, etc.) is all part of the fun. The first touring cars race of the day (there are three per meeting) was won by Stephen Jelley in the Team RAC BMW320si. The second was won by the ever popular Jason Plato in a Chevrolet Lacetti, while the third saw Jelley on the top of the podium once more, achieving his first two wins in BTCC. Mat Jackson was third and second respectively and looked to be heading for victory in the final race when he was shunted off the track by Giovanardi in his Vauxhall Vectra VXR. The racing in BTCC is always close and exciting and makes for a great day's motor racing. Also competing in their respective championships were Porsche Carreras, Formula Renault and my favourites, the G50 Ginettas. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day, very much helped by the late September sunshine…

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!

Bo'ness Motor Museum

While on holiday, I visited this tiny but delightful classic car museum. Bo'ness is a short drive from the old fishing town of South Queensferry, which nestles between the huge expanses of the Forth road and rail bridges. The museum combines the twin passions of this blog, as the bulk of its exhibits are cars and memorabilia associated with film, specifically those featuring James Bond. Perhaps the most interesting of the cars in this respect is the road going white Lotus Esprit S1 that was used on set in The Spy who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert 1977). Crammed full of film props and costumes, the museum houses, cheek by jowl, approximately twenty-five cars: various Aston Martin's - a DB6, a DBS and a V8 Vantage - as well as the series 3 Jaguar XJ6 used in the film The 51st State (Ronny Yu 2001) and a De Lorean, a Mini Cooper, a Sunbeam Alpine and 1940s Studebaker. Chatting with Colin Anderson, the museum's founder and owner, I discovered that he is also involved in the recent resurrection of the Bo'ness Hill Climb, last run in 1966 and revived in 2008. This hill climb has a wonderful history having hosted a number of celebrated racing drivers and cars, including Jim Clark in 1959 driving the famous Border Reivers D Type Jaguar and his Le Mans Lotus Elite. Details on the climb's history and dates for this year's event are available here.

Marcos 50th Anniversary, Prescott

I'm about to go off on holiday, having just returned from an absolutely fantastic weekend celebrating fifty years of Marcos. I will post a full report in due course but having experienced my first run up the Prescott Hill as a passenger in my father's recently restored 1969 3 litre V6 wooden chassis Marcos, I wanted to share the in-cockpit experience. Although the runs up the hill weren't meant to be competitive and were not timed, most drivers still pushed quite hard (a couple even lost it through Ettore and ended up in the gravel). I shot nearly five hours of video of the event - highlights include interviews with Jem Marsh, Tim Abbott, Stephen Minoprio and footage of over 140 Marcos cars - and once edited this will be made available...

Danny MacAskill: 'Inspired Bicycles'

This short video (see it here) has become very popular since it was first posted and with good reason. The stunts are incredible - obviously - but this amateur film has also been pretty well shot (by Dave Sowerby) and effectively edited. The soundtrack uses the single 'The Funeral', courtesy of US indie group Band of Horses (from the album Everything All of the Time). As an accompaniment to the stunts on display, this track works perfectly. Of course, it is also great to see the Edinburgh locations, many of which are familiar to me and my children from regular visits to our cousins who live not so far from MacAskill's stomping (or stunting) ground. A good deal of the appeal of the video for me is the way in which the city's streets become the space in which MacAskill shows off his skill, much like parkourt or street running, which transforms the cityscape into an extension of the body or conjoins the body with the architecture that surrounds it in a fluid and aesthetic fashion. My children love the video and so do I...
For MacAskill's interview with Scottish TV in April 2009 see here.

The kid's are not alright... Eden Lake (James Watkins 2008)

I've finally got around to seeing this compelling but gruelling film, described by The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw as 'seriously bloody horrible' but also as 'the best British horror film in years' (see here for his excellent review). It is one of those rare films that had me literally squirming in my seat in discomfort, exacerbated by the fact that it offers none of the usual palliatives associated with the genre, instead remaining horrifyingly grim right up to the final credits. The film's protagonists Steve (the brilliant Michael Fassbender) and Jenny (Kelly Reilly) escape the city for a camping weekend beside a nostalgically remembered wooded lake (although the fact that it is an ex-quarry signals a note of incipient darkness). They arrive to find that developers are turning it into 'Eden Lake', a gated community of expensive lakeside properties; however, they find a gap in the imposing security fence and drive down to the lakeshore in Steve's 4x4 Jeep. As they relax by the water their idyll is undermined by the presence of a group of rowdy youths whose loud music and aggressive dog provoke Steve into remonstrating with them. This rapidly turns into a confrontation that escalates as the film progresses, setting in motion the chain of events that lead to its bleak denoument. Bradshaw argues that 'the confrontation here isn't about race and not even exclusively about class; it's not about townies and hillbillies, or blacks and whites, or yuppies and chavs. At bottom, it's about older people and the young: a gang of feral children who are as powerful as adults'. I'm not entirely sure that I agree. Yes, there is no doubt that the film is about the power of children but class, as Bradshaw acknowledges, does play an important role here. Steve and Jenny are resolutely middle class while the children (and their parents) are portrayed as wealthy 'chavs' (see Imogen Tyler's article 'Chav Scum: The Politics of Social Class in Contemporary Britain' here). These parents are the ones that we hear being blamed for the behaviour of their children as we listen to a Radio 4 broadcast (itself a marker of class) over the opening credits, as Steve and Jenny drive down to 'Eden Lake'. Jenny, as an infant school teacher is figured as their polar opposite, which of course makes events later in the film all the more powerful and shocking. As Bradshaw notes, Eden Lake is not a film that one can 'claim to like in any normal sense' (it is after all incredibly violent and graphic) but it is a visually accomplished film and it maintains an unremitting level of tension throughout. If you are planing a 'staycation' this summer, camping out in some English beauty spot, then maybe wait until you get back before you see this movie..!

Classics on the Common

After the beautiful weather last year and the heat of the Walled Garden earlier this year, it was perhaps hoping too much that the weather would remain clement and so, as forecast, this year's Classics on the Common was a very wet affair. The rain didn't dampen spirits entirely but there were fewer cars than last year, although numbers still appeared to be high, and most of the picnics and picnickers were looking somewhat bedraggled as the afternoon wore on. As ever there was a fascinating and eclectic array of cars to look at, ranging from modern Ferraris (various types), Lamborghinis and back from the future De Lorean's (sorry but given the twin interests of my blog, I couldn't resist) to all sorts of Austin Sevens, Morgans, MGs, Rileys and other classic and vintage marques. As ever it was good to chat with old friends and interested onlookers but this year by 7.00pm cars were already beginning to make their exit... Thankfully, given the rain, the organisation was excellent, as was the police traffic control and the marshalling on the common itself. It was a shame that the weather wasn't what might have been hoped for but the thousands of spectators seemed to be enjoying themselves nonetheless. Here's to a warmer and drier Classics on the Common in 2010...