About the Founder and Editor of The Vintage Magazine – Robert Jarman

Robert JarmanRobert Jarman was a part-owner and Managing Director of Debrett’s Peerage Ltd, which he acquired in 1976, and transformed from a single title business (the Peerage & Baronetage), into an international publishing house, with subsidiaries in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Robert Jarman was also the originator of ‘Debrett’s People of Today’, which is now the UK’s most important contemporary biographical reference book, listing the top 25,000 most successful and influential people in the UK.

Robert also launched and was Editor in Chief of ‘Debrett’s Magazine’, a controlled circulation magazine, sent exclusively to the 36,000 listed in ‘Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage’, and covering subjects of interest to them.

Robert Jarman sold Debrett in 1988, and has since been involved in various businesses, including property development, the Leisure industry, and he was a Consultant to a Venture Capital company.

He also founded and still manages a Fine Art and Antiques Consultancy and brokerage called ‘Objects of Desire’, which he will continue to run alongside ‘The Vintage Magazine’, because there is a synergy between the two businesses, and there will be features on the world of Fine Art & Antiques.

He is looking forward to Editing The Vintage Magazine, because it has enabled him to contact many old friends and associates, authors and journalists, and to invite them to become Contributors on a regular basis, and to help him introduce an editorial ‘style’, which will be ‘informed’, amusing, and slightly irreverent, but never malicious or inaccurate. We aim to have a lot of fun.

Christine Jarman – Features Editor

Chrissy Jarman

Christine has a  Fine Arts degree from Southampton University and writes on Fine Art  and Antiques for the Vintage  Magazine She is also a Consultant to ‘Objects of Desire’ a Fine Art brokerage and Art Advisory sevice.

Antony Johnson – Travel Correspondent
Antony JohnsonFROM HERE TO THERE TRAVEL is a travel business set up by Antony Johnson to offer a personalised, accompanied service to small groups of dedicated travellers who want to experience the real thing, either with the person who designed the Itinerary, or on their own.

The relationship between the leader and his charges thus becomes incredibly close, and Antony revels in providing experiences which his clients simply could not find anywhere else, because he has, quite literally, travelled the world, and his preferred areas for his travel groups are South-East Asia, including Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand;  South America, Central America, including Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico,  India,  several Eastern European countries, including Poland, Romania, Georgia, and Ukraine, and Turkey and Sicily.

He also takes groups to Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe in Southern  Africa, and to the Eastern Caribbean.

He has written several excellent articles for the Vintage Magazine, including  ‘Peregrinations in Peru’, ‘Turkey, Istanbul and the East’, and his most recent article is on Patagonia.

George Robinson – Automotive Correspondent

George Robinson

George Robinson has been competing at Go-Karting  since 1968, and was in the British Team in 1974.  He won three French Championships, and had the most podium finishes of any driver up to the year 2000 in the 24-hour ‘Le Mans’ race and was Second on the occasion on his  ‘comeback’ race.

George Robinson has been a freelance journalist since 1983 writing for specialist automotive magazines,and is now the Motoring Correspondent for The Vintage Magazine.

 

Ben Llewelyn – Wine Correspondent

Ben Llewelyn Profile Photo

Ben Llewelyn has worked in the wine trade since 1997 with a stint at Oddbins in Manchester. He quickly built knowledge around a frame of passion but learnt that to get on, you needed to be working for the importers, if not one’s self.

He started working for Enotria Winecellars in London in 1999 and built up a client portfolio that consisted of many of the greats; River Cafe, Fifteen, and Hush, as well as handling the accounts of Carluccio’s and Strada.  This work allowed him the opportunity to work and travel extensively in Italy, working alongside the finest winemakers in Barolo, Friuli and Tuscany, many of whom are counted as friends, and eating in the country’s finest restaurants, thus fuelling his other passion; food. He went on to became the youngest director in the 35 year history of the company.  Having learnt the ropes at Enotria, Ben was integral in establishing a small independent wine wholesaler in London and after two years undertook a significant life change both at work, by starting the MW program, and with the family, by moving to France.  Here he gained more detailed insight into the intricacies of winemaking and vineyard management whilst working with biodynamic and organic producers in the south west of France. Biodynamic viticulture has always held a fascination, although he is wary of the ’emperor’s new clothes’ effect of recent years.

He adores wines made by people who connect with their terroir and is yet to be convinced that great wine can really be made without passion, and is still not weary from the fight to convince people of this and all that is great about hand-crafted wine.

He was brought up in Wales, enjoys fishing and now lives in Hampshire with his lovely family.

Terence Rodrigues – International Arts Editor  

Terence Rodrigues profile

A well-known figure on the arts scene in London, Terence Rodrigues has been working in the art world his entire professional life.  Passionate about art, he is one of those rare characters who has feet in both the academic and commercial art worlds.  With degrees from the universities of Oxford and Paris, he initially taught at Oxford for some years before joining Christie’s, where he worked in the Old Master Paintings Department, as well as serving as editor of Christie’s Review of the Year and director of Christie’s Books.  He was made a Director but left Christie’s and has now set up independently as an International Art Consultant, advising museums and private clients on major art acquisitions and sales, insurance valuations, museum loans and restoration.  He has also lectured for many years both in the UK and abroad on art and architecture and the art market, as well as writing in many national and international publications, from The Arts Newspaper, The Times and The Telegraph to Vogue and Vogue Decoration.  He covers a very wide area of the arts, from Old Masters to contemporary and from painting to sculpture and the decorative arts. he lives in London but travels widely in Europe, USA, the Middle East and Asia.  He often wields his gavel as an auctioneer at both art and charity auctions.

James and Zara Percy with Rocket, their Staffordshire Bull Terrier – Our Californian Correspondents                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             James &James, Zara and Rocket profile the Honourable Zara Percy who spent all their lives living in Britain (mostly in Norfolk and Dorset respectively), decided to move to California some time ago, but the process was far more complex than they at  first imagined. However, they finally left on 11th, January this year, and have found settling in California both a stimulating, and enjoyable experience, made more so by the fact that James’s brother George has lived out there for most of his adult life, and so was on hand to help them at every stage.

They have kindly agreed to send regular dispatches from San Diego, a sort of ‘Letter from California’, in the style of the late Alistair Cook, whose vivacious daughter, Holly’s first husband was Julian Berry, thus making her Holly Berry!  However she then got divorced from Julian, and married Sir Henry Rumbold Bart, so she is now the slightly more sedate, Lady Rumbold.

 

 

ColColonel John Bashford-Snellonel John Blashford-Snell, a Royal Engineer and one of the world’s most seasoned explorers, was educated at Victoria College, Jersey, and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

In recognition of his leadership of the Blue Nile, British Trans-Americas and Zaire River Expeditions, he was awarded the Livingstone Medal, a top award for exploration, as well as gaining the MBE in 1968. He has also been awarded the famous Segrave Trophy for demonstrating, together with his comrades, “How the display of courage, initiative and skill, the spirit of adventure itself, can assist in the development of transport by air, land and water.” He has been on over 60 expeditions.

Encouraged by the Prince of Wales, Colonel John Blashford-Snell and his colleagues organised mammoth expeditions to provide inspiring challenges for young people. In 1978, 400 years after Sir Francis Drake’s famous circumnavigation, a 150 ton British brigantine, Eye of the Wind, set out from Plymouth to carry teams of servicemen, scientists and 400 “young explorers” around the world on a new voyage of discovery. This unique and highly successful venture, named “Operation Drake”, lasted two years.

In 1981, John set up a special Army unit in the Highlands of Scotland, named “The Fort George Volunteers.” It took several thousand young people, many of them from Britain’s inner cities, through a series of tough, exciting exercises, creating in them a greater sense of purpose and responsibility.

John and his team initiated a new enterprise in 1984, to commemorate the founding of English speaking America by Sir Walter Raleigh’s colonists in 1584. This was named “Operation Raleigh” and by 1992 over 7,000 young people from all over the world had been involved in the many adventurous expeditions, conservation projects and community aid tasks in remote regions, “Operation Raleigh” continues successfully to this day. His work on “Operation Raleigh” earned him the OBE.

He has been Chairman of the Scientific Exploration Society and also of the British Chapter of the Explorers Club. Being a natural raconteur, John also broadcasts, lectures and writes.

Colonel John Blashford-Snell is happy to speak in a serious or humorous vein on his experience of leadership, motivation, creative management, communication, inspiration, team-building and problem solving.

Jane McIntyre – Interior Design Editor for The Vintage Magazine

Jane McIntyre profile

Jane has recently opened a Lifestyle atelier on Winchester’s Southgate Street.

Originally a fashion designer, Jane spent many years producing theatre events with her partner and the company they set up together is now a global enterprise.

Throughout this period and in the years when she ran the hotel, she designed the interiors of many houses, some for herself, some for lettings, some for colleagues, always stretching herself to find new solutions.

Requests for commissions quickly followed, so once she had sold the hotel Jane gravitated more toward her lifelong passion for interiors and set up her current company.

Intuitive in her design, Jane has the ability to absorb the personality of the client and place it into a compatible environment, be it workplace or home.

Structural problems, lack of space and difficult briefs are her specialties, along with an inherent sense of colour.  She can work with taupe and white, but much prefers a palette of rich, chalky textures.  She is immensely enjoying being based in Winchester and is looking forward to working with The Vintage Magazine, as we are.

Christopher JacksonThe author of the Blog ‘The View from Lawrence Street’.

ChristopChristopher Jacksonher Jackson graduated from York University with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Politics with International Relations, BA and now works for the Marine and Energy division of Jardine Lloyd Thompson.

James Talbot and Winnie Percy

James and Winnie Talbot