Arriving in style
On my erstwhile Sussex shoot we used to reminisce fondly about the day Igor came to visit. This was a 100-bird, 10-gun day, so hardly ‘high bird’ – although we did get some very high birds off the South Downs – and the eclectic line-up of shoot vehicles reflected the happy-go-lucky nature of the guns. One day someone invited along Mr Commercial Property. He arrived in a gleaming Range Rover driven by Igor, polite and probably ex-somewhere in the Balkans special forces. Amusement that Igor carried his master’s gun and stood ready to load turned to joy and secret envy when, first drive over, up went the tailgate to reveal a fine wooden cabinet bedecked with bottles and glasses. He then proceeded to construct cocktails. Ditto after drive 2, but a different cocktail. We could have mixed our drinks all day had we wanted. And all out of the back of a pimped-up Rangey. We were starstruck. Mr Commercial Property may have been invited back but, if he
