Hi All,
Steve, no not a violinist but a fiddler. Like Caesar with Rome, Harold Wilson fiddled while England burned!
At the risk of sticking my neck into a political noose......
Life was great fun in England in the Swinging Sixties and motor racing was then as it'll never be again - GT40s, Lola T70s, Ferrari P4s, Jim Clark, Graham Hill and much else. What was even more amazing then was that a Cooper mechanic would run down the pit lane to borrow a tool from the Lotus pits. Imagine that today!
Only problem was Harold Wilson's Labour party won the elections in 1964 and then came in again in 1966 with a greater majority. That was bad news for the British aircraft, shipping, motor and motor cycle industries under Prime Minister Harold Wilson's leadership or lack of it. Much as we had fun there were endless strikes for higher wages and one had the feeling that the Labour boys thought that money fell from heaven.
As a kid growing up in Cape Town I had a large collection of British aircraft, car and motor cycle magazines and I would drool over these fabulous British products. Sadly under Labour these industries all but disappeared. I believe that the only wholly owned British car companies are Morgan, TVR, The London Taxi Company and some specialist vehicles and kit car companies.
Also as the sun was setting on the British motor cycle industry it was rising for the Japanese industry. All gone - AJS, Ariel, BSA, Matchless, Norton, Royal Enfield (Now built in India) Sunbeam, Velocette, HRD Vincent. Good however to see Triumph back with some excellent products.
Concorde was the last remaining example of British aircraft ability, expertise and technology.
If the UK lost out in the general motor industry it certainly made up for it by being the world capital of racing car and related products manufacture. A visit to the Racing Car Show in January of every year will prove the point. Mind boggling! Motor sport is a multi-billion pound industry for the UK. Also if you are a vintage, classic , race car, bike enthusiast England is the place to visit. MK1V (Rick) if you were to visit this year's Goodwood Revival Meeting in September you will find a new HEAVEN, guaranteed! In fact why don't some of the US forum members form a group and come over together. We can have a great party! My former English Porsche colleague, Roger Holliday, moved to the US in 1964 and today runs tour groups to the UK and Europe from his office in Bowling Green, Ohio. He will organise the tour, he has the experience. Talking of bikes, Roger's father R.E.H (Bob) Holliday was for many years editor of the British 'Motor Cycling' magazine. His magazine was one of my favourites as a school kid and I couldn't have imagined then that I would one day become a friend of the Holliday family in Hendon, London NW4.
In 1976 my British born wife and I went to the UK on holiday and were dismayed at the prevailing pessimistic mood there. Over dinner one night I casually used the word 'profit' and I felt a kick under the table in my shin. It came from my friend John Samuel (see earlier posting about visit to Italy and Ferrari) an entrepreneur and capitalist. He whispered, 'That word is not acceptable these days'. I replied, 'It looks as if Harold and his Left Wingers have got to you as well!' In fact the Samuels just had new house built and we had electricity courtesy of a Honda genny because the local electricity council had run out of money and couldn't supply power. In fact I went with John to the offices near Basingstoke where a bunch of electricians were sitting around a table playing cards.'Sorry mate, can't help!' The UK wasn't in good shape then! Vastly different today - Brits living well, strong pound.
Anyway, up popped Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, and took charge of things. Like all good politicians they have to score points by making something happen. That event was the Falklands war and suddenly the Brits were proud to wave the Union Jack again. Any comments, Rick Chattell?.
Mercifully today Tony Blair's Labour Party is a far cry from Harold Wilson's.
It would be interesting to have comments from intelligent people like David Morton and Rob Beddington about my Wilson era observations.
We have a friend who started as a nurse, became a sister then a matron and then director of the Fitzroy Clinic in London, close to Marble Arch. She was and is a staunch member of the Conservative Party and hated Wilson's Labour government with a passion. Then given the somewhat perverse world we live in, in his last days on this mortal coil, Harold Wilson was booked into her clinic. He died there right in front of her of natural causes. No, she didn't help him on his way. Honest!
Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher together in the Daimler. Unthinkable!
Here endeth the lesson on Harold Wilson.
Don't fiddle!
Andre 40
