A LEARNING CURVE

I have been mad about cars for as long as I can remember. My dad was a good all-round DIYer who did what maintenance he could on his cars, but Uncle Dennis was the family mechanic – he could fix anything. He had a bit of an issue with tightening bolts though, so while he could fix any fault, the vehicle would still break down when a vital component fell off shortly afterwards.

I remember too a chap called Mr Collet, who lived nearby. I passed his house on my way to school. He had a Citroën DS and had created a parking space to the side of his house, but it did not have a dropped kerb to the road. I used to time my walk to school so I could see him drive off. I would watch as he eased this beautiful car off the pavement and onto the road, and I would marvel at the smoothness of the operation. Dad always had Vauxhall Victors and they would have come off that kerb in a shower of rust thanks to the Galloping Lightness. Though I didn’t know Mr Collet, I was later to work with his son Alan, and currently work with his grandson Connor – it’s a small world!

I was about nine years old at the time and my interest in things! I can still feel the disappointment, because I was expecting a workshop manual or something. He clearly had no idea what I was about.