Through the fine work of Charlie Harris we have achieved the services of Mike Jackson as our after dinner speaker at our Dinner Dance. We have known him for many years and Margaret rode for him in the '78 Lord Mayor's Show when Mike had interests in Norton Villiers Triumph. I am certain we will get an interesting, and if his writing is any- thing to go by, amusing speech.

Mike Jackson left boarding school at sixteen, in 1954, to begin competing in trials/scrambles on Normans, James and BSA forked-Francis Barnetts. In a despairing Final Report the Headmaster had written: "has a motor cycle in his head and a pam- phlet in his pocket". Having 'progressed' by 1958 on to Greeves machinery, and into the factory 'B' team on occasion, he had the extraordinary good fortune to turn a hobby into an occupation a few years later by joining that company as their Southern Sales Rep in 1964. Following 5 happy years selling the product he was riding - in Europe and throughout the UK - Mike jumped ship to head up Dennis Poore's newly formed Norton Villiers Corporation in Long Beach (California), marketing the famous Norton Commando in the week and racing AJS Stormers in the desert 'on any Sunday' ...well most Sundays.

Returning to Norton Villiers Triumph at Andover as Sales Director in 1972 he faithful- ly (or should that be obstinately?) remained with the troubled group until acquiring the Andover Norton spares operation from the pie ten years later. After nine productive years in the m/c 'hard parts' business he merged AN with another ex NVT colleague's 'buy out' company to create BSA Group Ltd, specialising in the production of genuine Norton spares/the importation of MZ/the world wide export of AP Lockheed m/c brake equipment. He and his partner sold out to Southampton based Regal Engineering two years ago and so Mike, now in semi-retirement, joined the Car Department at Sotherby's - on the motorcycle side - and started writing for a selection of specialist motorcycle magazines in odd moments.

Described recently by a rival hack as a "poor man's two wheeled Willie Rushton" i.e. More Girth Than Mirth he confirms his current lifestyle as "Pretty Close to Paradise".