463 replies to this topic

[Ray Bell]

Dare I say that Jenks was no mere 'particular journalist'?

 

He was able to put in classically evocative descriptions, to weigh matters till the truth rattled out of them, to speak ill of those deserving it (and to reverse that judgement the next time if they performed the way they should) and to invade the minds of designers, car builders and drivers so he could do a better job of all of this.

[Doug Nye]

Jenks was never happy to be described as "a journalist".  First and foremost he was an enthusiast who wrote for fellow enthusiasts denied the opportunity to do or see most of the things that he did or saw.  

 

Secondly, though he would never crow about it, not that many "journalists" ever won the motor-cycle sidecar racing World Championship, nor navigated such a superstar driver as Moss to overall victory in the world's most renowned (and feared) road race, the Mille Miglia.  

 

Quite apart from his outstandingly analytical - and outspokenly critical - mind, that's what made his work so renowned...even when he was being at his most contrary, controversial and occasionally flat WRONG.  Bless 'im.    

 

DCN

[PCC]

 

Compare and contrast with the near-hysterical drivel voiced by the channel 4 commentator who regularly covers F1 qualifying these days.

Or compare that to the voices right here on this very forum, who complain that today's F1 drivers are lamentably lacking in skill, and are mere boys compared to those of, say, 1960.

[Herbert Austin]

A visit to the RAC Club at Woodcote Park yesterday. Surprising number of trophies and awards on display including an alloy box with black knobs and notes on display related to Italy. Is this the genuine Jenkinson
/Moss item?

[marksixman]

A visit to the RAC Club at Woodcote Park yesterday. Surprising number of trophies and awards on display including an alloy box with black knobs and notes on display related to Italy. Is this the genuine Jenkinson
/Moss item?

Doug will know, but I suspect yes !

[Doug Nye]

Nope.

 

Must be one of the Crosthwaite & Gardiner replicas which Stirl funded as his '722' edition.  The late and rightly much lamented Simon Diffey printed the replica rolls for us after scanning the original at his print works.  The little '722' book that was marketed with the replica wasn't quite as I wanted it, but in general terms went down quite well, I believe.

 

DCN

[marksixman]

Ah !

 

I stand ever so 'umbly corrected !

 

Thanks Doug. I wasn't aware of Simon Diffey's role in that, but it makes perfect sense .

[Doug Nye]

No problem whatsoever...  The really astonishing factor regarding DSJ's famous roller map is simply the uncompromisingly analytical thought which could condense 1,000 miles of potentially death-dealing hazards into such concise warning-note form...

 

DCN

[Odseybod]

And if I remember correctly, all communicated by hand signals? Remarkable.

[D-Type]

I have a theory that the shared action of producing the "bog roll" helped to fix the route in Moss's mind.  The reverse of looking at a road map before a journey makes it easier to follow the satnav instructions.

[Odseybod]

Apologies for being slightly self-indulgent but here's my late wife Milena (a long-term DSJ fan) admiring the precious (and genuine) bogroll holder when DCN visited a TNF filmshow in May 2010.

 

 

[Sterzo]

If I may join you in self-indulgence, Odseybod, here is DSJ's autograph as collected by my own late wife, back when she was a very new wife. I've recounted elsewhere how she elbowed past a wonderfully bemused Stirling Moss to get Jenks's signature in my copy of The Formula One Story. This was at a rare showing of the Fangio film in Kensington; and she was quite surprised when I told her the identity of the man whose conversation she'd interrupted.

 

Edited by Sterzo, 21 July 2024 - 16:40.

[bradbury west]

It is that day of the year again. 
As Doug remarked last year, I suspect this is why we remember Jenks, and , perhaps more pertinently, why we do not forget him.

Our ”world” was a different place  in those days and he enabled the rest of us to enjoy it more fully.

 

Jenks was never happy to be described as "a journalist".  First and foremost he was an enthusiast who wrote for fellow enthusiasts denied the opportunity to do or see most of the things that he did or saw.  

 

Secondly, though he would never crow about it, not that many "journalists" ever won the motor-cycle sidecar racing World Championship, nor navigated such a superstar driver as Moss to overall victory in the world's most renowned (and feared) road race, the Mille Miglia.  

 

Quite apart from his outstandingly analytical - and outspokenly critical - mind, that's what made his work so renowned...even when he was being at his most contrary, controversial and occasionally flat WRONG.  Bless 'im.    

 

DCN

Roger  Lund

Edited by bradbury west, 29 November 2024 - 09:03.

[rl1856]

Miss DSJ, and HNM III, and Rob Walker.   All had unique ways of conveying information, but with all you knew you would be factually informed by journalists who were as enthusiastic as you.