Maestros and their motor cars (23): Composer at the wheel
Daily Comfort ZoneThe long-underrated Ruth Gipps.
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It’s her best mate George Weldon you want to be writing about. Professional racing driver before the war. Once raced Denis Matthews (who was on the train) from London to Birmingham, and won.
Yes, and he featured his Jag on a couple of his record covers. There were rumours that he had an affair with Ruth Gipps, though these were never substantiated, but I think he lost his job at the CBSO as a result of them.
George Weldon was not the only CBSO Principal Conductor who had a heavy right foot. My percussion teacher, the late Douglas Milne (one time Principal Percussionist of the CBSO) told me tales of Hugo Rignold taking newly appointed CBSO players for break-neck rides around Birmingham city centre.
During several school summer holidays in the 1970s I accompanied my uncle in his car transporter, delivering vehicles from the British Leyland Longbridge works in Birmingham all over the country. We delivered quite a few Austin Maestros in our time. Your challenge now, Norman, is to source a photograph of a Maestro driving a Maestro 🙂
The Maestro was never up to an Allegro.
I visited Ruth Gipps’ house in deepest Sussex, for a concerto audition, and saw the Morgan in the garage.
Please don’t forget William Mathias and his bright orange Mercedes.