It was late December whilst chatting to Brian Magee on the phone, he said "you live near Wales, don’t you?" "Yes" was the reply. "Well Eric Smith mentioned he had an enquiry from a Mrs. Stewart from Cardiff asking if the club could arrange a ride in a GT40 for her husband Tom for his Christmas present, so perhaps you would like to do it". I agreed and a few days later Lisa Stewart phoned me. I said I would send her a photo of my GT40 to give Tom at Christmas. As an after thought, I made it into a Christmas card on the computer. It was sent to Lisa via her mother’s address so that Tom would not see it. Lisa e-mailed me overjoyed with the card.
Christmas came and went with the New Year upon us.
I had not been up long after a night shift in work, when my wife Barb said "I think there is someone here to see you". It was Lisa and Tom Stewart. Lisa said sorry to come at such short notice but Tom was itching to see your car, he has been so excited since Christmas. "We are off to Scotland for the New Year, flying from Heathrow so we called in on the way". "Fine" I said, opening the garage door. Tom was like a kid in a sweet shop, he walked around the ’40 with eyes like saucers. "Would you like to sit in it" and with that the smart blazer came off and he just managed to get his six foot frame into the drivers seat. "This is what you call a supercar, Just imagine doing 200 mph at Le Mans in the 1960’s".
I gave him the keys and without a thought of the sound which would come from the V8 he started her up. He could not believe the beautiful sound it made. Lisa was saying no you can’t have one and the grin on his face got bigger and bigger the more he revved it up. After shutting it off, he got out of the car, without too much trouble.
Lisa said "Come on Tom we’ve got a plane to catch you know" and after a few words of goodbye Lisa said he will be talking about this all the way to the airport. We agreed to get in touch in the New Year and arrange a date for Tom’s trip out in the car when the weather allowed.
Tom gave me a ring on Jan.23rd saying if the weather was OK could we go out on Sunday 26th. "Yes" I said "I’m off work that weekend". Sunday came with fine weather in Bristol for the time of the year and at 10.20 am the phone went - it was Tom. Its raining here in Cardiff, Well its OK here so come on over. Tom said "Give us 40 minutes". It was more like 30 minutes when Tom and Lisa turned up outside. The ’40 was clean and polished ready for the trip. Tom could not wait to get going. Barb said "Have you got a spare pair of underpants with you?", jokingly. Tom said "He’s not that bad is he?" "No " Barb said "He’s fast but safe" "Fine" said Tom. Lisa was off to do some shopping at the local retail park. I said we would be back in a couple of hours and off we went up the M4 from Bristol to the A46 and then headed towards Cirencester. Tom was in awe of the speed from the V8 plus being so close to the ground.
Cirencester came and went and now we were on our way to Stow on the Wold. By now Tom was enjoying the ride. Just outside Stowe there is an old Roman road which is straight for some miles. "Would you like to do a racing type start?" I said to Tom. "Yes please" was the answer. After checking the road behind and ahead was clear, we were all ready.
Engaging first, revs up, I dump the clutch. Wheels spinning in 1st and 2nd then grip in 3rd, 4th and 5th. The road was damp but we were going in a straight line – just! I could see Tom out of the corner of my eye, being pressed back in the seat with nothing to hold on to and the ever growing smile on his face. After about a mile and a half we slowed from 120 mph down to a sedate 60mph. He said I’ve never been in anything quite so quick as that, apart from on a fast sports bike.
Tom requested a nice village for some photos, so off we went towards Broadway, which is where I come from, so I know the area very well. We stopped in a small village called Willersley which has a lovely duck pond, very photogenic. Photos were taken and the locals looked on at the sight of a GT40 with two men taking photos in their lovely village on a winters day in the Cotswolds.
Tom gave Lisa a call on the mobile to say we would be another hour at least, we had been out for two and a half hours already. So back to Bristol via Broadway, Tewkesbury and then 45 miles of the M5. We must have done about 140 miles in total – Time flies when you are enjoying yourself.
When we pulled into the drive, Barb and Lisa were drinking tea and having the usual ‘woman talk’. Tom could not wait to tell Lisa all about his outing, he was so excited. After some chit-chat, he and Lisa left for home, but the last words Tom said were "Can I come over again sometime?" "Yes of course you can" was my reply.
Tom is going to join the club although he has no GT40 – YET !!!
I must admit it was great being with someone as enthusiastic about the GT40 as I am.
What a day, What a Christmas present.