19th May / Fastest man on earth!!
Being the Managing Director of dreamcarhire enables me to take part in an enjoyable variety of events and functions… but last night at the beautiful Cliveden House that enjoyment moved to a different level.
I was lucky enough to enjoy a fabulous evening in the company of several motoring and business incentive writers who had just experienced our corporate 6 car day in partnership with VonEssen.
Amongst the group quite anonymously as I walked in the room was the “fastest man on earth” Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, who had spent the day driving our cars around Berkshire, which he clearly enjoyed. Although I enjoyed the fact he had done so, even more… I can tell you and I am sure he will be delighted. however he curbed a wheel
I had the privilege of dining with Andy and his wife yesterday evening and I can safely say as dinner guests it does not get any better. The story of Land Speed is something that has always fascinated me.
In what way?
Two things…the engineering brilliance involved to accomplish such mind boggling speeds in a car, moreover keeping it planted, straight..ish !! and on the floor. Plus the fact that anybody who attempts to drive and undertake such insane activities must be completely stark raving mad, so the opportunity to talk to somebody who has done it is pretty rare…
I should not have been surprised, it is rare that I get to engage with somebody who drives and flys at those speeds (of course not in our cars) who is so understated, utterly precise and measured, that just about sums up Wing Commander Green. I actually began to understand what it takes (and that i have not got it), in fact he almost made it sound quite sane as I bored him with question after question.
However I am not writing a biography here, but moreover after spending the evening grilling Andy I feel totally compelled to highlight the next project Bloodhound SCC, which is now well on the way to fruition where he will once again attempt to raise the bar to 1,000mph !!!
It really made me think, in a country where we inherently take heart from being the “underdogs” there is no doubt this is an engineering project of gigantic proportions, that will be delivered by a British team, everybody should support that and be proud to be part of it, in whatever form that takes.
That is exactly what I am working on now.. how do we get involved ? after our conversation last night there are many, many ways and every bit of involvement no matter how big or small makes a difference to the project.
I am going to make a start and will be signing up to make sure all the staff at dreamcahire will have their names on the fin and for that we will be making a good contribution, a simple gesture… but if everybody did that who knows !
Follow this link
http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/goodies/your_name_on_the_fin.cfm
Had I been in a position to last night, the passion and enthusiasm would have led me to write a cheque immediately….probably for the whole amount as long as I did not get to drive, I think that needs to be left to one person !! and he is not mad after all.
