Page 24 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

Apart from that, from the front they were just the same as their more famous successor the
mark two. This particular car was if I remember correctly, first registered in 1956. It was 14
years old.
It was a Mk 1 road car that Mike Hawthorne was driving when he died not long after
becoming Formula 1 World Champion. Many folk can not help thinking that perhaps he
over overstretched the traction of that back axle on that fateful day.

The Mk2 was a dramatically changed auto mobile with far far better rear end stability.
The engine in my new acquisition was that famous straight six XJ twin overhead camshaft
arrangement made popular in the Le Mans winning C and D racing Jaguars of the early
50’s.
It was a truly beautifully designed motor car in every way.
The blue coachwork cleaned up well; so good, brother in law Stephen was delighted when
we offered him the use of the car to provide transport for his bride at their forthcoming
wedding.

A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
I loved that car and it was the first choice of transport when one night I received a call from
my estranged mother to tell me that my father had died.
(Picture of Father at Market Deeping
with Helen.)
It was1972, we were now well
established in Ivy House, New
Bolingbroke just 10 miles north of
Boston and it must have been about 2
am one morning when Mother
telephoned to say he had been taken
into hospital and subsequently died.

There was no real need to push its
power on that 50 mile journey in the
middle of the night but I had been far
closer to my father in the last two years
of his life than at any time before. The
thought of never seeing him again
seemed to compel me to get to the last
place he had been alive as quickly as
possible.

At this time, I was travelling the roads of
South Lincolnshire, North Norfolk and
North Cambridge as the “General Line
Salesman”, (their American title) for the
Firestone Tyre and Rubber Co., I
visited each and every part of my
allotted “patch” on regular days every
week.
Consequently, I knew every road and byway virtually backwards and almost blindfold and I
was in fact driving the car back to the same village I had bought it from just the previous
year.

24