I have been effectively been of ‘no fixed abode’ for about one year. Much of the past year has been spent staying with mates. Some of these stays have been for a periods a bit longer than expected. I may post about that later.
It has occurred to me that my hosts have had number of things in common. I will just comment on one of these things now. They all have an interest in cars and other motor vehicles.
When I arrived in London last May I stayed with a mate I have known since primary school. At the time his wife worked for a government organisation in Europe and was able to buy cars tax free. I suspect this encouraged her to buy very good cars frequently. Her latest purchase was BMW 5 M – the high performance version of the 5 series model. That car goes seriously fast.
Others hosts in Bath had a snappy little A4 Audi sports car and a BMW Estate Car (station wagon). The BMW was again, an M series mode and very fast.
When I returned to Sydney I stayed with my Balmain host. Sometime ago he become the owner of a Mercedes sports car. I was not his choice, he soon become to love it. I am not sure it is an appropriate car for a person of his age.
Later in the year I stayed with on old mate in Canberra. This bloke has a serious vehicle habit-two Range Rovers (albeit one is with his son), a Landrover Discovery and Rover sedan (not on the road at the moment). Add to this; a BMW Sports Tour and Laverda motorbike, and an all-terrain campervan.
When in Canberra, I met up with two other old mates with motor vehicle interests. One has a Audi A7 sports saloon. He also has a large Mercedes Van that has been converted to a camperan with all the mod-cons – shower, TV, satellite communications etc. Another old mate has go a serious MV addiction – 8 old Holdens that he is restoring to their former glory (were Holdens ever glorious?).
My return to England sees me staying with a mate in Royal Tunbridge Wells. While I have been staying here, he has taken delivery of a Volvo convertible. Its transformation from a saloon to an open top has to be seen to be believed. The mechanism has more moving parts than Swiss Watch. My host is very pleased with his “fu**king beautiful car – she is a beautiful Swedish girl”.
I have my bike and a ‘Go Get’ car share card. I quiet like cars. At this time my interest and he satisfied vicariously through my hosts and others.
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