Motor Books have produced a DVD “Bristol Cars on Film” based on 2 16mm
films shot by the late Ted Ashman, Chief Photographer of the Bristol Aeroplane
Company in the mid-1950s.
The first film follows a Bristol 403 travelling by road and Bristol
Freighter from London to Paris in 1954 to demonstrate how comfortable and
pleasant such a journey could be. While the second film shows the Bristol team
at Le Mans in 1955 finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their class.
As a bonus, footage of the Bristol Aeroplane Company’s Centenary
celebrations at Filton in September 2010 is included. This is also where that
year’s Bristol Owners Club concours took place (with the largest ever assembly
of Bristol cars) and this too is featured on the DVD.
This is where I come in, or rather go out – literally. Forget the
aerobatic display of the Airbus A380, spectacular as it is with the massive
aircraft seemingly hanging motionless in the air. The highlight for me is when
I’m captured on film leaving the site at the end of the day. Neil is in the
driver’s seat with Karen next to him, and Neil’s friend John Tanner is in the
back. It was a great day that I previously wrote about on this blog, and with
the extra films this DVD is well worth looking out for.
