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There is something particularly British about organising two days of golf and discovering that the weather has other ideas. Our first day at Harewood Downs Golf Club in Buckinghamshire was, to use the appropriate meteorological terminology, a complete washout. Not the occasional shower that encourages a golfer to demonstrate a little determination, but proper, sustained rain that makes you question whether golf was ever a sensible outdoor pursuit in this country.

The British country-house hotel is a curious institution. We take buildings originally designed to keep the general public at a respectable distance and spend considerable sums encouraging everyone back inside. Some become rather stuffy monuments to their own importance. Others manage to turn centuries of history into something genuinely useful.

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Golf In Ireland

My family comes from Northern Ireland, so returning here has always carried a certain familiarity for me. Even when visiting somewhere I have never been before, the names, accents, landscapes and of course, the craic, somehow feel totally recognisable. However, this time, there was another purpose to be here. Golf.

The arrival of a new Jaguar is always an occasion to be celebrated. A beautifully proportioned British motor car, featuring new technology, a luxurious interior and just enough sporting character to remind its owner that life was supposed to be enjoyed.

Bentley has unveiled its first fully electric car. The Torcal is a five-seat SUV with up to 876 bhp, a claimed range of 375 miles and a rather elaborate answer to the question of what a Bentley should sound like without an engine. It involves a viola. We shall come to that.

Golf and electric cars share a fondness for numbers. Golf has par, handicap, slope rating and the curious mathematical afterlife of Stableford. Electric cars have kilowatts, kilowatt-hours, charging curves and WLTP figures precise enough to suggest the weather has signed a contractual agreement.

They also share a minor image problem. Both can appear expensive, complicated and governed by people who assume you already understand the rules. Royal Ascot Golf Club and the new BMW iX3 are, in their very different ways, trying to do something about that.

Ascot, more than anywhere, understands horsepower. It has spent centuries breeding it, grooming it, weighing it and inviting people in elaborate hats to bet on it. The BMW iX3 50 xDrive brings 463 horses of its own to the party, although none of them eats oats.

Aston Martin is not short of powerful front-engined cars, but the new Valen takes things considerably further. Revealed during Monterey Car Week, it is the most powerful front-engined Aston Martin in the company’s 113-year history and according to Aston Martin, the world’s most powerful front-engined production car.

There is sensible and then there is Gordon Murray sensible. The new S1 has no enormous fixed rear wing, its suspension has been softened and it even comes with additional sound insulation. Yet it also has a naturally aspirated V12 capable of reaching 12,100rpm, a proper manual gearbox and a central driving position. In almost any other context it would be considered completely unhinged. Alongside the S1 LM however, it is practically a grand tourer.