It was entirely appropriate that the first talk in support of The Man Who Supercharged Bond was at Beaulieu. Patrick Collins still runs the Research Library there, and Jon Day the Motoring Picture Library, and they’ve both been an enormous help to me down the years.
And the late Edward, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the man I looked upon as the godfather of British motoring, was so supportive. He invited me down to Beaulieu Palace to discuss Amherst Villiers, and in that that very first meeting, he agreed to write the foreword, he recommended that I should approach Haynes to be publisher, and he lent me the very large correspondence file that he built up on the wretched breach of contract case brought by Amherst against Rolls-Royce.
So when the Friends of Beaulieu invited me to give a talk, I was only too delighted to accept. And I tell you what, they certainly do look after you down there.