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From his earliest years Jim recalls tinkering with machines, firstly with push-bikes before moving on to engines. His interest stems from his father who was a mechanic and later a lecturer in the subject. Jim remembers he and his father attempting to rebuild a spitfire engine which his father had obtained for the local flying club. Jim's dad was Chairman of a flying club at Skegness and took Jim, who was just two, and his brother flying many times.

After leaving school he started work on the fish docks and it was a short time later he changed tack and became an apprentice mechanic, paying his own way through college. In the early 1980's he was offered a job at a garage in Holton Le Clay, which, when the original owner decided to sell, he took over. He and his family are still there today, located at the heart of the village.

His garage attracts a lot of business from high end car owners, regularly servicing and maintaining their Aston Martins and Bentleys. Another great interest of Jim's is motorcycles and his garage deals in Royal Enfield Motorcycles, a host of vintage vehicles and more everyday vehicles too.

It was in the mid-1990's, he and some friends and family embarked on an adventure. The plan was to travel from John o' Groats to Land's End within 24 hours to raise money for charity. Jim set off on his 1935 Norton ES2 (main picture) but it didn't take long for the bike to reveal it's age and suffered many mechanical breakdowns as it wound it's way to Land's End. With just eight minutes to spare he achieved his goal, but not without experiencing some dreadful weather conditions and an encounter with the police.

Jim's found that four wheels are not necessarily any better than two and on a rally through Belgium he and a friend Dave, saw him looking for spare parts to fix a sidecar. Because of the long history of the garage which dates back decades, vintage cars are also an interest of his which is why he was involved in taking what's thought to be Grimsby's oldest vintage car on the London to Brighton run.

Jim, Victoria and George

He's done the run three times and this too hasn't been without adventure. Driving a vehicle with no brakes he says, is not recommended. Although he claims to have achieved some amazing speeds for such old vehicles which were never designed to travel as fast as he's been able to make them go. He also set a record for the run of which he's particularly proud.

Finding parts for vintage vehicles is almost impossible, but Jim has the skills to make many of the missing components. Skills which his children George and Victoria may just carry on with as they have an interest too in dad's mechanical bent.