Richard Hammond: “I’ll guarantee that nothing exciting, vibrant, dynamic, new, creative, hopeful, or beneficial in any way to humanity has ever been done, thought of, or driven to in that drab, dreary, entirely beige willfully awful pile of misery”.
Richard’s opinion of the Morris Marina from Series 13, Episode 5 (110th episode).
From Richard Hammond’s lastest article on … hands-on engineering
“My mate Hadrian, an engineer, came over with all the required kit for the operation, including the new lump of chassis. His stated intention was to pull up a chair and work his way through a giant sack of popcorn while I provided the entertainment by burning the workshop to the ground and blinding myself as I learned how to weld. Good plan.”
Read the whole thing at: http://www.topgear.com/uk/richard-hammond/richard-hammond-top-gear-magazine-column-2012-03-27
Series 14 Episode 6 (118 show) original air date 12-27-09.
The Bolivia Special
Richard Hammond: We’re close to the equator.
Jeremy Clarkson: We’re very close to it. Perhaps we’re on it.
Richard: No we can’t be. We’d see it … a big dotted line.
About 2 months ago, my girlfriend started reading Richard Hammond’s On the Edge
. She kept reading bits to me until I could take it no more – about 10 minutes – and went off an bought my own copy. Needless to say it took me awhile to crack the spine (figuratively… I like to keep my books as pristine as possible) even though she kept quoting bits to me. And then I read a bit, and then a little bit more not getting very far. So a couple of days ago I bought the audio version, only after checking to make sure the voice on the other end of the earphones was Richard. Unfortunately it is an abridged version. I have 2 problems with abridged version. 1) Bits are missing. and 2) if the author had wanted those bits missing he (or she) wouldn’t have written them in the first place. How do they know what I will think is important? So basically I get annoyed. And having read the 1st couple of chapters, I could see out what was missing right off the bat. Oh well.
In this case however, since I plan to actually read the book, I’m not annoyed. Well, not too annoyed. I would have like to have heard the entire book. It’s only 3 hours long so I could almost get the whole thing in during lunch (good). But it’s a 308 page book, so quite a lot is missing (bad).
This “is his compelling account of life before and after the accident and an honest description of his recovery, full of drama and incident.” It starts in his childhood, pops up to his adulthood, moves on to when he gets his job on Top Gear and then goes to when he has a 288 mile an hour crash in a racer called the “Vampire”. This is where his wife Mindy takes over telling the story. She tells from after the crash until he starts to regain his memory. And this is part I truely like about the the audio book … Richard reads his part and Mindy reads her part. And then once Richard regains his memory they share the read of the last bits of the book.
I was blown away by Mindy’s part of the book. She had me laughing and crying and wanting to give her a big hug. WOW! What an amazing, strong woman! But the one thing the reviews seem to gloss over is this is a love story. It’s Mindy’s love and devotion to her husband. These two are truely soul mates and very much belong together. You can hear it in their voices when they speak of each other. He is so fortunate to have her in his life – of which he is completely aware.
I normally don’t like audio books. I do make exceptions when the books are biographies or autobiographies and are read by the person who is being written about. Another nice thing is when you are familar with the voice. I fell asleep the 1st night listening to the first part. This was a nice novelty as the book didn’t drop on my nose waking me up with a start. Nor did my Beloved have to pry the book from my hand waking me as he turns off the light. Richard just kept chatting on in my ear as I drifted off. I’m starting see the appeal of audio books.
I will say I did enjoy listening to this one. Now when I go back to read the book, I can hear both of the Hammond’s in my head.
Ok, not really Richard Hammond. Richard Hammond’s book On the Edge: My Story. And it really wasn’t a sound sleep, it was more like a doze and I was woken up when the book knocked me in the face. Thank God it was a paperback. So obviously I haven’t gotten very far, page 6 or so. Here is the publisher’s description…
“In September 2006, Richard Hammond suffered a serious brain injury following a high-speed car crash. Here is his compelling account of life before and after the accident and an honest description of his recovery, full of drama and incident. An adrenalin junkie long before his association with Top Gear, Richard tells the story of his life, from the small boy showing off with ridiculous stunts on his bicycle to the adolescent with a near-obsessive attraction to speed and the smell of petrol. After a series of jobs in local radio, he graduated to television. His insights into the personalities, the camaraderie, and the stunts for which Top Gear has become famous, make compulsive reading. It was while filming that Richard was involved in a high speed crash, driving a jet-powered dragster. His wife Mindy tells the story of the anxious hours and days of watching and waiting until he finally emerged from his coma. In an extraordinarily powerful piece of writing, she and Richard then piece together the stages of his recovery as his shattered mind slowly reformed. The final chapter recounts his return home and his triumphant reappearance in front of the cameras.
You can click here to buy it on Amazon.
The book has no introduction. Well, it does, but it’s on the back cover. Once you open the front cover he gets right to the meat of his story. There are 3 sets of pictures from various times in his life. The one that is my most favourite (it is a review of a British book after all) is one from his youth. He has that signature imphish look that we all know from Top Gear. And since I’ve really only gotten past the beginning chapter, I don’t have much more to say. Now.
Ok. On a Top Gear theme. My girlfriend alerted me to Richard Hammond’s lastest mastery of the english language.
Richard Hammond on: sport buttons
Here are 2 quotes from it.
“And then, like an alarm clock strapped to a stick of dynamite, the rev-counter’s needle ticked up to 7,500rpm, and all hell was let loose. Suddenly, my eyes made a dive for my neck, my stomach and lungs were straining to escape backwards out of my riding jeans, and the scenery to either side went all stretchy and thin. ”
And
“Kermit had gone crazy, pulled out a death ray, bitten the head off a chicken, drunk eight litres of tequila and shagged Miss Piggy in a skip outside a nightclub.”
And what does that have to do with a “sport button” (which supposedly changes the suspension in a car to make it stiffer and better handling)? You’ll have to read the article and find out.
Series 13, Episode 2 (107 show) original air date 06/28/09
What is the perfect car for 17 year olds for £2,500?
[after equiping a Volvo wagon wagon with a water lie-low (mattress) with a leopard print throw and some shag bumpers.]
Jeremy Clarkson: [reading from the card] “‘The Festival Test’: You’ve been at Glastenbury for the weekend, it’s finished, and now it’s a straight race to see who can pack all their camping equipment and stuff into their car and get out of the park.” How hard can it be?
Richard Hammond: Don’t say that!
[after the guys begin packing]
Jeremy: Guys! Problem!
Richard: What?
Jeremy: I’ve shoved my “anarchy” flag through my water lie-low.
Richard: Noboby’s ever said that before.
Series 15, Episode 2 (121 show) original air date 07/27/10
The team attempts to find a second-hand sports saloon that is suitable for everyday tasks and track days on a budget of £5,000.
[On the German Stig]
James May: No, hang on.
Jeremy Clarkson: Oh, my, giddy aunt.
Richard Hammond: Mullet.
James: I think he might be Stiggy Ray Cyrus.
Series 14, Episode 6 (118 show) original air date 12/27/09
The Bolivia Special
Richard Hammond: Did your co-presenter on your television programme just attack you with a machete?
Jeremy Clarkson: Yes, he did. He came to the window quite cross because I ran into him.
Richard: That doesn’t happen on clothes programmes or gardening shows.
Series 14, Episode 6 (118 show) original air date 12/27/09
The Bolivia Special
Richard Hammond: James is killing Jeremy. I think things are going well.