Three things I still remember -

I think there are many favorite things in my life I can remember, but it would take up a whole book. I will share three with you in the article, as I have to leave something for another day.

I will say that everything revolves around my hobbies and these are the things that I really love to do.

The picture on the right is me in Africa working in the oilfield but this was not a hobby it was my job. I love this picture because I did something that was done for the very first time and I was very proud of this and it is one of my best memories with regards to the Oilfield.

The first

The first of my favorite things is that I have the passion for cars. I know it is every boy dream to own his first car and I actually had my very first when I was sixteen.

It was a Morris Oxford that I paid Four pounds for. Yes, how could you buy a complete car for Four pounds, Well this was fifty years ago but it really feels like only yesterday. I had the car delivered to my home and My mother said what on earth was I doing with a car and I was not old enough to drive. I explained that I had bought the car to do it up as I wanted to learn how to repair and spray a car so this was the first of many.

I went from the Morris Oxford to many others and even had my own car sales business that I started with a friend. We ended up with about thirty cars for sale on a site the we rented from a very good friend. It was a great experience and at the same time great fun.

The picture on the left is my all time favorite car. It was a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT. The car was pristine and had covered 5,400 miles from new. I paid 4,950 pounds for the Ferrari and at that time, I paid 4,650 pounds for my house. It certainly seems a bit crazy to pay more for a car than a house but as I said my hobbies were a bit on the wild side.

I really loved this car and kept it in pristine condition. If it rained I would always drive straight home and put the car in the garage but would always use the chamois leather to get the water off first. It was like a real love affair and I also would love to take friends out for a spin. I remember on one occasion I had a friend that had a Lotus Cortina and he reckoned he was the king of the road. One day, Tim came over and took me out for a spin in his Lotus. It was ok and the Lotus was indeed very fast but I said OK now I will show you what a Ferrari can do.

We got in the Ferrari and drove around the same roads that we had taken earlier. As we came back I opened the Ferrari up and within three seconds my friend went white and then he seemed to turn green and said stop stop stop three times so I stopped and he open the door and was sick into the road. He pulled himself back in and said sorry Paul it is just a bit better than I expected!

The second

The second passion that I have began at the age of three. This was when I started to become interested in music. My parents had an old upright piano and I would open the lid whenever I could and make the most horrible sounds that you could imagine. Over the years, the sounds became better and I started to actually get quite good at what I was doing. I also became interested in my father’s guitar. He used to get it out sometimes and play Hawaiian music, which I loved. He would then retune and play normal music and as time went by I was able to hold the guitar and started to learn a few chords.

As time marched on I made my very own electric guitar at school and it actually worked but I wanted something better. I was a Shadows fan and would spend hours by the record player learning the shadows music note perfect and it was such a great feeling to do this. My mother bought me my first real guitar, which was a Burns Jazz and I really loved that first guitar. It was finished in Green and really was the green machine!

After the Burns Jazz, I changed over to an old Fender Stratocaster which I enjoyed very much because then I felt nearly as good as my hero!

After the Fender Stratocaster, my style changed and I because more into heavier music and loved listening to Eric Clapton. My guitar also changed and I got hold of a guitar that was actually a copy of the Gibson “Black Beauty” as I did not have “Black Beauty” money but could afford the Shaftsbury copy.

This was a fantastic guitar and I really loved the way it felt and the way it sounded and this is definitely one of my favorite things.

I was very fortunate to be playing in the early seventies and I was actually able to meet Eric Clapton when he was performing in Norwich UK. I was also able to meet with many of the now well know artists in those early days and have so many memories of the great times.

The third.

Number three is something that has been with me from day one and it is my love of sound. The sound and the sound systems draw me into everything in the way of the amplifier, loudspeakers, mixing desks, PA system, recording systems and all the connections that go with it all.

I have a fascination of playing with the sounds that are produced to make the overall sound better. This started with my guitar playing and I would spend hours playing with everything you can imagine getting the best sound possible. I played with a group when I was at school and we were called Paul and the Educators. It was myself and the bass player was one of the teachers. The rhythm guitar was again one of the teachers and on drums, we had the deputy Headmaster. I can still remember this today and we made a very good sound and The Shadows would have been proud.

As I went through my life the amplifiers because more expensive and the sound became more interesting. The loudspeakers because bigger and better and again more expensive and this was all part of my learning curve in sound.

The picture on the left is actually my favorite sounding amplifier and was made in the UK by a company who are no longer in business. This was because they made their amplifiers too well and could not make a profit because of the costs and time to make the amplifiers.

The amplifier was called The Gamma Acoustics Rhythm and you can still find them kicking around and a good one will cost you about 350 pounds but it is really well worth it. I have had amplifiers costing over 3500 pounds and they do not sound as good as the Gamma. There is something magical about the sound of the 211 Vacuum tube and this is a sound that you will never forget. I sold the Gamma to a gentleman in Russia a few years ago and really regretted selling, but things change and circumstances change.

Conclusion

Three things that I will always remember can be put into three groups. Cars, Guitars and Sound. They all have their own magic and their own followers. Everything has a value. The first Ferrari I bought is now worth about 350,000 pounds. The first Burns Jazz guitar that I bought for about 75 pounds is now worth between 750 to 1000 pounds. The amplifiers just stay the same, not increasing or decreasing.

Why am I involved with a hobby that has not shown an increase in value over the years? All I can say to this is well someone has to do it and if you really love what you are doing, then the pleasure is worth more than the money!

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my three favorite things and if you have then please share with friend’s by using the buttons below - thank you