Inspired by James?

[amie8]

I've looked around and can't see that this subject has come up before, so here's a silly question.

Has your "admiration" for James inspired you to do anything you otherwise wouldn't have? Has he, or Top Gear, Manlab, Toy Stories or even the wine adventures led you to take up a hobby, research a subject, visit a place, hit the bottle?

I've mentioned somewhere else that I took up quilting a couple of years ago. Not a very Jamesian pastime but still, to a certain extent, down to his influence. Listening to him waxing lyrical on the radio about the joys of making and building stuff, I realised that I was actually a bit of a blob, consuming the work of others while producing absolutely nothing. As I don't have the space, tools or experience to tackle anything mechanical, I went back to what I could do, dragged out the old sewing machine and started wielding the scissors. I'm very much a beginner, and the slowest worker on earth, but I've managed some modest efforts, a couple of which are below:





Anyone else?

[jacqui]

Excellent work - surely not a beginner ;D

[amie8]

You haven't seen it close up! Antonia would probably have a fit ;D

[dit]

That quilt is stunning, amie8! When something looks that effective, tiny imperfections (if there are any really!) don't show up.

Perhaps it's a bit obvious, but Top Gear and James are responsible for me developing my appreciation for cars and knowledge about them. I already knew quite a bit, but it was as a passive driver rather than understanding technical issues. Listening to and reading what the guys have to say also gave me the confidence to choose cars that demanded more from me as a driver. I've driven cars like an Aston DB9 on a track that I would have dismissed as 'out of my league' previously, but now I'm curious to see if I agree with the opinions I hear on the show.

I certainly don't think I would have had the confidence to take on Purdey the GT6 if I hadn't been enthused over the past few years by those three professional petrol-heads!

[ljcteehee]

Rekindling an interest in model making and hands-on stuff. Over the past few months I've made a model of The Bismark and a Douglas Dauntless.
It's one of those interests I had when I was younger (especially Plasticine (Sculpey)/clay and Lego) but had kind of "outgrown" it.

And beer.

[FizzyLogician]

Lovely quilt, Amie8.

Now that I've figured out that a spanner is really just a wrench, I'm reorganizing my tools. Learned to use Twitter (if James and Jezza can do it, I can). Tried Sancerre. Bought a bunch of TG3's books.

But I came to my senses before I got a Labradoodle.

[toystoriesfan]

Aug 3, 2012 20:13:07 GMT amie8 said:

Has he, or Top Gear, Manlab, Toy Stories or even the wine adventures led you to take up a hobby, research a subject, visit a place, hit the bottle?

So interesting you should give that list!

Because of the Wine Adventures, I've had some lovely afternoons with girl friends and a bottle of wine. I preview the episode, seek out an appropriate vintage, and we relax. And admire.

Because of just James, I was inspired to try a beer again. Unfortunately, on the evening I was planning on facing the brewski again, I came down sick. Real sick, not drunk unfortunately. I figured it wasn't the time to try something "new" to me, so I had a gin & tonic instead. I figured the lime slice might help the general malaise.

So many of the other shows have inspired me as well. I now feel I have a much better understanding of cars, a regret that I still can't drive a manual transmission, a serious respect for how special my dad's '66 Pontiac really is (he went for all the nice options, engine-wise).

I've also watched a lot of war movies, looking for Spitfires mostly. But that kind of began before I became a Top Gear fan, after I visited the Churchill War Rooms. Oh, what a museum!

Wow, James really is inspirational, isn't he?

[flatin5th - Knight of the NC]

Not really inspired - but, as you will all be aware, I do like the various work he does! It would appear that we have very similar tastes and values - the difference being that I don't really get old things (like old cars and bikes!).
I have all the toys that he featured in Toy Stories - I use them at school too -and being a practical person, I can usually turn my hand to ManLab sorts of issues!

Carry on!

[antonia]

You haven't seen it close up! Antonia would probably have a fit ;D

I would not.They are lovely.I really like the old quilting throws you can buy.I bought one a few years ago cost me a bomb.I'd buy on from you.

I've never really been inspired by James.I love what he does in getting people excited about making stuff.Everyone can do something so why not just give it ago.
If your crap at it find something else or even better stick with it and improve.

[ambergris]

James has been a massive inspiration to me just to be myself, and to be more creative. I've not done new things so much as develop old interests, like poetry and music. I've had an old violin restored and started playing it again, just for fun. I've read the entire poetry of D.H. Lawrence, who's one of my favourites, and I've set one of his very short poems to music and had it performed by the choir I sing with.

In one of his Top Gear columns a while back, about trading in his Porsche Boxster, James said that driving in an open-top car in spring-time gives you an 'olfactory summary of everything that's wonderful in the world'. As a result of his influence, I try to be more aware every day of 'everything that's wonderful in the world' and not to take it all for granted. I started writing haiku as a way of capturing those moments.

I'm sure he has no idea how inspirational he is to many of us.

[crumbs]

I don't I've been inspired by James but he has given me some good pointers with regards to classical music. I have bought a couple of pieces as a result of listening to his musical taste.
He and I were born at similar times so I recognise many references and that makes me smile but I'm not sure about his values. I suspect we would have very different social and political views!

[aeromanda]

Similar to dit, James and TG helped me to develop an interest in cars. But for me, before I got interested in TG I had no interest in cars what so ever except driving or riding in one to get me from a to b. Now, I'm identifying them by seeing parts like just a head light. Of course I'm not great at it yet, but I'm learning. I never thought I would be interested in cars or how they work but now I am.

I would say that the biggest influence that James has had on me (besides of course things that are only discussed in the NC ) is that he has made me more curious about how things work. Particularly machines. I have always been fascinated by the workings of the human body, which I consider to be the most complex machine in the world, but besides that I was never really very interested in the mechanics of day to day objects. I was interested on how things like tanks and guns and planes affected a society or the course of events (I love history!). But I had never before wondered about how those objects were put together and how they worked. Now, however, I am much more curious about things of that nature. Thanks James!