51 replies to this topic

[AlecHawkins]

I am new to this forum, so please forgive me if this topic has been raised before - I have tried the search facility, but to no avail. 

 

I have been vaguely aware of L J K Setright over the years but, never really knew much about him other than he was some form of motoring writer and then quite by accident, I recently came across a picture of him on the net. 

 

I had previously read some extremely insulting remarks about LJKS - attributed to DSJ and others and as if in confirmation, the picture I saw seemed to show an attention-seeking  poseur/aesthete of the most pretentious type. 

 

Not content, i carried out some research, part of which included a U Tube clip entitled  - "BBC Radio 4 - Man of Action  L J K Setright"

 

To my surprise, I found I was listening to an intelligent, cultured and knowledgeable man speaking beautiful English in a pleasing, if slightly dated BBC accent - not at all the obnoxious, unintelligent bore that DSJ and others, had led me to believe was L J K Setright.

 

I would be very grateful for information that would shed come light on this gentleman.

 

Thank You

Alec H.

[Dipster]

Accent? What accent?

 

All I know is that I enjoyed his work. He wrote much more than just mere descriptions of how wonderful (or not) the car he had in his hand that day. He wrote of the technical side too, including several books about cars and motorcycles all of which are worth a read. 

 

I agree that, to some, he certainly had an odd dress and facial hair sense but, in my opinion, his writing was amongst the best.

[Allan Lupton]

Accent? What accent?

 

All I know is that I enjoyed his work. He wrote much more than just mere descriptions of how wonderful (or not) the car he had in his hand that day. He wrote of the technical side too, including several books about cars and motorcycles all of which are worth a read. 

Yes, agreed, although his style sometimes got a bit quoteful and therefore pretentious.

Here's the youtube link: https://www.youtube....h?v=9_7O6FIUJgY

 

I think I only met him once, but appropriately is was when both of us were researching in the library of the NMM at Beaulieu. As said, in his later years at least, his appearance was not conventional and the famous Jenks put-down sprung to mind there and then - most inconvenient but I did manage not to laugh to his face.

[Alan Cox]

A bit more about him here following news of his death: http://forums.autosp...t/?hl=+setright

http://www.stephenba...car-writer-ever

Obituaries: http://www.theguardi...ssandpublishing

http://www.telegraph...K-Setright.html

[Doug Nye]

I never knew Leonard well, nor did I have cause to, and I certainly never warmed to him but he was NOT boring, uncultured, and absolutely not lacking in intelligence (who would I be to judge)...nor am I aware of anyone accusing him of any of the above.

What grated with some - Jenks especially - was LJKS's apparent adoption of the then recently deceased persona of Laurence Pomeroy, long-precedent Technical Editor of 'The Motor', who assumed a similarly faux-scholarly style to brandish a classical education. On press car launches Leonard was also absolutely sans pareil as a co-driver with whom nobody wanted to share a car. His driving style varied from Conan the Barbarian to Death Wish III.

Some of us council 'ouse boys - with ambitious targets of a long uninjured, guilt-free life - didn't much relate to any of that... Nothing more.

DCN

[wolseley680]

I hold LJKS in the highest regard and have books by him on motorbikes, cars & aeroplane engines - I would like one or two more but they are now beyond my means. One of his books, The Power to Fly, I bought new in about 1972 for $18.50 and I have seen them in the last 12mths listed at $300+. I found out about him through reading CAR where I think he was the Technical Editor. He was on the car of the Year panel when such cars as the Citroen GS & Jensen FF won. I believe he qualified as a barrister & had that command of the English Language, I certainly enjoyed his turn of phrase. One of his parents was Australian and his father was the inventor of the Setright Ticketing Machine so he had some engineering in his blood & the logic of his education. He championed smoking and was fond of Russian Sobranies, I think it was cancer that killed him. He was quite tall & would have been quite a sight with his angular frame and flowing beard astride a speeding motorbike (which he was fond of doing).

[kayemod]

What grated with some - Jenks especially - was LJKS's apparent adoption of the then recently deceased persona of Laurence Pomeroy...

 

LJK's presumption in continuing Laurence Pomeroy's History of the GP Car with his rather poor 1954-66 effort was a big mistake, but I enjoyed his book The Designers, an interesting dissertation on such greats as Bugatti, Issigonis, Chapman, Lampredi as well as many others less well known. On this area at least, he seems to have been a knowledgable and reliable source.

[Bloggsworth]

Ad hominem argument always has the greater impact, read what he wrote, not what people wrote about him. Many people have pretensions, it doesn't make them bad people, we may dislike them for it, but it is part, for good or ill, of their character. I, for instance, am not a big fan of beards, but still think that Doug is an ace bloke...

[kayemod]

I, for instance, am not a big fan of beards, but still think that Doug is an ace bloke...

 

For one moment... I must learn to read more carefully.

[Robin Fairservice]

Thanks for talking about Setright. As a Flag Marshall at Brands Hatch I remember seeing him there, standing on the infield grass just before Paddock; a seemingly aloof gentleman, and I regarding him as a bit of a curiosity who didn't seem to fit the scene.

 

I was surprised to see that his father had invented the Setright ticket machine, as I was very familiar with them. For five summers, while I was studying engineering, as a summer job I worked as a bus conductor for the East Kent Road Car Company out of their Herne Bay depot.  We used those machines for all of that period, and they were very reliable.  I only had one malfunction and had to issue punched tickets for about half an hour before we reached the Margate depot, and I could nip in and get an other one. My district Superintendent was not pleased, as this involved him in some paper work for the accountants as the machines recorded the value of all tickets issued, and he needed to claim the amount that I had rung up for his depot on a Margate machine!.

[john aston]

In my house LJKS was one of the greatest motoring writers ever. His columns for Car in its heyday(mid 60s to late 80s ) were funny , iconoclastic and erudite - not for everybody but good stuff never is. Borderline bonkers- he would occasionally do a column in blank verse for fun. He was immensely bright and classically educated. Few people remember that he also  reported extensively on motor sport in the 60s - and what a contrast to most reportage it was. Setright always had a  different angle , contrary bugger that he was. Of course I didn't agree with him about lots of things (eg pre-eminence of Bristol and Honda  above all other marques) but that's not the point- he wrote so well  that the subject matter and views were often near irrelevant. His book Drive On is extraordinary-highly recommended .

 

The contrast between the badly written, cliche ridden and ungrammatical pap in the current motoring press(Motor Sport apart) and Setright's prose is shocking  

 

ps I fail to understand how being a  'bit quoteful' is pretentious per se. Hope Latin isn't  pretentious too ?

Edited by john aston, 26 May 2014 - 16:30.

[Doug Nye]

No worries - after all, nil sine magno vita labore dedit mortalibus...for want of a magneto one's life's work winds up dead beneath an omnibus.

DCN

[Perruqueporte]

I enjoyed reading his books and his columns in the periodicals; interesting and thought provoking and written beautifully, in my opinion. I can attest to Doug Nye's comments about driving with him, which was stressful!

Couldn't agree more with John Aston's comments about the poor standards of writing in the current motoring press (particularly by the younger editorial staff) which is often execrable. I teach post-graduate engineering students whose written assignments are as likely as not to be similarly offensive, although I don't think that they are to blame.

Christopher W

[Dipster]

 

I teach post-graduate engineering students whose written assignments are as likely as not to be similarly offensive, although I don't think that they are to blame.

Slightly OT.  The acquisition of language does not come unassisted. But it seems to me that few youngsters actually read much unless they have to and parents don't often encourage them once they have the basics learnt at school. If they read good English language works more they would acquire good grammar and a wider vocabulary. As it is the English they acquire is often less than good. It is a fact that language evolves. Perhaps the English we hear and see about us now is the new English we must accept!

[AlecHawkins]

Thank you for the replies to my request for information - this forum certainly is an amazing source of knowledge.

 

The thing that struck me while listening to LJKS and, i was quite prepared to dislike him, based on DSJ's famous remark plus the picture I had seen of him on he net, was his beautiful use of English - simple, plain English composed with an obvious relish springing from a love of the language - just delightful. 

 

His accent and delivery, although sounding a little affected to the Australian ear, was also delightful and very engaging - not at all what I had expected.

 

As far as engineers and English are concerned, I recall the joke that used to the rounds"

 

"Five years ago I couldn't even spell engineer and now i are one!"

 

Thank You  Again

Alec

[Allan Lupton]

 I teach post-graduate engineering students whose written assignments are as likely as not to be similarly offensive, although I don't think that they are to blame.

Continuing OT for a moment, some 25 years ago a recent graduate in engineering prepared a report, couched in such poor language that I had to tell him that, because it was badly written, I couldn't understand much of it. He protested that he was an engineer not a linguist and I had to point out that the same was true of me and if he couldn't convey his message to me there was something badly wrong. When he left, we found he'd left his CV on the office computer system and he'd claimed "good communication skills".

 

With luck if more people wrote, as Alec put it, simple, plain English composed with an obvious relish springing from a love of the language, it would rub off on those who read it. For many years I would say that was the case in the motoring journalism I read 1955-90 when Bolster, Walkerley, Jenks, Lowrey, Bulmer, Boddy, Pomeroy as well as LJKS and others I can't name offhand expressed sporting or technical matters clearly and readably. Those in that list whom I knew also spoke fluently and well which, to judge by what we see/hear on the TV, seems also to be a lost art.

Edited by Allan Lupton, 27 May 2014 - 08:45.

[Emery0323]

Setright's writing style was a cut above, but there were a few occasions when his supposed technical expertise seemed suspiciously off-base.  In one of his CAR columns from the 80's, I recall that he asserted that air is compressible below the sound velocity, and incompressible above - a direct contradiction of the facts.    But then, he was a lawyer by education, not a physicist or engineer.

Edited by Emery0323, 27 May 2014 - 09:22.

[Nick Savage]

Yes, Emery has put his finger on it ...   LJKS was a compelling writer but you can see in 'The Power to Fly' that he could let his enthusiasm for Napier and Bristol & Roy Fedden overtake a rational and dispassionate assessment of their faults. On the other hand my life-long interest in aero-engines stems entirely from that book ...  and my trade is Personnel Manager so I am not an interested-engineer.

 

Setright's writing in 'CAR' in the 60s/70s stood out like a beacon among other muttering rotters ...  I was too young to have read Pomeroy's essays , but Setright added another more rounded dimension, albeit that the sheer range of his references could be intimidating. I used to see him at car auctions in the 90s and early-2000s and was too in awe of him to try and strike up a conversation. He obviously relished being a dandy and that went for his writing also.

Nick

[Doug Nye]

Concerning present-day use of what passes for 'English' the BBC is, regrettably, to blame for some incredible errors - one of the auction programmes I greatly enjoy recently flashed up a caption describing an item as 'silver-guilt' - while 'Antartic' and even 'your' instead of 'you are' appear too often.  Just once would be unacceptable, but then I suppose "nation shall speak gobbledygook unto nation" as perhaps their motto now should say.

 

DCN

[kayemod]

The BBC's steadily declining linguistic standards are indeed a cause for sadness, but what irritates me more is the behaviour of their presenters, all of whom seem to have been given the same instruction regarding arm-waving and irrelevant hand gestures, and why do reporters and interviewees begin almost every single sentence with the word "well"? Something else that causes my aging knuckles to whiten on the arms of my comfy chair is the habit of most newsreaders of smacking their lips noisily when beginning each sentence. Quite often my wife has to tell me to "Calm down dear!"

 

See what you're doing Doug, re-starting the old Blood Pressure thread?

[Dipster]

Concerning present-day use of what passes for 'English' the BBC is, regrettably, to blame for some incredible errors - one of the auction programmes I greatly enjoy recently flashed up a caption describing an item as 'silver-guilt' - while 'Antartic' and even 'your' instead of 'you are' appear too often.  Just once would be unacceptable, but then I suppose "nation shall speak gobbledygook unto nation" as perhaps their motto now should say.

 

DCN

Not just the BBC. When I was a member of the Foreign Office I was, some years ago, dismayed to see that Literacy and Numeracy courses were considered necessary for and being offered to our UK staff. I can only image that this means our schools are not getting the youngsters educated to an acceptable standard.

[Sharman]

I didn't know she was also married to you, I've looked in the wardrobe, where are you?

[yulzari]

I never met the gentleman to experience him at first hand but it was his 'The Grand Prix Car 1954-1966' that was the inspiration for a continuing passion for the technical side of motor racing. I can now see the link to Laurence Pomeroy but it was probably the better for it.

 

It inspired a teenager to attempt to achieve a more stylish written manner. Not as erudite as Mr Setright but it taught me to go back over my work and re-edit it several times until I had written a piece with clear language, better grammar and a certain style that attempted erudition. Sadly though at a lower level than his. I still use the spelling 'disk' rather than disc in his memory.

 

I can see that his manner might have appeared pretentious to some but I enjoyed his writing.

 

My writing attempts pretension but only achieves pretence. He had the education to carry it off.

[Siddley]

 LJKS was a compelling writer but you can see in 'The Power to Fly' that he could let his enthusiasm for Napier and Bristol & Roy Fedden overtake a rational and dispassionate assessment of their faults.

Nick

 

He showed exactly the same trait when writing about the Aspin rotary valve engines. I think he had a bit of a thing about alternatives to poppet valves and didn't really look at the disadvantages closely enough.
But I liked his technical writing all the same.

[Emery0323]

He showed exactly the same trait when writing about the Aspin rotary valve engines. I think he had a bit of a thing about alternatives to poppet valves and didn't really look at the disadvantages closely enough.
But I liked his technical writing all the same.

He definitely seemed to become enamoured of certain ideas and premises, and would pursue them beyond their logical conclusions.   To paraphrase some other opinions I can recall him espousing:  "Smoking is not harmful, it is actually healthful to the lungs" (tell that to my cousins who lost their father to emphysema, not to mention his own death);  "There's no shortage of oil, manufacturers should not pursue fuel economy" (tell that to any number of petroleum geologists); "Automatic transmissions are just as good as manual transmissions, but you should force upshifts/downshifts by sharp stabs to the brake/accelerator" (this was in the 1980's before paddle shifters in F1, much less passenger cars; his automatic transmission driving-style recommendations sounded like they would result in a very jerky, unpleasant ride) .  Oftentimes, I came away with the impression that he was just trying to be provocative for its own sake - or a crank.

Edited by Emery0323, 27 May 2014 - 16:48.

[David Birchall]

I have always been a fan of LJKS but often wondered if he was concerned that his readers actually understood him!  I agree with whoever said that he seemed to assume the personality of Lawrence Pomeroy and the Latin quotes!  Not 'avin the Latin fer the judgin' I was has confused as yerself... 

I recently bought a copy of "Drive On" for 2 Euros on French Amazon-such a deal n'est pas?- but it is a struggle to finish.  I enjoyed his "Long Lane with Turnings" though.

He had style which is more than can be said for most of the writers these days--DCN very much excepted of course!  "is being a Council "ouse bloke like us.

[Roger Clark]

  Oftentimes, I came away with the impression that he was just trying to be provocative for its own sake - or a crank.

He was not alone in wishing to be provocative for its own sake as any reader of Motor Sport in the 50s, 60s and 70s will know.

[AlecHawkins]

He was not alone in wishing to be provocative for its own sake as any reader of Motor Sport in the 50s, 60s and 70s will know.

 

As an avid devotee of Motor Sport from about age 11 until late 20's and far away in the land down under, I always held WB and DSJ in very high regard - and that is using classic British understatement!

 

However, WB always made me feel that I was reading a report by the Headmaster on some misdemeanour that had to be stopped at once!  Likewise, the occasional photograph of him at the motor races seemed to show a rather pompous looking chap who was saying "How dare you ..go away!". Consequently, i had formed a view that he was a stuffy sort of authoritarian and humourless fellow.  

 

By way of contrast, DSJ's writings were the last word in GP reporting and I particularly liked his little "Silverstone Scribbles" "Monza Mutterings" etc at the end of each report. He was a man who had raced motorbikes, had ridden alongside Moss and had the most romantic job a schoolboy could dream of - following motor racing around Europe in an E Type Jaguar - a hero!

 

Imagine my surprise then when, last year I viewed the Bod Jenks DVD.

 

WB, to my delight, was a humorous, whimsical sort of chap with a tendency towards diffidence - a very nice surprise.

 

DSJ ? - well, I would rather not comment, other than to say, not what I had expected,

 

Sorry to be off topic in my own thread

 

Alec

[elansprint72]

Concerning present-day use of what passes for 'English' the BBC is, regrettably, to blame for some incredible errors - one of the auction programmes I greatly enjoy recently flashed up a caption describing an item as 'silver-guilt' - while 'Antartic' and even 'your' instead of 'you are' appear too often.  Just once would be unacceptable, but then I suppose "nation shall speak gobbledygook unto nation" as perhaps their motto now should say.

 

DCN

Don't forget that English may well not be the first language of very many folks who work at the BBC these days. Innit?

[Marticelli]

Len Setright's book 'Some Unusual Engines' remains one of my favourites on my library shelves and is regularly consulted.  He was an individualist to be sure but he had reasoned arguments for holding the views he held.  Maybe he should have been named Forthright rather than Setright?

 

Marticelli

[tali1]

One of the sadder aspects of LJK's life is that his wife committed suicide in his favourite Bristol

[Graham Gauld]

Leonard Setright was a long time friend and on a number of occasions, as Doug Nye remarked, journalists on press launches refused to drive with him as he took enormous risks on the road. I recall one press launch in Scotland on a remote narrow road I know well. He was going hard at it and I laughed and told him he was never going to get round the next corner, Well, he arrived way too fast but got round it in a style reminiscent of Villeneuve on a bad day.

 

There was also a sad side to his life that has been hinted at in one of the posts. His wife was an opera singer and Leonard was devastated when she had an affair with someone and left him. Some time later he met up with another lady by which time his wife had split from her lover and she then started to make Leonard's life hell.Eventually, as was mentioned, his wife committed suicide.

 

Sure, he acted the "dandy" but had a subtle sense of humour and was good conversational company and he was extremely well read and could latch on to a conversation on almost any subject and make it interesting. As for the Balkan cigarettes and the cigarette holder, pure affectation but he did insist that the tobacco was superior !!!  

[Paul Parker]

The BBC's steadily declining linguistic standards are indeed a cause for sadness, but what irritates me more is the behaviour of their presenters, all of whom seem to have been given the same instruction regarding arm-waving and irrelevant hand gestures, and why do reporters and interviewees begin almost every single sentence with the word "well"? Something else that causes my aging knuckles to whiten on the arms of my comfy chair is the habit of most newsreaders of smacking their lips noisily when beginning each sentence. Quite often my wife has to tell me to "Calm down dear!"

 

See what you're doing Doug, re-starting the old Blood Pressure thread?

 

Yes indeed, they gurn at the camera, smile at one another as the other speaks and generally attempt to take flight by frantically waving their arms, violently gesticulating and other intensively emphatic behaviours. Completely false, presumably at the behest of the producer (sic).

 

The worst offenders recently were to be found on the BBC's Chelsea Flower Show coverage, I had to switch it off before my blood pressure maxed out.

[Sharman]

Paul Parker, on 31 May 2014 - 20:33, said:

Yes indeed, they gurn at the camera, smile at one another as the other speaks and generally attempt to take flight by frantically waving their arms, violently gesticulating and other intensively emphatic behaviours. Completely false, presumably at the behest of the producer (sic).

 

The worst offenders recently were to be found on the BBC's Chelsea Flower Show coverage, I had to switch it off before my blood pressure maxed out.

Worse is the inability of no doubt highly paid "reporters" to string a coherent sentence together. The other evening on the BBC News at 6 a scruffy dyed blonde trollop said she had been given "a" insight into something. I have tried and it is quite difficult to say "a" insight smoothly. Why couldn't she say "an" insight? As it was she sounded like a strangulated duck. Is it something to do with "street cred"?

[Siddley]

Next you'll be telling me that BBC radio announcers have stopped wearing dinner jackets and ties while broadcasting

 

That's just a jest by the way, I like hearing English spoken 'proper' - although I don't claim to be able to do it myself ( unless a broad Derbyshire accent seasoned with a lot of profanity has suddenly become standard English   )

[tali1]

Leonard Setright was a long time friend and on a number of occasions, as Doug Nye remarked, journalists on press launches refused to drive with him as he took enormous risks on the road. I recall one press launch in Scotland on a remote narrow road I know well. He was going hard at it and I laughed and told him he was never going to get round the next corner, Well, he arrived way too fast but got round it in a style reminiscent of Villeneuve on a bad day.

 

There was also a sad side to his life that has been hinted at in one of the posts. His wife was an opera singer and Leonard was devastated when she had an affair with someone and left him. Some time later he met up with another lady by which time his wife had split from her lover and she then started to make Leonard's life hell.Eventually, as was mentioned, his wife committed suicide.

 

Sure, he acted the "dandy" but had a subtle sense of humour and was good conversational company and he was extremely well read and could latch on to a conversation on almost any subject and make it interesting. As for the Balkan cigarettes and the cigarette holder, pure affectation but he did insist that the tobacco was superior !!!  

Thanks - didn't know the whys of  the  suicide  .I'm guessing  his wife was a rather obscure Opera singer  as i could not find any info on her.If you don't mind me asking what was she doing to make his life hell ? 

LJK's driving seems reckless and hooliganistic -the only person who drives like that is my older brother!

[Vitesse2]

Thanks - didn't know the whys of  the  suicide  .I'm guessing  his wife was a rather obscure Opera singer  as i could not find any info on her

Her maiden name was Christina Elizabeth Stephenson (not Christine as stated in the Guardian obituary) and she was originally from Yorkshire. But even finding that doesn't seem to take us much further: I've found a review in The Times of December 8th 1962 of a recital she did at the Wigmore Hall. The reviewer wasn't over-impressed with either her singing or the accompanying pianist's playing ...

[Paul Parker]

Worse is the inability of no doubt highly paid "reporters" to string a coherent sentence together. The other evening on the BBC News at 6 a scruffy dyed blonde trollop said she had been given "a" insight into something. I have tried and it is quite difficult to say "a" insight smoothly. Why couldn't she say "an" insight? As it was she sounded like a strangulated duck. Is it something to do with "street cred"?

 

More to do with our politicised education system methinks and not just state schools either.

[ensign14]

It's probably more that she was going to say she was given insight into something, and accidentally started to say "an insight". 

[kayemod]

It's probably more that she was going to say she was given insight into something, and accidentally started to say "an insight". 

 

Well.

 

I've just realised why today's presenters wave their arms around so much, it's all an attempt to distract us from their poor diction and grammar.

[nicanary]

Her maiden name was Christina Elizabeth Stephenson (not Christine as stated in the Guardian obituary) and she was originally from Yorkshire. But even finding that doesn't seem to take us much further: I've found a review in The Times of December 8th 1962 of a recital she did at the Wigmore Hall. The reviewer wasn't over-impressed with either her singing or the accompanying pianist's playing ...

Les Dawson..?

[Sharman]

ensign14, on 01 Jun 2014 - 10:41, said:

It's probably more that she was going to say she was given insight into something, and accidentally started to say "an insight". 

Not her, she said it twice. She was ostensibly one of the BBC's Parliamentary correspondents, she looked more like a co-respondent of NoW fame.

[kayemod]

...she looked more like a co-respondent of NoW fame.

 

I like a bit of rough...

[Dipster]

Perhaps they can't get the articulate staff they once had - is it because they dislike the idea of moving to Salford? It can't be the money. I heard that an unknown (to me) breakfast TV presenter is on £90K+!

[Sharman]

Perhaps they can't get the articulate staff they once had - is it because they dislike the idea of moving to Salford? It can't be the money. I heard that an unknown (to me) breakfast TV presenter is on £90K+!

As a born and bred Mancunian I think that our twin city of Salford is far too good for Estuarines.

[HilarySetright]

Thanks - didn't know the whys of the suicide .I'm guessing his wife was a rather obscure Opera singer as i could not find any info on her.If you don't mind me asking what was she doing to make his life hell ?
LJK's driving seems reckless and hooliganistic -the only person who drives like that is my older brother!

[HilarySetright]

I want you all to know how deeply upset I am by your intrusive and recklessly thoughtless comments about my parents and the personal issues that affected our lives. I am very upset with Mr Gauld for even starting the conversation. I will also tell you that he does not have his facts straight. My mother has been insulted enough. She was a talented singer and she made many beautiful performances but not on the high profile stage. She worked a lot with th BBC and other smaller chorus groups and her style of singing was operatic. What personal issues that took place between my parents is quite frankly none of your business but if you must know it was not she that had the affairs. It was because of them that she ended her life and it was frightening and sad and lonely for me and for her. Now please be respectful. Find other things to talk about. My mothers suicide was listed all over the local paper and 30 yrs later how can it be that you all have to gossip over it. I am truly upset and angry at this total lack of respect. Very disappointed that someone claiming to be a friend of my dads would sink so low as to gossip like this after he is gone. I hope something like this never happens to any of you as it is truly painful.

[HilarySetright]

Thanks - didn't know the whys of the suicide .I'm guessing his wife was a rather obscure Opera singer as i could not find any info on her.If you don't mind me asking what was she doing to make his life hell ?
LJK's driving seems reckless and hooliganistic -the only person who drives like that is my older brother!

[HilarySetright]

How dare you make that comment about my mother. What the hell do you know about her relationship with my father.furthermore why should you care. Its none of your damn business. This kind of discussion regarding my parents is simply disgusting and I am very very angry and upset.

[HilarySetright]

Leonard Setright was a long time friend and on a number of occasions, as Doug Nye remarked, journalists on press launches refused to drive with him as he took enormous risks on the road. I recall one press launch in Scotland on a remote narrow road I know well. He was going hard at it and I laughed and told him he was never going to get round the next corner, Well, he arrived way too fast but got round it in a style reminiscent of Villeneuve on a bad day.

There was also a sad side to his life that has been hinted at in one of the posts. His wife was an opera singer and Leonard was devastated when she had an affair with someone and left him. Some time later he met up with another lady by which time his wife had split from her lover and she then started to make Leonard's life hell.Eventually, as was mentioned, his wife committed suicide.

Sure, he acted the "dandy" but had a subtle sense of humour and was good conversational company and he was extremely well read and could latch on to a conversation on almost any subject and make it interesting. As for the Balkan cigarettes and the cigarette holder, pure affectation but he did insist that the tobacco was superior !!!