In 2002 Top Gear series one started on our screens. It had been a part of the tv schedule before this time but what started in 2002 was something magical and different. Starring Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, soon to be followed by James May.
Top Gear was started to show case cars to review and test them for the public to decide what was best to buy and ended in something magical with the start of their cheap car challengers and eventually their road trips.
When I first watching Top Gear I was going through a difficult time in my life, I ended up watching some reruns on Dave (that I don’t think was called Dave at the time) and I still remember the first episode I watched, it was a cheap car challenge with sports cars and to travel to Slough to a strip club. I don’t remember the exact date but I certainly remembered the episode.
From that point on I declared myself a Hammond girl and thanks to LiveJournal (where I used to blog on) I found a little community of like minded men and women who all adored the trio, who would host weekly discussions groups for the newest episodes, it was such a good time and I have developed friendships thanks to them.
Whenever I felt sad, I tuned into some Top Gear and everything was okay again and when I became a parent to my son Kai, who ended up becoming a car obsessed toddler and child I found someone else who enjoyed their adventures. If there was a new special I would record it in the evenings on sky so he could enjoy it the next day, he would grab three cars himself and pretend to play along and each special had names for him ‘blue car one’ was the Nile special and the ‘lorry one’ was the Burma special.
When the ‘fracas’ happened and they was taken off air and we was shown the last ever episode of Top Gear things changed. I was at the time dealing with an online bully and suddenly my little comfort show was gone, I remember live tweeting the episode with a group of friends from the live journal days and decided that when and if some other company took them on I would support them.
In comes Amazon Prime to the rescue, they signed on the trio and I signed up for prime for them being the only reason, life was back to normal and for the next eight years they continued on with The Grand Tour with episodes of car reviews and plenty of adventures and challenges.
and now… as of the 13th September 2024 sadly The Grand Tour comes to an end and what an amazing and fitting end it was, going back to where their first adventure began in Botswana, where the love affair that was Richard and Oliver the Opal Kadet, finding the old cars again and crossing over the salt flats together to the island in the middle.
‘I know a Phillip Larkin poem about the moon do you want to hear it?’ – James May
‘No’ – Richard Hammond
And while it’s made me extremely sad that these three men who honestly gave me so much comfort in some of my darkest of days won’t work together again, they’ve left a legacy for me to always look back on, I developed friendships thanks to them, learnt and loved certain cars, bonded with my son and even picked up a slight tradition when it comes to their Middle East Christmas special that I watch a few days before Christmas when I wrap presents.
All I can say now is to say thank you to Jeremy, Richard and James for sharing with us their wonderful adventure these past 22 years. (Not that they’ll ever read this)
You mean a lot to me.
.. and on that bombshell…
Sarah
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