Just back from a thoroughly splendid evening at Wroxall Abbey Hotel where John Brookes from the MOC had organised a memorial dinner to celebrate the life of Jem Marsh who sadly passed away earlier this year. I drove down from Manchester in the dark having got stuck in Friday traffic getting on to the M6, but once on the motorway it was chocks away with a decent run down to the venue. No other Marcos in sight in the car park, which was a shame but perhaps they knew about the weather coming the next time day…  😱. Got there about 15 mins before dinner started & managed to check in & get a beer in hand before we all sat down. Lots of familiar faces from the Marcos ‘family’ (and indeed the Marsh family who were there in force), plus quite a few from the older owners from the 60s, 70s and 80s (before my time!). Cleverly, the tables were organised with a model theme so obviously I was sat at the ‘Mantis’ table. Obviously the ‘top table’! The inimitable Mr Harman was sat to my left, but also on the table & to my right were Chris Marsh & his wife Sarah (who just goes to show what you can pull when you’re a racing driver! I believe the team technical term is “Smokin'”!). Food was great, wine flowed & there were a number of entertaining recollections from various people involved with Jem over the years. The highlights for me however were the stories from the three drivers at the 1995 Le Mans race. I finished in the early hours of the morning with a handful of us at the bar including Gary, Cor Euser & Chris Marsh who had some hairy stories about the development of the Mantis that were well worth staying up for!

After breakfast next morning I followed one of the other owners in their non-Marcos to the Birmingham NEC where the Classic Car Show was on. There were two stands as usual: one from the MOC & one from CMI. Both stands were fantastic with the quality of the cars on show outstanding and the Le Mans 95 car a big crowd pleaser. Bloody cramped when you are sitting inside it though!

Childcare meant leaving the NEC by 1300 to head home & as I left the weather got worse so the hood was up. The less said about the journey back the better… Suffice to say that the hood did little to keep the water out, & despite trying to wedge a cloth in the worst area, it wasn’t long before there was standing water in the door handles & on the passenger seat. With water also coming in at the front,  top & rear of the windows (& through the windscreen seal!) onto both the dash & me, I am not impressed with what £900 has got me from Redline last spring. The list of things that need looking at is mounting… Heigh Ho.

With just three more days until the MOT expires, the hyperflashing issue had to be resolved today. Que the cavalry in the form of Colin, the auto electrician used by SP Automotive to wire up my new rear light pods when the car was being resprayed. What a fantastic chap! Came to my home first thing Saturday & didn’t take long to confirm that the Pin Out on the Ford Indicator relay is not industry standard, which explains why none of the five (!) LED relays bought from various sources ever worked. Curse you, Ford! Colin cannabilised one of the relays & rewired the three connections to the correct pins on a second LED indicator  relay which was then located 10cm away under the steering column cowel. This fixed the hyperflashing! Phew!!! Nice to meet someone who really knows their stuff… Thank you Colin!

So while the car was being looked at by Joe Cubitt I took the opportunity to get all four Two Gates wheels fully refurbished (acid dipped, powder coated then hand finished). Pleased with the results & in time for Tatton Park show too.

I have finally succumbed to ‘Steering wheel envy” having been very taken with the aftermarket ones on Dave Barlow’s blue Mantara & Allan Stewart’s Mantaray. After much poring over car pimping (sorry, ‘ accessorising’) web sites, I opted for the Momo Jet. Joe was able to drill the existing steering rack boss &  I have to say I’m pretty pleased with the results.

It also feels ridiculously nice to drive with, which is a pretty sad statement!

Pretty moist start to the day but as forecast to be fair. Three dropouts for various reasons left a turn out of eight cars at The Swan just before 0900 hours. We went in convoy to our allocated pitch which was a new one for us, next to the Jags & conveniently opposite an ice cream van. Yay!

The weather was pretty grim through the morning with only the hardiest punters strolling around the club displays in their waterproofs & umbrellas. Things brightened up in the afternoon though & we got a decent footfall past the stand with a lot of people stopping for a chat.

I was also delighted to see one of my work colleagues,  Geoff, drop by. Geoff built & owned a Marcos back in the 80s & was recently reunited with the marque when he helped push my Mantis in the car park at work!

Car’s been great recently then one of the girls at work popped over to my desk to say that it was making ‘a funny noise’ in the car park. Given it had been fine when I parked it there six hours previously I was puzzled & went down only to find the fan running at full speed.

Yesterday was Jem Marsh’s funeral, down at Bradford-on-Avon. It was a sad day of course,  but also a great celebration of his life & achievements. I took the day off & set off from Manchester about 0645 hours,aiming to meet up at 1130 hours in Frome with a few other owners who were bringing their cars along too. Jem’s wife Lynn had asked if we would join the funeral cortege & give Jem a suitably noisy send off through BoA. Trip there & back was faultless from the car, however driver error meaning I over shot the turnoff on the M4 (too busy enjoying the music to hear the SatNav :oops:) so the last 15 miles were definitely the scenic route… Anyway I made it with half an hour to spare & had only been beaten to the pub car park meet point by Jay in his fantastic fliptone converted Mantis Challenge car. We were joined by another six Marcos cars of various eras,  & had a good chat before jumping into the driving seats to await the passing of the hearse & family car.

This was a bit premature & we had relaxed again (& immobilisers had timed in 😅) when the funeral cars suddenly arrived around the bend in road!

An old school Le Mans style start ensued & I ended up immediately behind the family car, leading the Marcos convoy. I have to say that I’m very proud to have done this – a great honour & privilege. We wended our way through the lanes & into BoA, miraculously keeping all the cars together despite various junctions & traffic lights. Other drivers were very considerate, & we made our way through several single lane pinch points in the town without having to stop, before pulling up away from the houses into the final furlong. The cars carrying the family & Jem turned into the cemetery,  leaving the Marcos cars peeling away to head back into BoA where we parked up before descending on a handy pub for non-alcholic refreshment.

At 1400 we walked round to Holy Trinity Church which was packed out. An amazing setting by the river, with perfect blue sky & some unexpected spring warmth from the sun. The service itself was lovely with very affectionate & often amusing takes on Jem’s life. Afterwards we walked back to the the station car park to jump in the cars and drive up to the golf club for nibbles & a last catch up before we went our separate ways.
I got back about 2100 having recorded a couple of 20+ mpg figures (comparing favourably to 12 mpg this week when commuting! 😰). A long day but well worth the trip. No car trouble but best of all fantastic to see a lot of other Marcos owners & reminisce a little about Jem. He & his cars have made our lives all the more interesting. RIP Jem Marsh.