Randolph Quirk was a longstanding family friend. Whenever he and his wife, Jean, came to our house it was full of laughter and fun. He was also exceedingly competitive.
On holiday in Northumberland in the 1960s he challenged a Roman Catholic priest, Alec Fraser, who was with us to a motor race on a two-lane, straight but switchback road. Quirk drove with his family in a Morris Minor and Fraser drove an Austin Standard. They took it seriously, overtaking or blocking each other several times, sometimes side by side, shouting and waving. Quirk came second. As he got out of his car he shook the priest’s hand and said: “You missed your vocation, father.”
