By and large, taken in the round and weighing it all up, I loathe most champion 'hearties'. Yes, of course, you are right that this stems from a secretly nurtured jealousy on my part but even so just ask yourself this, would you really look forward to dinner with a world champion in almost anything? To be fair, I hardly follow any sports these days so yet again 'I know not where-of I scribble', so no change there, then!
Even so, I still retain a certain interest in F1 racing and I have enjoyed watching Lewis Hamilton's race to the top, not once, not twice, but thrice! As a driver he is simply superb but what I also like about him is his persona, if I may call it that. Gradually, over the years, he has developed into a genuine English eccentric. Every time I catch a glimpse of him outside the race track he looks like a cross between Coco the Clown and one of those dummies in a shop window where the dressers have only half-finished changing the outfit. Like a true eccentric, he sails through this with a complete lack of self-awareness.
Of course, we can never be party to the, er, 'conversations' that go on in the privacy of the pit garage and no doubt from time to time Lewis has indulged in 'handbags at dawn' but by and large, in public, he is always polite, pleasant and generous to friend and foe alike. I think he is a very worthy triple champion and I wouldn't mind having dinner with him, er, especially if he sent over his private jet to whisk me off to California!
" ... and I wouldn't mind having dinner with him, er, especially if he sent over his private jet to whisk me off to California!"
Well David, might I suggest if you're wanting Lewis' jet landing as Somerset to "whisk you off to California" send the fellow a note advising him you are after all, a bit of the Expert where F1 is concerned!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Racing_Motors
(That is, if he'd care to go for a Quad!)
Posted by: JK | Monday, 26 October 2015 at 14:48
Aha! I noticed you rooting about in the archives, JK, so I assume you are somewhat recovered - excellent! And yes, you are right, I did once drive the F1 BRM racing car, er, well, to be exact, I didn't actually drive it, but I did drive it on the back of a trailer round various bits of Europe as part of Yardley's promotional campaign when they became the first non-motoring industry sponsor of an F1 team. Ooops, must go, the phone's ringing, it's probably Lewis asking me over . . .
Posted by: David Duff | Monday, 26 October 2015 at 15:03