The HGPCA have been fortunate to have City Bank, Arbuthnot Latham as their sponsors in recent times, and each year the Bank put on a reception in their Ropemaker Street Headquarters. Duncan attended alone this year, with Mair looking after Chickenpoxed babes and Sarah in Lithuania.  It’s another of the good opportunities to meet friends, make new contacts, and engage with the world of London business.  HGPCA and FJHRA have much synergy, and FJ faces included Crispian Besley (ex Credit Suisse), Peter and Mary Mullen who peddles both a P261 BRM and the familiar Kieft FJ, HGPCA Chairman Barry Cannell, racer of the dual purpose FJ/HGPCA Lola MK3, ex David Pratley, and currently deeply concerned with FIA proposals for International Series’, and Pre-registration for the 2013 year.

Simon Diffey’s Merry Printers have many clients in the racing world, including the FJHRA magazine, and Simon reports good enough business that the gold Lotus 20 will be out again this year, while Eddy Perk, back from the RSA tour is working hard on his Lotus 18 project and sourcing Renault gearbox parts from Bob Hicks and others.  At the front engined end, Richard Pilkington of TOPS will be bringing the Cisitalia to VSCC Silverstone, and reports that Michael Velabny has found original documents that prove the chassis number of the other Czech D46 – some may remember that the chassis plate had been dissected and the number part turned into a neck charm, and buried with a former driver!!!
Stella Jackson and Martin and Bee Grant-Peterkin represented the HGPCA organisation, but Board members, current, Richard Parnell, with son, dismissing suggestions that he might resuscitate the second Walker Special F1 car, that perished In the Rob Walker garage first, even though he does have the original plans of this Colotti built GP car – and past, John Harper.  Martin Eyre has just collected his Lotus Elite from Redhill after an MRM rebuild while his Cooper-Climax F2 awaits completion of its planned slow time rebuild .More urgent work forges ahead there on Justin Fleming’s Lola Mk2, John Dowson’s Elva 200, due out at Pau and his Brabham BT2 which will be run by MRM in Lurani this year.  In store, needing only a light makeover are Simon Armer’s Petonyer March 703 and Ned Spieker’s BT6 and Lola Mk2, one or both of which he will be taking to Dijon and Varano in June: however most exciting project down in Redhill is a modern Le Mans 2013  Morgan LMP2 Chinese entry for this year’s 24 hour race, and then of course the 4 Lynx FJ’s and the ex-Simon Hamilton Lotus 18 which are for sale.

TOPS, alias Trisha Pilkington, is the UK coordinator for the Vernasca Hill Climb and she is busy drumming up entries from HGPCA, FJ and F3/500 for this year’s spectacular and fun event – one of the ‘musts’ which Stuart Rolt is wont to extol.
Amongst the business guests were at least one possible recruit for FJ; a couple of lawyers “in commercial property” with F1 interests – hopefully another sign of an upturn in the market – and a couple who plan to take the MD of Arbuthnot Latham on a charity (tandem) parachute jump – I was astonished to be told that you need 200 jumps before you can go solo…! And then an old friend, ex UBK, who  is now chief lending officer at Arbuthnot Latham – particularly for development projects of any size: might be a useful contact again?
DCPR