New beginnings

摘要

Since I'm writing my first Logbook for MiniWorld, that can only mean one thing: I am finally a Mini owner, which is absolutely true but I'm far from new to the joys of Minis. If that sounds like a contradiction, it's because I've done a lot of what I'd call 'ownership by proxy'. As I was growing up my dad had a string of classic cars on the go and he was a serial Mini owner from his student days onwards. Of the Minis I can remember, there was an orange Mini 1000, a Riley Elf, an 80s Pickup, a 1989 Rose LE (which was my sister's first car, Mini madness really does run in the family) and a 1960 Austin Seven. Which, as you have probably noticed, is the Mini I'm now reporting on. It's been in the family for 15 years and it quickly picked up a name: Winnie the Mini, on account of its unusual number plate with a single suffix letter. I'd already racked up several hundred miles in Winnie before I took it over; one memorable trip being from Portsmouth to Gaydon and back in a day in 2009 for the Mini 50th celebrations at the Heritage Motor Centre. I've also driven a wide range of Minis as part of my day job writing tor Mini World's sister title, Classic Car Buyer. And I enjoyed every moment of it. Dare I say it, I owned an Austin Metro for a couple of years too!