Supercars

A quick glance at my Formex watch confirms it's 8.15 in the morning as I approach the Beaumont Hotel in Mayfair, London. Six new Bentley Continental GT's shimmer in the morning sun lined up in a perfect row on the pavement. It's going to be a pretty cool two days driving these over the Cotswolds on this extraordinary Bentley gastronomic luxury tour.

The new Bentley Continental GT has a 6 litre twin turbo W12 engine with 626 bhp and an eye popping top speed of 207 mph (you’ll need a long off road straight to hit that), accelerating 0-62 mph in 3.6 seconds, pleasant enough to dance effortlessly between cars in heavy traffic, or change lanes with insolent ease on the motorway.

Gweedore. Just take a moment to roll that word around your tongue. It’s a word worthy of folk-tales and enchanted forests – mystical, J.K.Rowling territory. A place, and a setting, worthy of Gweedore Court Hotel – or, as it’s also known, An Chúirt (you’ll have to ask someone else for the correct pronunciation I’m afraid!). A hotel as satisfying as the comfiest duvet on a crisp winter’s day, or that first summer sip of chilled-to-perfection Chablis.

The view from every window endorsed the fact that this was truly a ‘country house hotel’ set in spacious grounds surrounded by farmland.  Sipping pre-dinner cocktails on the sunny west facing terrace offered a timeless experience with the garden seamlessly flowing into the field with sheep quietly grazing, a couple of cock pheasants proudly strutting around, each asserting to be the most impressive and a lonely goose .  There was no fence to interrupt this idyllic scene as the ‘must have’ for grand houses since the 17th century was the ha-ha, that vista could have been any time in the last

A selection of fine whiskies from around the world. The common theme here is they are not peaty whiskies (apart from the Lagavulin), but more akin to a fine cognac,  easy on the nose and palate, with a soft mellow flavour.
The Irish Midleton whiskey Dair Ghaelach Bluebell Forest is magnificent, smooth caramel and soft vanilla with a hint of coffee and nutmeg. This is one of the finest whiskies in the world and well worth the hefty price tag. This is the one to impress any connoisseurs amongst your friends.

With runway models looking like extras from eighties soaps such as 'Dynasty' or 'The Bold and the Beautiful', Autumn/Winter continues with a jangling explosion of colour and sparkle in a manner that Iris Apfel would be proud of. Statement jewels, the chunkier and gaudier the better clamour for our attention, with layering and logo-mania on repeat.

Like Rowan Atkinson on his moped I drove the Subaru WRX STI “damn hard”, testing this much loved, iconic rally car on the Hill Track at Millbrook Proving Ground, around country lanes and cobbled streets in old English towns. At first I confess I was not a fan. It was a saloon with a spoiler you could see from space, dressed in electric pearl blue and it’s brutal. More importantly it made me feel like a ham fisted and footed fool on my first drive. The clutch bites down in a millimetre, whilst the accelerator in race mode goes straight to 4000 revs at the slightest encouragement.

Bentley Motors, founded 10th July 1919, is entering its 100th year of creating the world’s most iconic Grand Tourers, and the British luxury brand is honouring decades of innovation, achievement and craftsmanship by releasing a short film ‘Together we are Extraordinary: The Story of Bentley Motors.’
From W.O. Bentley himself, right up to the new Continental GT, the film touches upon the extraordinary characters, sporting achievements and successful models through the decades.

There is a quiet revolution underway in the streets around us. Silent and efficient personal electric vehicles glide through the city, the choice of more and more people as a way of getting around. They are improving congestion, improving air quality and improving people’s physical and mental well-being. Ah, you say, that’s all well and good but we can’t all afford Teslas. Revolutions rarely work top-down. Except, electric cars are not the transformation we are talking about. We mean E-bikes.

My eyeballs shook so violently the natural reaction was to close them, but nothing was going to stop me seeing this extraordinary experience.  At the same time I just thought thank goodness they are my own teeth otherwise I would have swallowed them.  Mind you it took a couple of hours before they stopped making their presence felt.  Not far off the mark is the experience of being in a rear end accident that just goes on and on.