Sunday 2 November 2014

Genevieve

Genevieve was the name of a classic British comedy film made in 1953.  It was a story set around the veteran car run from London to Brighton which is held on the first Sunday in November every year.  To quote from the official web site, it "commemorates the Emancipation Run of 14 November 1896 which celebrated the passing into law of the Locomotives on the Highway Act, which raised the speed limit for 'light locomotives' from 4 mph to 14 mph and abolished the requirement for these vehicles to be preceded by a man on foot. The early law required the man on foot to carry a red flag but that requirement was abolished in 1878. The Locomotive Act was still widely known as the 'Red Flag Act' and a red flag was symbolically destroyed at the start of the Emancipation Run as it is today just before the start in Hyde Park."

I don't know when Genevieve was filmed,  but if you look at the only clips on Youtube, it would appear to have been on a day when the weather was much kinder than it usually is on the first Sunday in November.  I certainly would baulk at spending four or more hours driving from London to Brighton in a roofless, windowless, horseless carriage.

This video shows cars taking part last year. I hope John Hilton will forgive for stealing it!


1 comment:

Buck said...

Thanks for the link to the official web site... the galleries are great!

As for the video, I'm struck by the sound of these early "light locomotives." We sure have come a long, long way since the beginning.