Bob Dance and Richard Parramint talk about the early years at Lotus

[Certified Lotus]

The local Lotus club (PALS) held an event this past weekend featuring Bob and Richard talking about the early days at Lotus. I shot a video of the highlights as I always find the stories fascinating and thought it would be worthwhile to document some history.

Enjoy the stories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syoeKkR76aA&t=3s

[EuropaTC]

Excellent !   I haven't watched it all yet but already I'm waiting for Alex's comments when he hears the description of Norfolk.....   

This is a great idea, assuming the participants don't mind filming. It gets the enthusiasm out to all those folks who are too far away to make it and can only be a good thing.

Brian

Edit to add - watched it all now so grab yourself a coffee and settle down it's well worth watching. I could have done with another hour of them chatting away....

[Lou Drozdowski]

A special thank you for posting this, I was planning to attend and had to pass it up, being under the weather...
The last thing I wished was infecting my troubles on to all my friends at PALS.
Watching the video was like chicken soup!...Hope all had a great time! ld




   

[Certified Lotus]

Thanks a Brian and Lou.  I have a very fond memory of when I first met Bob Dance, it was at one of Richard’s tours of the Lotus Factory (2011) a meeting with Danny Bahar along with a tour of the Team Lotus shop. On the first night we had this group dinner at the hotel and Bob sat down next to me. I barely knew his background and introduced myself along with asking him a few questions. Well, several hours later I walked away from my seat at the table with a fascinating personal historical tour of Lotus, it’s racing heritage and insights to the “governor”. More over, Bob was totally engaged and acted like I was the only person in the room. It was a memorable conversation and one that I thought “ I wish I made a video of it for historical purposes”. Over the years I have met Bob at least another 6 times and each meeting provides more stories and new information. He is such a delightful man and has amazing recall for his age. When the event was planned for a Bob and Richard to talk at the PALS social, I knew I had to record this.

By the way, if your interested I have two video’s on my YouTube channel of Danny speaking to our tour group (The lost Lotus Tapes, June 2011). He had some interesting insights to the Lotus brand that were right on the mark.

[EuropaTC]

By the way, if your interested I have two video’s on my YouTube channel of Danny speaking to our tour group (The lost Lotus Tapes, June 2011). He had some interesting insights to the Lotus brand that were right on the mark.

I'm always interested in people talking Lotus, so what do I look for ?  I have seen a talk by Graham Arnold on Youtube a while ago but it looked as if it was taken on a phone and the audio was poor. That was a shame, I've seen GA when he was around during my Club Lotus days and he also spins a good yarn. 

[BDA]

That was a great event you videoed! Full of great stories! I got a sense of some of the people who used to work there from the story about throwing the paintbrush of glue at a guy and then dumping the glue on the head of the other (not to mention painting that glue while having your head in the car)! It sounds like working there was not for the faint hearted!

[Certified Lotus]

BDA, the glue story was also told, I edited it out of the video (along with some other silly stories that I will use some other time). 

Brian, here are a few other Lotus related videos I shot on my youtube channel:

Lost Lotus Tapes Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo0ehY-0vU4&t=53s

Lost Lotus Tapes Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Ph03AOkLc

Lotus Festival Snetterton Historic F1 cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZgpZ1UrD5I

Lotus Evora Hethel Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vKFPe2hr_M

[4129R]

Excellent !   I haven't watched it all yet but already I'm waiting for Alex's comments when he hears the description of Norfolk.....   

I am offended.

NFN, "normal for Norfolk", is very different from London.

The reason Chunky went from Cheshunt to Hethel was he wanted cheap space to build a factory. He wanted a cheap WWII airfield, as it was flat, he could fly there from London, and the local labour would be cheap, and grateful for employment.

Meanwhile Bernard Matthews was buying up loads of other WWII airfields to build turkey farms. So the B17s, B24s & B25s  were replaced by Lotus and turkeys on the same concrete runways.

A pub local to me has loads of photos of B24s on the wall.

My barn has a memorial plaque to B17 Eager Eagle which crashed in my back garden, exatcly where I am renovation my squadron of Loti.

.

I moved from London to Norfolk because I wanted cheap space to play at the weekend. I work in London m-F, and drive to Norfolk for space and peace and quiet on a Friday afternoon, so Chunky and I had the same idea about life in Norfolk.

[EuropaTC]

Brian, here are a few other Lotus related videos I shot on my youtube channel:

Lost Lotus Tapes Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo0ehY-0vU4&t=53s
Lost Lotus Tapes Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Ph03AOkLc
Lotus Festival Snetterton Historic F1 cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZgpZ1UrD5I
Lotus Evora Hethel Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vKFPe2hr_M

Thanks Certified Lotus, got those links bookmarked now for the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning. That Evora is a bit slidey at the start, isn't it ?      

Alex - I'll see your B17 plaque and raise you one of the fuel gauges from the Halifax NR250 HD/N of 466 Squadron that took out the original farmhouse and buried itself yards away from the building which has my car in it right now !   

These bits (and many others) came to light a year or so ago when I was doing some digging there. The needle was still in place at the position shown but fell off when I cleaned it up so it's held in place with a dab of glue.  They didn't call Lincolnshire/Norfolk bomber counties for nothing, did they ?

 

[4129R]

Brian, here are a few other Lotus related videos I shot on my youtube channel:

Lost Lotus Tapes Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo0ehY-0vU4&t=53s
Lost Lotus Tapes Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Ph03AOkLc
Lotus Festival Snetterton Historic F1 cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZgpZ1UrD5I
Lotus Evora Hethel Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vKFPe2hr_M

Thanks Certified Lotus, got those links bookmarked now for the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning. That Evora is a bit slidey at the start, isn't it ?      

Alex - I'll see your B17 plaque and raise you one of the fuel gauges from the Halifax NR250 HD/N of 466 Squadron that took out the original farmhouse and buried itself yards away from the building which has my car in it right now !   

These bits (and many others) came to light a year or so ago when I was doing some digging there. The needle was still in place at the position shown but fell off when I cleaned it up so it's held in place with a dab of glue.  They didn't call Lincolnshire/Norfolk bomber counties for nothing, did they ?

I found 2 x live .50 cal rounds, and plenty that had exploded in the fire. The brass of the shell case, and the lead of the bullets has survived 70 years, whereas the ally from the plane was blue/green powder.