Whimsy on the Motorway  

September, 2009

I do like this collective of nations called Great Britain. Every day there seems to be something or someone that endears the British Isles to me. This offshoot of Europe can also be incredibly frustrating but that seems to be part of the attraction as well. 

There is a certain level of individuality that survives in Britain which in Australia can be muffled or quashed by the often overbearing force of conformity. In Australia there sometimes feels like an undertow or expectation that you have to fit in. 

Whereas here in the UK there are always examples of eccentricity to brighten your day. 

For instance last week whilst driving from Canterbury to West Sussex along the M26 to visit the premium English sparkling wine maker Nyetimber I spotted a red sports car, probably a Morgan, driving on the other side of the road with the top down. 

Nothing incredibly unusual about that as we hurtled in opposite directions but half a second later or maybe a whole second, as I am not getting younger, I realised that the male driver was wearing a tie on tiger cap complete with tiger ears and distinctive stripes and markings. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had whiskers as well, although our high speed encounter did not allow me to discern such detail. 

I dips my lid to such behaviour, which no doubt brought a smile to the faces of hundreds of people sharing the road that day, but also was a very practical solution to the problems of driving in sports cars with the top down. 

PS Keep an eye out for a forthcoming Spectator offer on Nyetimber sparkling wines.