Scott Alexander's yellow LP640 with plate 'NO 1'
Discussion
I loathe adding to this already over-long thread but...
I used to own/run a design studio just a short walk away from the Bristol showrooms in Kensington and have been quite firmly in the 'loving 'em' camp for some time, and me not yet in my 50's or ever the owner of anything made of tweed! (Although I'm happy to equate my choice of Lamborghini to them in some ways, call me a nonsense-talker if you wish).
One has to admire the truly aristocratic, downright arrogance of Bristol cars, the effortless, thoughtless style of them and also, the tiny, tiny nagging doubt that there must be something other than the car sales covering the cost of their premises at that (surely) vast-cost location?
What a delightful picture that was of the 'hero' of this thread having the gall to actually walk along the pavement near there let alone enter the place and perhaps being shoo-d away by a commissionaire with a string of medals that the width of his chest can barely accommodate!
My studio helped one of the designers that works with Simon Draper, (ex- LCUK and Richard Branson's cousin), who publishes numerous very well printed and extremely costly auto-art books as Palawan Press.
One of these books (actually two volumes!) was written by the late and very great L.J.K. Setright and called "A Private Car - An Account Of The Bristol".
In true LJKS style, the book(s) are one of words and one of photographs... ranging in price (as if we should ever discuss that sort of thing!) from £300 to £800 depending on final finishing and are, in many ways, a proper reflection of the Bristol values.
I should know, it nearly broke my heart when I was told I couldn't have my bill paid with a copy and then had to miss the presentation evening and so missed meeting the charismatic Setright himself; long may he enjoy the comfortable smoking rooms (with endless supplies of Sobranie Black Russians - quality enough to make a person want to start smoking all over again!!) and the dusty, well-stocked libraries of his own very personal, excruciatingly private heaven.
I used to own/run a design studio just a short walk away from the Bristol showrooms in Kensington and have been quite firmly in the 'loving 'em' camp for some time, and me not yet in my 50's or ever the owner of anything made of tweed! (Although I'm happy to equate my choice of Lamborghini to them in some ways, call me a nonsense-talker if you wish).
One has to admire the truly aristocratic, downright arrogance of Bristol cars, the effortless, thoughtless style of them and also, the tiny, tiny nagging doubt that there must be something other than the car sales covering the cost of their premises at that (surely) vast-cost location?
What a delightful picture that was of the 'hero' of this thread having the gall to actually walk along the pavement near there let alone enter the place and perhaps being shoo-d away by a commissionaire with a string of medals that the width of his chest can barely accommodate!
My studio helped one of the designers that works with Simon Draper, (ex- LCUK and Richard Branson's cousin), who publishes numerous very well printed and extremely costly auto-art books as Palawan Press.
One of these books (actually two volumes!) was written by the late and very great L.J.K. Setright and called "A Private Car - An Account Of The Bristol".
In true LJKS style, the book(s) are one of words and one of photographs... ranging in price (as if we should ever discuss that sort of thing!) from £300 to £800 depending on final finishing and are, in many ways, a proper reflection of the Bristol values.
I should know, it nearly broke my heart when I was told I couldn't have my bill paid with a copy and then had to miss the presentation evening and so missed meeting the charismatic Setright himself; long may he enjoy the comfortable smoking rooms (with endless supplies of Sobranie Black Russians - quality enough to make a person want to start smoking all over again!!) and the dusty, well-stocked libraries of his own very personal, excruciatingly private heaven.
A Bristol Fighter ... one to confuse and scatter chavs up and down the land for sure.
My brother has a Bristol and it is indeed a splendid behemoth of a gentlemens' club on wheels.
Not many cars can get away with gold ... although my sibling insists that it is bronze!
He lives over your way Si .. well, it's the wrong side of the Pennines and they talk funny ... the parish of Rossendale, where all the buses seem to be constantly adorned in Halloween decor!
My brother has a Bristol and it is indeed a splendid behemoth of a gentlemens' club on wheels.
Not many cars can get away with gold ... although my sibling insists that it is bronze!
He lives over your way Si .. well, it's the wrong side of the Pennines and they talk funny ... the parish of Rossendale, where all the buses seem to be constantly adorned in Halloween decor!
XXVIII said:
I loathe adding to this already over-long thread but...
I used to own/run a design studio just a short walk away from the Bristol showrooms in Kensington and have been quite firmly in the 'loving 'em' camp for some time, and me not yet in my 50's or ever the owner of anything made of tweed! (Although I'm happy to equate my choice of Lamborghini to them in some ways, call me a nonsense-talker if you wish).
One has to admire the truly aristocratic, downright arrogance of Bristol cars, the effortless, thoughtless style of them and also, the tiny, tiny nagging doubt that there must be something other than the car sales covering the cost of their premises at that (surely) vast-cost location?
What a delightful picture that was of the 'hero' of this thread having the gall to actually walk along the pavement near there let alone enter the place and perhaps being shoo-d away by a commissionaire with a string of medals that the width of his chest can barely accommodate!
My studio helped one of the designers that works with Simon Draper, (ex- LCUK and Richard Branson's cousin), who publishes numerous very well printed and extremely costly auto-art books as Palawan Press.
One of these books (actually two volumes!) was written by the late and very great L.J.K. Setright and called "A Private Car - An Account Of The Bristol".
In true LJKS style, the book(s) are one of words and one of photographs... ranging in price (as if we should ever discuss that sort of thing!) from £300 to £800 depending on final finishing and are, in many ways, a proper reflection of the Bristol values.
I should know, it nearly broke my heart when I was told I couldn't have my bill paid with a copy and then had to miss the presentation evening and so missed meeting the charismatic Setright himself; long may he enjoy the comfortable smoking rooms (with endless supplies of Sobranie Black Russians - quality enough to make a person want to start smoking all over again!!) and the dusty, well-stocked libraries of his own very personal, excruciatingly private heaven.
You are to be wholeheartedly congratulated, at the start of this thread we were presented with the bare naked horror of the excruciatingly louche Scott Alexander and yet by the 6th page you have brought us LJK Setright, his tome on Bristol Cars and his puffing on a Sobranie Black Russian. Justice done and good taste restored, a comeback worthy of Lazarus?I used to own/run a design studio just a short walk away from the Bristol showrooms in Kensington and have been quite firmly in the 'loving 'em' camp for some time, and me not yet in my 50's or ever the owner of anything made of tweed! (Although I'm happy to equate my choice of Lamborghini to them in some ways, call me a nonsense-talker if you wish).
One has to admire the truly aristocratic, downright arrogance of Bristol cars, the effortless, thoughtless style of them and also, the tiny, tiny nagging doubt that there must be something other than the car sales covering the cost of their premises at that (surely) vast-cost location?
What a delightful picture that was of the 'hero' of this thread having the gall to actually walk along the pavement near there let alone enter the place and perhaps being shoo-d away by a commissionaire with a string of medals that the width of his chest can barely accommodate!
My studio helped one of the designers that works with Simon Draper, (ex- LCUK and Richard Branson's cousin), who publishes numerous very well printed and extremely costly auto-art books as Palawan Press.
One of these books (actually two volumes!) was written by the late and very great L.J.K. Setright and called "A Private Car - An Account Of The Bristol".
In true LJKS style, the book(s) are one of words and one of photographs... ranging in price (as if we should ever discuss that sort of thing!) from £300 to £800 depending on final finishing and are, in many ways, a proper reflection of the Bristol values.
I should know, it nearly broke my heart when I was told I couldn't have my bill paid with a copy and then had to miss the presentation evening and so missed meeting the charismatic Setright himself; long may he enjoy the comfortable smoking rooms (with endless supplies of Sobranie Black Russians - quality enough to make a person want to start smoking all over again!!) and the dusty, well-stocked libraries of his own very personal, excruciatingly private heaven.
Cap suitably doffed sir.
Vario-Rob said:
XXVIII said:
I loathe adding to this already over-long thread but...
I used to own/run a design studio just a short walk away from the Bristol showrooms in Kensington and have been quite firmly in the 'loving 'em' camp for some time, and me not yet in my 50's or ever the owner of anything made of tweed! (Although I'm happy to equate my choice of Lamborghini to them in some ways, call me a nonsense-talker if you wish).
One has to admire the truly aristocratic, downright arrogance of Bristol cars, the effortless, thoughtless style of them and also, the tiny, tiny nagging doubt that there must be something other than the car sales covering the cost of their premises at that (surely) vast-cost location?
What a delightful picture that was of the 'hero' of this thread having the gall to actually walk along the pavement near there let alone enter the place and perhaps being shoo-d away by a commissionaire with a string of medals that the width of his chest can barely accommodate!
My studio helped one of the designers that works with Simon Draper, (ex- LCUK and Richard Branson's cousin), who publishes numerous very well printed and extremely costly auto-art books as Palawan Press.
One of these books (actually two volumes!) was written by the late and very great L.J.K. Setright and called "A Private Car - An Account Of The Bristol".
In true LJKS style, the book(s) are one of words and one of photographs... ranging in price (as if we should ever discuss that sort of thing!) from £300 to £800 depending on final finishing and are, in many ways, a proper reflection of the Bristol values.
I should know, it nearly broke my heart when I was told I couldn't have my bill paid with a copy and then had to miss the presentation evening and so missed meeting the charismatic Setright himself; long may he enjoy the comfortable smoking rooms (with endless supplies of Sobranie Black Russians - quality enough to make a person want to start smoking all over again!!) and the dusty, well-stocked libraries of his own very personal, excruciatingly private heaven.
You are to be wholeheartedly congratulated, at the start of this thread we were presented with the bare naked horror of the excruciatingly louche Scott Alexander and yet by the 6th page you have brought us LJK Setright, his tome on Bristol Cars and his puffing on a Sobranie Black Russian. Justice done and good taste restored, a comeback worthy of Lazarus?I used to own/run a design studio just a short walk away from the Bristol showrooms in Kensington and have been quite firmly in the 'loving 'em' camp for some time, and me not yet in my 50's or ever the owner of anything made of tweed! (Although I'm happy to equate my choice of Lamborghini to them in some ways, call me a nonsense-talker if you wish).
One has to admire the truly aristocratic, downright arrogance of Bristol cars, the effortless, thoughtless style of them and also, the tiny, tiny nagging doubt that there must be something other than the car sales covering the cost of their premises at that (surely) vast-cost location?
What a delightful picture that was of the 'hero' of this thread having the gall to actually walk along the pavement near there let alone enter the place and perhaps being shoo-d away by a commissionaire with a string of medals that the width of his chest can barely accommodate!
My studio helped one of the designers that works with Simon Draper, (ex- LCUK and Richard Branson's cousin), who publishes numerous very well printed and extremely costly auto-art books as Palawan Press.
One of these books (actually two volumes!) was written by the late and very great L.J.K. Setright and called "A Private Car - An Account Of The Bristol".
In true LJKS style, the book(s) are one of words and one of photographs... ranging in price (as if we should ever discuss that sort of thing!) from £300 to £800 depending on final finishing and are, in many ways, a proper reflection of the Bristol values.
I should know, it nearly broke my heart when I was told I couldn't have my bill paid with a copy and then had to miss the presentation evening and so missed meeting the charismatic Setright himself; long may he enjoy the comfortable smoking rooms (with endless supplies of Sobranie Black Russians - quality enough to make a person want to start smoking all over again!!) and the dusty, well-stocked libraries of his own very personal, excruciatingly private heaven.
Cap suitably doffed sir.
The Fighter, btw... The Fighter...
Thank you for your kind words but I cannot accept that refering to LJKS was entirely suitable in this instance as, frankly, he would probably have deferred any comment to a higher authority anyway.
Perhaps he may have revelled in using a precise Latin quotation and moving this 'debate' away to silence. Silence, that is, for those who have the whit to know where to look for translation or were paying attention at school, (should their school have offered Latin-based learning skills or similar) and baffled, muddle-headed, dumbed-down blankness for those whose schools certainly didn't.
I once saw a red Honda Prelude, very much like my own car at the time, heading west on Kensington High Street near the Commonwealth centre, towards the Bristol showroom, Olympia and Hammersmith.
Like many Hondas but particularly the late '80's 4ws Preludes, these were a personal favourite of LJKS as well as Bristols. This Prelude carried a somewhat battered looking registration plate to go with it's Bristol-like air of 'slight scruffiness'.
It was registered A1 which seemed entirely suitable in many ways, surprisingly un-flashy and quietly just very correct.
Perhaps he may have revelled in using a precise Latin quotation and moving this 'debate' away to silence. Silence, that is, for those who have the whit to know where to look for translation or were paying attention at school, (should their school have offered Latin-based learning skills or similar) and baffled, muddle-headed, dumbed-down blankness for those whose schools certainly didn't.
I once saw a red Honda Prelude, very much like my own car at the time, heading west on Kensington High Street near the Commonwealth centre, towards the Bristol showroom, Olympia and Hammersmith.
Like many Hondas but particularly the late '80's 4ws Preludes, these were a personal favourite of LJKS as well as Bristols. This Prelude carried a somewhat battered looking registration plate to go with it's Bristol-like air of 'slight scruffiness'.
It was registered A1 which seemed entirely suitable in many ways, surprisingly un-flashy and quietly just very correct.
A project for another time, maybe!:
Collate as many LJKS published works as possible in one location... the books he wrote are mountains in themselves and in so many areas of interest but his work for magazines like Car and Autocar over the years would (probably) require splitting into year-by-year volumes - the consistent reader could end up being regarded as an expert engineer or even grow a beard down to your belt!
Also, does anybody think a more Setright-centred thread or threads might be better placed somewhere like 'General Gassing' or could we ask the powers that be within PistonHeads to start a new and rather more cultured discussion area where gruesome chaverosities are not discussed or even admitted. Ever.
?
Collate as many LJKS published works as possible in one location... the books he wrote are mountains in themselves and in so many areas of interest but his work for magazines like Car and Autocar over the years would (probably) require splitting into year-by-year volumes - the consistent reader could end up being regarded as an expert engineer or even grow a beard down to your belt!
Also, does anybody think a more Setright-centred thread or threads might be better placed somewhere like 'General Gassing' or could we ask the powers that be within PistonHeads to start a new and rather more cultured discussion area where gruesome chaverosities are not discussed or even admitted. Ever.
?
XXVIII said:
A project for another time, maybe!:
Collate as many LJKS published works as possible in one location... the books he wrote are mountains in themselves and in so many areas of interest but his work for magazines like Car and Autocar over the years would (probably) require splitting into year-by-year volumes - the consistent reader could end up being regarded as an expert engineer or even grow a beard down to your belt!
Also, does anybody think a more Setright-centred thread or threads might be better placed somewhere like 'General Gassing' or could we ask the powers that be within PistonHeads to start a new and rather more cultured discussion area where gruesome chaverosities are not discussed or even admitted. Ever.
?
Evening Lamboista,Collate as many LJKS published works as possible in one location... the books he wrote are mountains in themselves and in so many areas of interest but his work for magazines like Car and Autocar over the years would (probably) require splitting into year-by-year volumes - the consistent reader could end up being regarded as an expert engineer or even grow a beard down to your belt!
Also, does anybody think a more Setright-centred thread or threads might be better placed somewhere like 'General Gassing' or could we ask the powers that be within PistonHeads to start a new and rather more cultured discussion area where gruesome chaverosities are not discussed or even admitted. Ever.
?
There any number of subjects that could be contained within a separate forum, a Smoking Room if you will?
Within the Smoking Room discussions not normally found in the P&P could be covered such as the works of previously mentioned LJK Setright or indeed the work of another long lost friend to the cause, Alan Clark.
Cars not normally covered elsewhere and even maligned such as Bristol or maybe even Invicta if anybody has actually seen one? Cars that aren’t strictly relevant to Yesterdays Heroes but none the less worthy of their own corner on PH.
Other subject matter might include good quality booze and smokes (in keeping with LJK and Al for that matter) and generally the sort of stuff the likes of Octane keeps well covered.
Still enough of this thread highjack which after all was started in the name of the complete antithesis of all that is good and proper
Trommel said:
Vario-Rob said:
generally the sort of stuff the likes of Octane keeps well covered
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