Paul Carberry: “I leaped onto the rafters. Those days tended to be very conventional, but I altered that”

The scene takes place just after jumping Becher’s for the final time. Carberry is on Bobbyjo, steadily advancing and overtaking others when Norman Williamson, riding General Wolfe, advises him to relax and take his time, as they are a long way from home.

This kind of advice to Carberry seems out of place, akin to telling David Attenborough how to discuss wildlife in the Sahara. It is not often that a priest needs to be told how to recite prayers, but this case is an exception; the ultimate hold-up merchant requires a sermon on the virtue of patience.