26 David Penhaligon and Holman's R and D
I met David Penhaligon in Holman’s R and D department. David Penhaligon — the Liberal MP with the trademark grin, the motorbike, and the ability to talk to absolutely anyone without a hint of pretension. Holman’s was where the clever tinkerers, the practical inventors, and the quietly brilliant engineers lived. David always had a soft spot for that world — the real Cornish economy, not the postcard version. He worked there before his parliamentary existence and I did a stint in R and D during my apprenticeship Holman’s R&D in those days was a proper crucible: bright young apprentices, old‑hand engineers who could machine a part to a tenth by feel alone, and the odd future parliamentarian quietly absorbing how real industry worked. Penhaligon having been one of the lads there before politics explains so much about why he resonated with people — he’d actually lived the graft, not just toured it. Me doing a stint in R&D during my apprenticeship helped I think with the...