Gearstick & Clutchbag

tales from the tub & adventures with trailblazers

Journal

From little road trips to big adventures

29
Jun

Dorothy Levitt – The Woman and the Car

(First published for Heritage Insurance) As soon as Michelin and Dunlop fitted rubber tyres to wooden wheels, speed became the must-have accessory. This edition will introduce some of the women who pioneered this new fashion. I have always thought of my research as Mirror Lipstick Manoeuvre, but I think you will find that these women […]

26
May

Helle Nice – The Bugatti Queen

(First published with Heritage Insurance) Imagine Charles Rolls, Vincenzo Lancia and the brothers Marcel and Louis Renault, rush past your eyes amongst the Paris Madrid Rally then fast in pursuit comes Chamille Du Ghast, the first female racing driver. Hellé Delangle carefully gripping the hand of her school teacher as she watched on the side […]

29
Apr

Mags Cunningham – Flying High

First published with Frank Magazine Once the home to RAF Westhampnett West Sussex now, in recent years known as the Goodwood Aerodrome, where for me I associate the Estate of the Duke of Richmond with jam packed racing weekends with friends. However, sitting here on this glorious spring day with Pilot Mags Cunningham by the […]

18
Feb

Elspeth Beard – The Lone Rider

Previously seen in Frank Magazine We are sitting in the kitchen of the award winning and architecturally acclaimed Water Tower in Munstead, Surrey, where Elspeth now lives with a full restoration on it after purchasing in 1989. The ceilings are really high, and our talk is echoing around the hexagonal structure, Elspeth reminisces about how […]

27
Aug

Mildred Bruce – record breaking on land, sea and in the air

As seen in Frank Magazine August 2020 Edition When I was asked to write about a woman from history, I immediately thought of Mildred Bruce who, regular readers to Frank magazine may have noticed I had mentioned her previously, but then I thought about all the other women, in one way or another have shaped […]

17
Jun

Electric Dreams with Amanda Stretton

As seen in Frank Magazine June/July 2020 edition From the moment that the second car rolled off the production line, Henry Ford proclaimed, let’s go racing, well that’s how the saying goes at least. More recently, car manufacturers that put their cars into race series said, ‘Race on Sunday sell on Monday’, and this is […]

13
Mar

The Bentley Belle, Katarina Kyvalova

Previously published in the March edition of Frank Magazine about my fearless friend Katarina Kyvalova. I have known Katarina for a few years, we first met at Goodwood Revival where, I was delighted to meet another female racer – and also to see her in the big show stopper races of the Tourist Trophy, with […]

24
Feb

Race Retro 2020

Always a great start to the historic racing year with a visit to Race Retro at Stoneleigh Park where the first stop is the Autojumble. Pick up a bargain, find parts you never knew you needed and bump into friends amongst motorcycle petrol tanks. This year a very large tribute to Group B rally cars […]

29
Jan

What is in my bag

I was asked what I used for my skin as I said I swear by Wild Rose Beauty Balm but did I have any other cruelty free products I liked. Well here is a list of products in order of performance for my skin. These products are currently in use and where possible and if […]