One of the privileges of this job is that you do get to meet your heroes - both the four-wheeled type and the living, breathing variety. But with that privilege comes the very real risk of disappointment. Will that skimpy roadster turn out to be a dog when finally you slip behind the wheel? Will the fire-breathing supercar you once had on your bedroom wall leave you utterly underwhelmed? Will the Grand Prix ace you admired from afar live up to your expectations when you come face to face?
On occasion, the reality is far from what you’d imagined but sometimes the opposite can be true and you find yourself in the company of true greatness. In the case of motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss, I’m very glad to say that the latter applies. Here is a man who achieved such success during his career that you could almost forgive him if he did have a massive chip on his shoulder, and yet you’d be hard pressed to meet a more friendly, open and welcoming individual.
Thanks to the people at Credit Suisse, sponsors of the forthcoming Goodwood Revival, I recently had the opportunity to spend a morning with Stirling and his equally charming wife Susie at their Mayfair home. It was a real pleasure.
Much has been said over the years about Moss’ love of gadgets, not to mention his appreciation of the fairer sex, so I’d conjured up a mental image of the house that was part bachelor-pad, part Bond villain’s lair. To a certain extent it is: the central spiral staircase that takes you from basement to rooftop (six floors in total), the cleverly concealed doors (I defy anyone to find the downstairs toilet without assistance) and the living room light switches (labelled ‘piano’, ‘spot’ and - my favourite - ‘girl’) are an endearing mix somewhere between Dr No and Brett Sinclair. But my first impression is one of being surrounded by some amazingly evocative memorabilia.
