Of all the unlikely subjects to weave into a sentence, grouping ‘Italian renaissance city, Northumbrian village and MX racer’ are probably three of the most unusual – but they only need one more word to connect them. If it sounds like one of those infuriating word games so beloved of the Sunday supplements, which some people seem to do so easily yet exasperate me, think again; the connecting word, name really, is Ancillotti.
How does the connection work? Well, Ancillotti made MX motorcycles using a variety of engines in well-designed rolling chassis of its own. The company was based in Florence, an Italian renaissance city, and the final link in the chain is the UK importer was based in a Northumbrian village. Just how did a Northumbrian village become the…