Conference terri::cars_uk

    The following transcript is from a programme made in 1982 
    about the history of the Ford Cortina. It featured John Betjeman
    reading one of his poems followed by a brief interview about his
    thoughts on cars and the sort of people that drive them.

    Royston...
               -o-

    I am a young executive
    	no cuffs than mine are cleaner
    I own a slimline briefcase 
        and drive the firm's Cortina

    In every roadside hostelry
        from here to Burgess Hill
    The Maych(?)Hotel all know me well
        and let me sign the bill

    You ask me what it is I do
        Well actually you know
    I'm partly a liaison man
        and partly P R O

    Essentially I integrate 
        the current export drive
    And basically I'm viable
        from 10 o'clock till 5

               -o-

    Interviewer:  What do you think about the cars that people choose
                  to drive ?

    JB: 	  I suppose they are extensions of the persons
                  personalities who own them.
                  The nicer they are, the more trouble they take about
                  them. And the older the engines are, the more they
                  treasure them.
                  <long pause>
                  I can just faintly understand the delight in using a
                  vintage car, but it's nothing to the beauty of a train
                  journey. Or the wonder of an engine, a steam engine.

    Interviewer:  What do you think a Cortina driver is ?

    JB: 	  An executive. That is to say a person who thinks about
                  cash chiefly, and not much about scenery.

    I seem to remember the Tom Robinson Band singing their praises on a song
    called "Grey Cortina". I cannot remember all the lyrics off the top of
    my head, but it is the opposite end of the scale (driver wise) to Mr
    Betjemans view. I will have to have a mooch around the record
    collection and see what I can find. (if anyone cares of course!)
    
    
    
    			Stretch.

Wish I had a Ford Cortina,
Whiplash Ariel standing trim.
Cortina Owner, no one meaner
Wish that I could be like him.

Phil.

    Not to forget Ian Dury's brilliant song "Billericay Dickie":
    
    "I 'ad a girl called Nina,
     in the back of my Cortina.
    She couldn't a'bin more obscener,
    than a seasoned-up hyena".
    
    Ahh, classic!
    
    Laurie.

    re .3
    
    I thought it went something like...
    
    Wish I had a grey Cortina,
    Whiplash aerial and racing trim.
    Cortina driver, no one meaner,
    Wish that I could be like him.
    
    It was a well known fact the grey painted Mk2 Cortina's went faster
    than any other colour. Apparently the whiplash aerial and the chrome
    wheel trims helped as well.
    
    Clive

    Looks like I will have to definately dig the record in question out!

I must transcribe the lyrics for Hawkwind's `Kerb Crawler'; although no car is 
mentioned specifically, I'm sure they had a Cortina in mind.

Chris.

Found it...

Chris.
--
Synchromesh Gearbox
Overhead Cam
Mohair Motorised Wolf
Out Looking For Lambs

Power-Assisted Steering
8-Track Stereo
Leopard Skin Upholstery
FM Radio

Kerb Crawler
White side walls with grooves
Kerb Crawler
So fast he hardly moves
Kerb Crawler
He really approves of
Your high heels clicking
Like a pair of cloven hooves

Excuse Me Lady
Are you looking for a lift?
I ain't going nowhere special
I'm just out on the drift
I'll take you anywhere you want
Drop you outside your door
I might drive us down the Autobahn
With my foot pressed to the floor

Fandango insect in the skyscraper shade
A night-city mantis
In the neon parade

Come on, come on

    
    ....Bob Calvert at his best !
    
    G.

    >>Fandango insect in the skyscraper shade
    >>A night-city mantis
    >>In the neon parade
    
      Yep, that looks like Hawkwind. Up until then I was wondering a
    little!
    
    
    
           		Stretch.