A Long December

As The Counting Crows once sang, a long December indeed it is proving to be. Still no Lotus, the Fiat is off the road too, so no classic motoring at all in the run-up to Christmas. All is sad, and the weather's been so nice too, adding insult to our collective injury! At least we got to ride our new...

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With Heavy Heart

It is a sad November post. Tissues at the ready.The Lotus is still not back from the mechanic. I don't know what the hell is going on, but he's clearly having serious bother with the electrics. I'm really not sure what to do now. I can't fetch it while it isn't running without incurring further expense, but I'm starting to lose faith in this man's ability to fix it... Ho hum.And the Rover has a stuck...

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Bon Voyage, Et Bon Chance!

An old school friend of mine, already infamous for his hare-brained schemes, is at it again. Tim Rennie (AKA Binner Benny Boy) and his encourageable wife, Kully, are attempting to travel from Peckham to Pakistan in a Morris Minor. I have already noted they should be using a Fiat 500 to ensure their...

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Good Time Had By All

The Taste Italia event, organised for and by Little Haven Children's Hospice (and not forgetting the Taste Italia team, whose generosity allowed it to happen) was a really lovely day out. Believe it or not, the British government supports hospices for adults but does not support hospices for chidren....

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Taking Advantage

Wow, a whole month without posting. Terribly sorry about that, folks. I've been extremely busy and I won't bore you with the details.Anyway, the main news is I've decided it's time these fuel-guzzling freeloaders of mine started paying their way! That's right, the cars are going to have to earn a living like everybody else (with the notable exception of the cat) - I'm putting them to work.The Top...

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Sexiest Car In The World

That's what James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond (along with the rest of the Top Gear Magazine team) had to say about the Fiat 500 the other week! I quote:"[The Fiat 500] has the allure of the wholesome and uncomplicated."Everyone, from strapping blokes to fainting flowers of womanhood, looks sexually charged behind its wheel."It works irrespective of age, beauty, wealth and position; even...

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With Flying Colours

I took the Fiat down to Wallinhurst Garage in Billericay last weekend for its MOT and I'm pleased to say it sailed through, no problems. There's a bit of corrosion underneath which needs sorting out (no surprise there!) but nothing unsafe, so we're good for another year. Hurrah!The garage was actually recommended to us by a local classic car mechanic called Graham King, who always takes vehicles in...

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Happy Holidays

Apologies for the extended silence. I think I needed a brief blogging break after all the excitement of seeing a ludicrously quiet diesel-powered Audi win Le Mans. If they all go diesel we won't need our ear plugs next year!Unfortunately, the Lotus remains sad and lonely, parked up on a quiet side street...

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Highs And Lows

Well, tomorrow we leave for the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Which will be great fun, I'm sure. However the edge is taken off of the occasion by an unfortunate problem with the Lotus.I was so looking forward to taking that car down across France, but it seems with rotten timing (or perhaps good timing, since it didn't happen in the middle of France!) the fuel pump appears to have given up the ghost.I can't...

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Under The Hammer

I happened across this website yesterday. It's a classic cars auctioneering company. I happened across it because they had mis-identified a Fiat 500F as a 500D (this is such a common mistake, since a lot of people don't seem to know there even is a 500F). An error, I might add, which was genuine and put right on the day before the sale, though it seems from their records it didn't go.Anyway, I digress....

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Not Much Luck

Every time we take the Fiat out at the moment the heavens seem to tear open in to a torrential downpour, leaving me scrambling for a cloth to stem the all-too-familiar water dribble from the corner of the windscreen.It's extremely irritating. The weather keeps doing this "I'm a lovely day... oh no I'm not!" trick... like a cat inviting you to rub his tummy, then clamping his teeth and claws in to...

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Cruise Control??

I discovered something amazing the other day. Something I would never have believed. The Fiat 500 has cruise control, or rather, what is known as a 'hand accelerator'.This little device is in the form of a cable and a lever (so far as I've read - I'm yet to check for it in ours, but I'm assured I will find it). It is rather simple really. You pull the lever and it opens the throttle, simply locking...

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Italian Cars Day

As I mentioned previously, on Saturday 6th May we hopped in our little Fiat 500 and drove over to one of the most notorious bikers hang-outs in the UK - the Ace Café.For the uninitiated, the Ace is where all the Rockers used to meet in the 1950s and 60s, up on the outskirts of London, for wild parties...

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The Runabout Is Dead

Long Live the Runabout! Actually, it's not 'dead', strictly speaking. It's for sale, as I have gone upmarket and bought myself a rather nice Rover 600 as a replacement. Unfortunately, this means I have to endure endless 'flat cap' jokes and various other amusing jibes. From my father, of all people....

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The Golden Age Of Advertising

The cheesy smiles, smart pin-stripe suits, boys in caps and 'short trousers', knee-length dresses, perfect families with super-modern accessories. Hilarious. I found this website with a collection of old Fiat 500 ads from all over Europe. It's well worth having a quick flick through, if you have five...

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May Day Fun

I think it's fair to say Spring has officially Sprung. We have flowers exploding all over the garden, the sun is shining, my grass seed is growing (in spite of the best efforts of the the local pigeon population), I haven't worn my winter coat for a week or two now and haven't needed to. Even the lazy, good-for-nothing cat (who has utterly failed to prevent avian seed theft) has ventured in to the...

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Drive It

Apparently Sunday was "Drive It Day", and to quote Fiat 500 Club board regular, paul1947, "we are being called upon by the great and good to take our cars out and about to raise public awareness of vintage and classic cars".I didn't. On Sunday it was pissing it down with rain, and rain is not a good...

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We Found It!

The garage! We know where it is! Hallelujah! There is a God!I'm going to map the garage sites of Epping (I now know every single bloody one) and post the map to the District Council, suggesting they make multiple copies and hand them to new garage keepers so other people don't end up taking a week to find their newly rented property!Still, it's a nice garage and a quiet spot. And we still have the...

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Filthy Habit

Remember Uncle Buck's car? Every time he started the damned thing it billowed smoke like a factory chimney. The Fiat must've seen the movie too. They are exactly the antics it has decided to mimick to the point where it is really beginning to get embarassing.Picture the scene - it's a busy supermarket...

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Garages - The Full Story

Look. No 'N'. I'm proud of me for breaking that vicious cycle. Now, I know I digress from the topic of motoring slightly with this (and the previous) post, but I simply must tell you how things panned out with the Council(s). And I strongly suspect the local paper would like this too.Now a garage is...

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New Garage

I really must start my next post with some letter other than an 'N' - it's reaching epidemic proportions. Anyway... Something like 6 months ago I requested an application form from the District Council in Epping to put myself on the waiting list for a local Council garage. I received the form, filled...

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