20 questions with car dealer and Rolls-Royce specialist Richard Biddulph
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Service, service, service and more service.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“Life is not a dress rehearsal” is one choice and my second is: “You never heard a man on his deathbed saying: ‘Gee, I wish I had spent more time at the office’”.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
Bad wine.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
A good Cuban cigar after years of abstinence. When I turn 80, I am going to smoke one per week. How much damage at that age can I do?
What might you swap all your wealth for?
Continued good health. Health is wealth.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
Pigs with their snouts fully immersed in the trough. “We made another bad loan today for six quadrillion. Let’s cash our bonus cheques chaps then do it again”.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“I can’t”: Usually it means I could if I really put my mind to it but I can’t be bothered.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
Charity does begin at home, but if one has what one needs, how about letting the cup runneth over a little? My best experience last year was changing a flat tyre for an old lady whilst lying in roadside slush just before Christmas and declining the Queen’s shilling proffered for the act.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
When I retire I shall delight in throwing it from a very tall building; assuming it can be surgically removed from my ear.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
My children.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Three mangoes spoonfed whilst laying in my hammock on the island of Malapsqua. It would need to be a morning execution as this is my breakfast when at my home in the Philippines.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
When the sun is over the yardarm.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
Loose leaf smoky Earl Grey out of proper china served from a pre-heated pot.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
The Earl of March does a decent job of putting on parties.
Who is the most positive person you know?
I am.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Sneaking off for a cream tea when I should be working.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A compass. Life has many directions for you to choose from.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
I am a car dealer so this is an impossible question to answer. Astons: Over hyped. Rolls-Royces: Too posh. Bentlesy: A trinket. Morgans: Too quirky. OK, OK… I aspire to driving a corrugated bonnet Deux Cheveaux when I retire and grow old disgracefully.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I am an avid motorcyclist and pilot. If you can drive it, ride it or fly it, then it is of interest to me. Much as “If it flies, f***s or floats, it is usually cheaper to rent it”.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
Candles.
Richard Biddulph is a car dealer who specialises in vintage Rolls-Royce vehicles. His firm, Vintage & Prestige Fine Motorcars, is based in Grays, Essex.
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