Ronald "Steady" Barker.....
Discussion
...is alive and well and bloomin funny to boot.
Posting the Aston info in the Vantage thread reminded me of just how good Car was in the late 70's and early 80's.
Ronald Barker, L J K Setright, Llewellyn, Cropley and latterly Russel Bulgin. Sadly most of them are now gone.
However, went to the Bugatti Trust AGM last Sunday and Steady was there! Very old, but the wit had not gone.
Following a speach by Lord Raglan, he came up with:
1) It is not often you get to hear the word of the Lord first hand on a Sunday.
2) (Steady had a cold) - It is only my nose that runs nowadays.
Younger Pistonheads readers will not have a clue what I am going on about, so please do not shoot me down in flames, old (+40) readers will get it...hopefully!
Anyone remember Barker's car reviews that had 2 sentences on the car and the rest of the page devoted to the food and drink the manufacturer supplied?
Posting the Aston info in the Vantage thread reminded me of just how good Car was in the late 70's and early 80's.
Ronald Barker, L J K Setright, Llewellyn, Cropley and latterly Russel Bulgin. Sadly most of them are now gone.
However, went to the Bugatti Trust AGM last Sunday and Steady was there! Very old, but the wit had not gone.
Following a speach by Lord Raglan, he came up with:
1) It is not often you get to hear the word of the Lord first hand on a Sunday.
2) (Steady had a cold) - It is only my nose that runs nowadays.
Younger Pistonheads readers will not have a clue what I am going on about, so please do not shoot me down in flames, old (+40) readers will get it...hopefully!
Anyone remember Barker's car reviews that had 2 sentences on the car and the rest of the page devoted to the food and drink the manufacturer supplied?
Edited by Whitney-Paine on Thursday 22 January 22:28
"Miles per restaurant" -- in the article about the then-new Series 3 Jaguar XJ. They went to some place for lunch which was so fabulous they had to stay on for dinner too, resulting in an MPR of zero for the afternoon!
wonderful stuff
I recently had email with Mel Nichols, who is very much alive and well.
wonderful stuff
I recently had email with Mel Nichols, who is very much alive and well.
Edited by jhoneyball on Thursday 22 January 22:26
excellent thread.
I used to buy Car every month when LJKS, Barker & Co were on the team. At that time, the magazine was beautifully written, and as you say, with a good balance between the car and the atmosphere it was driven in.
When they werem't writing about specific cars, their observations on other motoring matters were always thought-provoking.
Haven't bought the magazine for years.
I used to buy Car every month when LJKS, Barker & Co were on the team. At that time, the magazine was beautifully written, and as you say, with a good balance between the car and the atmosphere it was driven in.
When they werem't writing about specific cars, their observations on other motoring matters were always thought-provoking.
Haven't bought the magazine for years.
Whitney-Paine said:
Younger Pistonheads readers will not have a clue what I am going on about, so please do not shoot me down in flames, old (+40) readers will get it...hopefully!
Anyone remember Barker's car reviews that had 2 sentences on the car and the rest of the page devoted to the food and drink the manufacturer supplied?
I think Barker must have taught George Bishop how to get a couple of lines about a car into a restaurant review.... Anyone remember Barker's car reviews that had 2 sentences on the car and the rest of the page devoted to the food and drink the manufacturer supplied?
Edited by Whitney-Paine on Thursday 22 January 22:28
George Bishop - funny old chap - he managed to get a Daihatsu Charade stuck on a jetty in some remote Scottish fishing village at the launch of the revised car in the early 90s.
Often used to see Phil Llewellin filling up his long termers at the local petrol stations - a really interesting chap and gifted with words.
Whitney-Paine said:
Anyone remember Barker's car reviews that had 2 sentences on the car and the rest of the page devoted to the food and drink the manufacturer supplied?
Ha ha ! I was going to write exactly the same thing after you posted a picture of the magazine cover on that other thread. Edited by Whitney-Paine on Thursday 22 January 22:28
Was it not Bishop who did the reviews of the food and wine at the car launches, plus a couple of lines maybe, about the car ? I enjoyed his writing, but would appreciate it more now,obviously.
The magazine, IIRC, was predominantly in black and white, printed on bog-paper rather than the glossy stuff used today, but somehow felt subversive, that you were part of a small cult, rather than the slick media package that you now get.
Excellent writing, always some adventure of driving a Daytona or a Stratos back from Italy, or a dash to Scotland in the pouring rain in a quattro.
Really loved it.
Balmoral Green said:
Didn't James May have a regular page around that time too? when he was just starting out. I have a vague memory of it being called 'England made me'.
Wasn't that after the Autocar carry on? Next time i saw him was on Channel 4 presenting 'Driven' with Jason Barlow and Mike 'Wotcha' Brewer.
I was at a press launch in the West Country years ago. LJKS, Barker, Bishop etc were there and we enjoyed a convivial lunch that included (for some but not me) a few glasses of wine.
On my way home afterwards I came to a T junction in deepest Somerset. Parked near the finger post was a car I recognised, having seen it in the launch car park earlier in the day. Out of his car and peering at the finger post from about a foot away was one of the aforementioned gentlemen...
On my way home afterwards I came to a T junction in deepest Somerset. Parked near the finger post was a car I recognised, having seen it in the launch car park earlier in the day. Out of his car and peering at the finger post from about a foot away was one of the aforementioned gentlemen...
I'm amazed he's still around too, but very pleased.
He also wrote for "Supercar" magzine in the late 80s- a fabulous magazine. I remember he wrote about his birthday parts and said "arrive in something interetsing".
To his friends, that didnt mean the latest Vauxhall with leather setas. It meant an Edwardian fire engine, Tiger Moth biplane etc.
Does he still get published anywhere?
He also wrote for "Supercar" magzine in the late 80s- a fabulous magazine. I remember he wrote about his birthday parts and said "arrive in something interetsing".
To his friends, that didnt mean the latest Vauxhall with leather setas. It meant an Edwardian fire engine, Tiger Moth biplane etc.
Does he still get published anywhere?
I was never that mad about Barker, but I liked Setright, particularly his motorbike column - hand made Dresda frames with the 6 cyl Honda CBX engines etc. I liked his car column. Never understood it, but liked it. Impenetrable tales of black sorbitaine cigarettes, Bristols, guns, his Honda , written completely in Latin. What's not to like ?
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