Tuesday 12 January 2016

Dead Pop Stars & Cars


Lots of internet shock about David Bowie's death. Comments ranging from 'devastated' (I think not - that's usually reserved for family, close contacts and band members) to 'sad' (saddened, possibly) and 'shocked' (mildly surprised, perhaps, given his age). In my case it was mild surprise. Many of these remarks are just throw-away turns of speech. Bowie certainly did raise music making to an artform - in fact his life was an artform in itself, a bit like Dali. Major Tom was played incessantly in the school dorm when I was a teenager (along with King Crimson, The Doors and Black Sabbath) and his music was never out of fashion.

By the reaction of some when Michael Jackson died, you'd think he was some kind of demi-god. A sense of perspective was (and remains) lacking. However, that said, I spoke to Hay's sister who is a therapist and she offered the opinion that if someone is not 100% certain of their own identity, they can easily latch onto a popular cultural icon, identify with that person and genuinely feel a sense of devastation when the object of their fixation kicks the bucket.

I just hated that the bugger just got better looking and cooler the older he got - the bastard! Wonder if it's just another reinvention of his persona and he'll come back as a zombie...

Spotted this little gem on Antiques Road Trip yesterday:


At first I thought it was a Spitfire, but the back looked all wrong. Took me a while to find out what it is, which is an Elva Courier (1958~1969), which came with a range of engines, including a V8. Strange I never heard of these motors before. A little more research showed they can be bought for £16~25k.


7 comments:

Ricmondo said...

I know the Courier well, the V8 was written about but I know of nobody who ever set eyes upon one. The MGA engined version used on the show was the most numerous, being lighter than the MGA it was faster and was nicely balanced. The Courier has the dubious distinction of being the first car I exceeded the magic 10 mph, sufficient time has passed to admit shamefully that it was in a 40 mph zone. When Trojan acquired the production rights that made a number of "improvements", some aspects were better but for me the Elva (she goes literally) souls became diluted.

Ricmondo said...

That's 100 mph not 10 although that road is now so congested ten miles per hour is now a more realistic target.

Chairman Bill said...

I'd loved to have driven the V8. But again, strange I never heard of the marque.

potty said...

I don't suppose that you will be interested but it was in Roger's Jag.EType, on the new Boscombe bypass, that I first went at 100mph.

Chairman Bill said...

My first 100 was in an MGB and my first 120 was in my dad's S Type Jag.

potty said...

My last 130mph was in my RS2000 on hols in France.

Chairman Bill said...

I can see this will go on and on... My first and last 150 was in my SL300 on the M50 (the day I bought it). Not to be repeated.