TAKE a trip down the nostalgia road next week to the days when a company in Letchworth GC was known worldwide for its designs. The Ogle Mini, Stirling Moss Cortina, Robin Reliant, the Bond Bug from the 1960s, plus several other well-known cars and other b

TAKE a trip down the nostalgia road next week to the days when a company in Letchworth GC was known worldwide for its designs.

The Ogle Mini, Stirling Moss Cortina, Robin Reliant, the Bond Bug from the 1960s, plus several other well-known cars and other built projects such as the Landspeeder vehicle from the Star Wars film and even the Popemobiles came off drawing boards in the garden city.

Those heady, trendsetting days will be recalled by Tom Karen, former managing director of Ogle Design Ltd, when he gives a talk on the life and times of the designers and car bodywork manufacturer at Howard Hall on Thursday, June 15, starting at 7.30pm.

Organised by the First Garden City Heritage Museum, the illustrated talk is free to the public but entry is by ticket only. Contact the museum on 01462 482710 to book tickets or email fgchm@letchworth.com

It was in 1962 when Mr Karen was invited to manage the company. He stayed on for 40 years, heading up the firm's long list of national and international manufacturing credits.

For instance, over 2,000 of the Bond Bug micro-cars were made and are now a collectors' item and over 80 Ogle Minis were actually built in Letchworth GC - some of them finding homes abroad.

The Heritage Museum will be open until 7.15pm on the day to allow visitors to view its current exhibition, Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Transport in Letchworth Garden City, before the talk.