Anna Bebbington: Live from the NEC Classic Car Show. Reliant Robin, VW Camper, VW Golf Mk1, Mk2 S5E5

[00:00:00] Welcome to My Dads Car. Enjoy!

[00:00:12] Welcome to My Dads Car, a podcast discussing our personal relationship with automotive nostalgia.

[00:00:18] And you know what? It doesn't even have to be about your dad's car. It can be your mum's, your

[00:00:22] grand's, your parents, guardians or even a neighbour's. If it made an impression, let's talk about it.

[00:00:33] A couple of seats at the front here if you'd like to join us. We're just about to give away the Ferrari.

[00:00:37] The Lamborghini's gone unfortunately, but the Ferrari remains. There's a Picasso as well.

[00:00:44] Okay, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome along to My Dads Car at the NEC Classic Motor Show.

[00:00:50] My name's Andy. And my name's Jon. And today we are joined by... Hi, I'm Anna.

[00:00:56] And for those who are familiar with the podcast, we normally do For the Benefit of the Tape. So,

[00:01:00] For the Benefit of the Tape, I've met Anna through work. I do Volkswagen and Porsche stuff for work.

[00:01:06] Anna is influential in the Mark 1 Golf Owners Club. And we probably met, what, 15 years ago,

[00:01:12] something along those lines. So, we've invited you along. You're here anyway, so it saved us on expenses.

[00:01:18] We'll jump right into it. Do you want to pass Anna a microphone, Jon? And Anna, what is your earliest car memory?

[00:01:26] I think my earliest memory is actually sat in the back of my granddad's Robin Reliant.

[00:01:34] Hey, a three-wheel van.

[00:01:36] Yeah, so I was actually born into a motorcycling family. And when I was born, my granddad thought,

[00:01:43] well, she can't go as like a little one on the back of the bike. So, I need to get something to ferry her

[00:01:48] around. So, because you could get a Robin Reliant on a bike license, then that's what he got.

[00:01:54] Then I was sort of traveling around in that with my nan and granddad a little bit,

[00:01:58] because my mum and dad had got a motorbike. And they then decided to get a mini traveler.

[00:02:03] Okay.

[00:02:03] And they could get the pram in that when I was little. And I remember, my mum says,

[00:02:07] I will always fall asleep, other than when I'm driving, if I'm being driven around. Because

[00:02:13] that's how they used to get me asleep. I was a terrible baby, apparently, screamed a lot. So,

[00:02:18] they used to put me in the pram and drive me around in the mini traveler. So,

[00:02:21] that's what they did originally when I was little. Fantastic. What color was the Reliant? And was it

[00:02:25] a hatch?

[00:02:26] It was orange.

[00:02:27] Hatchback or a van?

[00:02:29] It was a van. It was a van. Yeah, orange van. And then I think my granddad thought,

[00:02:34] well, it's not the safest thing to be traveling around in.

[00:02:37] No, they're made out of like cardboard, aren't they?

[00:02:39] A bit of fiberglass, aren't they?

[00:02:40] So, without my nan knowing, he went and passed his test. He kept disappearing.

[00:02:45] Okay.

[00:02:46] I think my nan thought, you know, he'd got another lady friend and he was disappearing.

[00:02:52] And then he just turned up with a Mark 1 Golf.

[00:02:55] Nice upgrade.

[00:02:56] Yeah. And I think it was probably only a couple of years old.

[00:02:59] And that is some of my proper earliest memories. We used to go to steam rallies

[00:03:03] and stuff like that. So, this is how sort of the first Volkswagen thing happened, I suppose,

[00:03:08] really. And then from that, my mum and dad thought, well, and my granddad was very much

[00:03:14] Volkswagen then. He was like, he'd hit the Volkswagen thing like this car's brilliant.

[00:03:18] Yeah.

[00:03:18] So, convinced my parents to get a camper van.

[00:03:21] Okay.

[00:03:22] So, they bought a T2 bay window and we had that. His name was Phoebe. It was bright orange,

[00:03:30] high top. And we used to go camping together. So, we go, my mum and dad and myself were in the

[00:03:36] T2. And my granddad and my nan were in the Mark 1 Golf with a trailer tent being towed behind at

[00:03:42] the back. And we had so many holidays like that, like, you know, all of us together. And we'd meet

[00:03:48] up. So, we'd perhaps be in like different parts of the UK and then manage to contact each other,

[00:03:53] you know, by telephone box at the time. And we'd then meet up and sort of do that. But I was talking

[00:04:00] to my dad about it because we've actually found the bay window again. So, it's local to us. So,

[00:04:06] it's good.

[00:04:07] Nice. I was going to ask, was there any breakdowns in Phoebe?

[00:04:09] I do remember breakdowns in Phoebe. And it was actually while my mum was driving it.

[00:04:13] Coincidence?

[00:04:14] It was, I don't know what had happened, but my dad had put some sort of timing mechanism on the engine.

[00:04:20] And my mum had got like strict instructions. If this happens, then you need to go up, lift the

[00:04:26] little engine bay in the back and flick this switch. And I remember we were broken down on a

[00:04:30] lane somewhere. And yeah, that was like, she got out, flicked the switch and off we went again.

[00:04:35] Sounds like it was testing her.

[00:04:36] Yeah, I did. Yeah. I don't know what was going on at the time.

[00:04:41] So, the Mark 1 Golf, that was your granddad's?

[00:04:44] Yeah.

[00:04:44] Where did you get it from? Was it a second-hand car?

[00:04:46] Yeah, it was a second-hand car, but it wasn't very old. I don't know where it came from. I think

[00:04:50] it had been someone's maybe company car or something like that. And something had happened and

[00:04:55] they'd had to give it up. But it was like a metallic burgundy five-door.

[00:05:00] Okay.

[00:05:01] It was a lovely car. I remember it. And I've got some great pictures of us sitting

[00:05:04] out with it, with this picnic basket. And I've still got the picnic basket.

[00:05:08] Oh, brilliant.

[00:05:09] So, yeah, stuff like that. And we've continued that on because we now got a 77 five-door.

[00:05:14] Okay.

[00:05:14] So, I've got bits and pieces that my granddad and nan had that we still got in the Mark 1.

[00:05:19] Do you know what it was about the Volkswagen that kind of turned his eye?

[00:05:22] Like...

[00:05:23] I don't know. He was always going on about, you know,

[00:05:25] Vorsprung-Dirk technique and all this sort of stuff to me as a kid. I was like,

[00:05:28] that was like ingrained into me as a kid. I don't know. I think he just,

[00:05:32] he liked the way it felt. And I think he felt it was quite sort of upmarket, I think,

[00:05:36] to have one.

[00:05:37] Yeah, yeah.

[00:05:37] Like, you know...

[00:05:37] Oh, he's got four wheels.

[00:05:38] Yeah, yeah.

[00:05:39] No offence to any reliant owners in the audience.

[00:05:41] Yeah, but I think he thought it was a real upgrade. I think that parked on the street

[00:05:45] in front of the council houses and stuff where they lived.

[00:05:48] Yeah, yeah.

[00:05:48] It was like quite an unusual car space really for them.

[00:05:51] So, did your parents get car licenses as well?

[00:05:54] Yeah. So, my mum learned to drive. My dad passed his test as well. So, they had the mini traveler.

[00:06:00] Okay.

[00:06:00] Then they had the bay window.

[00:06:02] Yeah.

[00:06:02] And then...

[00:06:03] Are they using the bay as the everyday car?

[00:06:04] Yeah. My mum and dad was using that as the everyday. And my dad was using his motorbike

[00:06:08] still to go to work during that time.

[00:06:10] Yeah. And then, yeah, we had the bay for quite a long time. Probably from when I was five

[00:06:15] until I think probably I was like 12 or 13.

[00:06:19] Okay.

[00:06:20] And then dad fancied an upgrade. So, we went out and bought a T25.

[00:06:26] Okay, yeah.

[00:06:27] Just as a panel van.

[00:06:28] Yeah.

[00:06:29] I remember him getting it because the engine was in cardboard boxes in the back.

[00:06:34] It was one of the water cooled ones where the head had fell off.

[00:06:37] Yeah.

[00:06:37] And basically where the head bolts had rusted through.

[00:06:39] So, I remember my dad building that engine because I was a kid that spent every hour

[00:06:45] after school in the garage with my dad.

[00:06:47] Okay.

[00:06:47] Building stuff.

[00:06:48] My dad can make stuff like on the lathe.

[00:06:50] Oh, wow.

[00:06:51] And things like that.

[00:06:52] So, he's really good at making things, fixing things.

[00:06:54] So, I remember him doing that and then starting the conversion on the interior.

[00:06:58] I bought like a conversion kit for it.

[00:07:01] Yeah.

[00:07:01] And we cut all the windows out ourselves with a nibbler on the drive.

[00:07:06] Yeah.

[00:07:06] And for months and months and months afterwards, I remember getting so many punctures in my bicycle

[00:07:12] because of all these little bits of metal everywhere.

[00:07:15] Yeah.

[00:07:15] Yeah.

[00:07:15] And I did like a part conversion and then we went to the Isle of Antieta in it.

[00:07:20] I was going to ask, Anna, what sort of things were going on in the vehicle, like music wise?

[00:07:24] Was there anything sort of masking the engine noise?

[00:07:27] My dad's music was definitely an influence.

[00:07:31] Yeah.

[00:07:31] It was the Eagles.

[00:07:32] Oh, the Eagles.

[00:07:33] Yeah, the Eagles.

[00:07:34] The Eagles, U2, that sort of thing was like the go-to music.

[00:07:38] Nice.

[00:07:38] Yeah.

[00:07:38] Have you got kids of your own?

[00:07:39] No, I haven't.

[00:07:40] Oh, okay.

[00:07:41] No.

[00:07:41] So, like...

[00:07:42] I was going to say, who rules the music in your car now?

[00:07:44] But...

[00:07:45] Me, I think.

[00:07:46] Me and my husband have got definitely different tastes in music.

[00:07:48] I'm really into like baby dance music, stuff like that.

[00:07:51] I love that.

[00:07:52] And in my Cabriolet, I like to listen to music of the 90s, that sort of era in my car.

[00:07:58] So, I've got like a good now, I don't know, 13 or something like that, that I play in it.

[00:08:04] Nice.

[00:08:04] And does like a bit of Yaz, The Only Way Is Up.

[00:08:07] Yeah.

[00:08:07] That was like from 1991, I think, or something like that.

[00:08:10] I think it's good to listen to period correct music in older cars.

[00:08:13] Yeah.

[00:08:14] Yeah.

[00:08:14] I love it.

[00:08:15] I love that sort of stuff.

[00:08:16] Yeah.

[00:08:16] Yeah, definitely.

[00:08:17] What did your parents do?

[00:08:19] My mum was a secretary initially, and my dad worked for the waterboard.

[00:08:24] Okay.

[00:08:24] So, he was out and about all the time, driving around.

[00:08:28] And my dad loves driving.

[00:08:30] Yeah.

[00:08:31] And I think that's probably where I get it from.

[00:08:33] I told him that I was coming to do this with you.

[00:08:35] Okay, yeah.

[00:08:36] And he says, I remember the first time you drove.

[00:08:39] Like, as an absolute memory, he says, I'll try and find a photo.

[00:08:42] The first time you drove or he drove?

[00:08:44] I drove.

[00:08:44] Oh, okay.

[00:08:45] I think I was probably like seven or eight, and they took me go-karting.

[00:08:50] Oh, brilliant.

[00:08:50] Like proper petrol go-karting, and my dad says he couldn't catch me.

[00:08:53] Like, I was absolutely flying.

[00:08:56] In the veins?

[00:08:56] Yeah.

[00:08:57] Yeah.

[00:08:57] It's like that was something to come, I think, of like me love of driving and doing that.

[00:09:02] Do you remember kids at school with interesting cars?

[00:09:05] No, not really.

[00:09:06] I think that was what I know really-

[00:09:07] So, it was just Volkswagen?

[00:09:08] You were just-

[00:09:09] Volkswagen.

[00:09:09] Yeah.

[00:09:10] And I think like by the time I was old enough to drive, my dad was sort of like, what sort

[00:09:15] of car would you like?

[00:09:16] And I was like, I want a golf.

[00:09:17] Yeah.

[00:09:17] That's what I want.

[00:09:18] And I thought, well, by that time, I think my dad had swapped the T25 and he traded it

[00:09:24] in for a 16 valve Mark II Golf GTI.

[00:09:27] Oh, lovely.

[00:09:27] What color?

[00:09:28] It was like a gray, metallic gray.

[00:09:31] Okay.

[00:09:31] I don't know what-

[00:09:31] Atlas maybe.

[00:09:32] Yeah.

[00:09:33] Yeah.

[00:09:33] Yeah.

[00:09:33] Yeah.

[00:09:33] And it was beautiful.

[00:09:34] I loved it so much.

[00:09:36] Where was he getting all these cars from?

[00:09:37] Was it new from the dealer or-

[00:09:39] Yeah.

[00:09:39] It was like a Volkswagen dealers in Stoke called Jervis.

[00:09:44] Jervis.

[00:09:45] Jervis.

[00:09:47] Jervis.

[00:09:48] It was like a little backstreet Volkswagen specialist.

[00:09:50] So they took the T25 in Part X.

[00:09:54] Nice.

[00:09:54] I remember it really well because I've worked in Stoke at the time and I remember seeing

[00:09:58] the T25 in their showroom and my dad like taking the golf when we went to get it.

[00:10:03] That's a bit of a change, isn't it?

[00:10:04] From T25 to a golf.

[00:10:06] Yeah, I think-

[00:10:07] So is that the end of holidays?

[00:10:08] No, definitely not the end of holidays, but it's definitely the end of my dad's camping

[00:10:11] era.

[00:10:12] Yeah.

[00:10:13] Yeah.

[00:10:13] I think he'd had enough of sleeping in a camper van.

[00:10:16] It was-

[00:10:17] Condensation on the windows in the morning.

[00:10:19] Yeah, yeah.

[00:10:19] Well, because of like-

[00:10:20] Cold toes.

[00:10:20] This is really something to remember is as a kid, we had, you know, like the hammock in

[00:10:25] the front of the camper, like across the front seats.

[00:10:28] Okay, yeah.

[00:10:28] Well, even I got to the point where I was too long to fit in that.

[00:10:32] Why in the window, Dad?

[00:10:32] Yeah, yeah.

[00:10:33] It was at that point.

[00:10:34] It was at that point where you're like, no, she doesn't fit anymore.

[00:10:37] So my mum and dad were relegated to the awning and I was sleeping in the camper.

[00:10:42] Okay.

[00:10:42] You got the better end of the deal.

[00:10:43] Definitely got the better end of the deal. And my mum and dad were like, we can't do

[00:10:47] this anymore. That was the point where they sold it. And then we used to go a bit more

[00:10:51] sort of do like B&B type holidays.

[00:10:54] With like the golf pack type with all the stuff in. But yeah, I remember him getting the Mark

[00:10:58] 2 and I thought, oh, it's really nice. I thought, well, you know, at 17, 18, I'm

[00:11:02] not going to be able to afford like to insure something like that. But we found a 1.3

[00:11:06] black A-Reg Mark II. Oh, lovely. Yeah.

[00:11:10] Yeah. So my mum and dad bought it for me. I remember it's a thousand pounds. And at the

[00:11:14] time, me and Elv were together. Yeah.

[00:11:16] We got together when we were 17 and we went to look at it, didn't we, Elv, and saw that.

[00:11:21] So yeah, it was awesome.

[00:11:22] Yeah.

[00:11:23] Three door or five door on the 16 valve?

[00:11:26] Small or big bumper?

[00:11:27] The 16 valve...

[00:11:31] Five door.

[00:11:32] Yeah.

[00:11:32] Big bumper.

[00:11:33] Yeah.

[00:11:34] It was lovely. I just remember thinking, I love that.

[00:11:37] That's really nice.

[00:11:37] They've aged brilliantly.

[00:11:38] Yeah. Yeah. And I thought, so I had my Mark II for a little while. And then I definitely

[00:11:44] got like car envy of my dad's car. I was like, I want to get a GTI. So I kept mine for a couple

[00:11:49] of years. And I said to my dad, I'm going to buy a GTI. I'm going to get one. And my dad's

[00:11:53] like, you'll never afford to insure that. And then, you know, that's like a challenge

[00:11:57] to me. And I told my granddad, granddad's like, I'll help you. I'll help you finance it a little

[00:12:05] bit if you need me. Yeah.

[00:12:07] And because my granddad was like, oh yeah, yeah, let's get you a golf, like a good golf.

[00:12:11] And that was always the thing. Whatever car I got, I always went to show my granddad. The

[00:12:14] first person who I went to show what car I got was him. And it had to have the full inspection,

[00:12:20] you know, park it outside the house and he'd like give it the once over and have a look.

[00:12:24] And he'd go, oh yeah, they're my lois. They might, you know,

[00:12:27] got to look after them and steer them a bit.

[00:12:29] And he was mechanically minded as well?

[00:12:31] Yeah, he was, yeah. Yeah, he'd been a biker and then done his own mechanics on his car as well.

[00:12:36] Are your folks still around down there?

[00:12:38] Yeah, they are.

[00:12:38] Are they still involved on the road?

[00:12:40] Oh yeah. Yeah, my dad's still got his motorbike that he bought new in 1969.

[00:12:45] Wow. He still uses it?

[00:12:47] Still uses it, still riding. My dad's 77.

[00:12:50] What is it?

[00:12:50] It's a Triton.

[00:12:52] Okay.

[00:12:53] Yeah. So he's got a Triton and he's got a Dresda.

[00:12:56] Oh, Triton.

[00:12:57] Triton.

[00:12:58] Oh, my dad had one.

[00:12:59] Yeah.

[00:13:00] And my dad had, sorry.

[00:13:01] Yeah.

[00:13:01] My dad had a motorbike accident at age 17 or 18.

[00:13:04] Yeah.

[00:13:04] Very nearly died. Smashed all his leg up on one side.

[00:13:07] Smashed his hand up.

[00:13:08] He was in hospital for about nine months.

[00:13:09] Wow.

[00:13:10] And he had to learn to write again with his other hand.

[00:13:13] And yeah, he had a Triton.

[00:13:14] That's why he was knocked off on.

[00:13:15] Oh wow.

[00:13:15] So I got a bit of a soft spot for Tritons.

[00:13:17] Yeah.

[00:13:18] Amazing.

[00:13:18] Yeah.

[00:13:19] So he's still got that.

[00:13:20] Absolutely loves going out and that with his friends.

[00:13:22] And yeah, and he's got the Dresda that is rebuilt quite recently.

[00:13:26] He bought it as sort of like an unfinished project.

[00:13:28] Amazing.

[00:13:28] And so recently he showed that at the classic bike show at Stafford.

[00:13:33] Okay.

[00:13:33] And I helped him prepare it to show it.

[00:13:36] Great.

[00:13:36] Yeah.

[00:13:37] Just going to sort of bring the tone down a little bit possibly.

[00:13:39] Any interesting smells from these old cars?

[00:13:42] Oh, I don't know really.

[00:13:43] Especially the campers.

[00:13:45] Surely there must have been something floating around in.

[00:13:47] I don't know.

[00:13:47] Not so much.

[00:13:48] I think golfs in general have got like, especially the older golfs, they've got a smell.

[00:13:53] And we were saying this like on our stand this weekend, you stick your head in that and

[00:13:57] it's just got this, I think it's the fabric.

[00:14:00] Yeah.

[00:14:00] It's got like that sort of, some of it almost smoky smells partly.

[00:14:05] I used to have a few old BMWs and apparently the lining in between the doors and the,

[00:14:10] you know, that's made of something that makes those smell.

[00:14:13] Oh, like a plasticky type smell.

[00:14:14] So maybe it's something to do with that.

[00:14:15] It's definitely like that sort of degrading carpet.

[00:14:18] We've also had a guest of me, Andy, who had a, was it a Mark II golf his dad had that

[00:14:23] smelt of bananas?

[00:14:24] Yeah, that was Tim.

[00:14:25] His dad used to put a banana in the glove box every day for work.

[00:14:28] So, and then obviously over the years that just sort of, not the same banana festered,

[00:14:32] but yeah, just the essence of banana in his glove box.

[00:14:35] Just meant his car smelt of bananas.

[00:14:36] Essence of banana, I love that.

[00:14:37] Yeah, brilliant.

[00:14:38] Fantastic.

[00:14:39] Any questions from the audience about Anna's parents' cars?

[00:14:43] Yeah, we got one from Sam here who was season two, three, something like that.

[00:14:47] Is there anything about your parents' car that's put you off or has influenced your decisions

[00:14:51] about what you buy now in a negative way?

[00:14:55] Good question.

[00:14:56] Yeah, that is a good question.

[00:14:58] I think sort of, yeah, the cars that they have sort of these days, my dad had like a Zephyr

[00:15:04] for a little while and stuff like that.

[00:15:06] And it's like, it's really...

[00:15:06] Can't get too excited about that.

[00:15:07] No, not excited about that at all.

[00:15:09] And he currently drives like a Ford Kuga.

[00:15:11] Great for tip runs though, Zephyr.

[00:15:13] Yeah, yeah, it is that car.

[00:15:14] Very good for tip runs.

[00:15:15] Good for carting logs around, that was apparently.

[00:15:17] It's effectively a van, you get those seats down.

[00:15:19] Yeah, yeah.

[00:15:20] Yeah, and I think everything they had, they could fix themselves.

[00:15:24] So even if something did break, it was that thing where, well, we can fix it.

[00:15:30] Like many a time has my dad been on the drive underneath my car fixing something on it,

[00:15:36] whatever it was with like when I first got my Mark 1, my dad did all the brakes and stuff

[00:15:40] on it for me and things like that.

[00:15:42] And, you know, it was something that you could do yourself.

[00:15:45] I went through a phase of after I bought myself the GTI and then after a little while,

[00:15:51] I went a bit French for a while.

[00:15:53] Well, it wasn't a good time.

[00:15:54] Get ready with that pound, John, just in case.

[00:15:58] I had a couple.

[00:15:59] I had a 306 D Turbo S and I had a Citroen CT GT.

[00:16:09] Hit the crossbar there, everyone.

[00:16:11] Hit the crossbar.

[00:16:12] And it was actually that car that made me come back to Volkswagen.

[00:16:19] Oh dear, oh yeah.

[00:16:20] It was falling apart, like, you know, a few miles on it.

[00:16:23] And I was like, I can't, I can't believe it's only three years old and it's going rusty.

[00:16:27] So I sold the C2 and bought a Mark 1.

[00:16:30] What came after the Golf GTI?

[00:16:32] So obviously your dad did a trade-in on the Type 25.

[00:16:35] Yeah.

[00:16:35] Did he trade the Golf as well?

[00:16:37] Yeah.

[00:16:37] So after my dad had the 16 valve, he then went and bought a 16 valve Mark 3.

[00:16:44] Okay.

[00:16:44] Yeah.

[00:16:45] What colour?

[00:16:45] Black.

[00:16:46] Ooh.

[00:16:46] It was lovely.

[00:16:47] Five door again.

[00:16:48] Ooh.

[00:16:49] Can I remember?

[00:16:50] I don't know.

[00:16:50] Oh yeah.

[00:16:51] The VR6 was in between.

[00:16:52] Oh, very nice.

[00:16:53] Yeah.

[00:16:53] So we had an incident with the VR6.

[00:16:56] Yeah.

[00:16:57] Yeah.

[00:16:57] He ran over someone's exhaust.

[00:16:59] That's a strange way to buy a VR6.

[00:17:01] Yeah.

[00:17:02] So he, in the VR6, he ran over someone's exhaust in the middle of the road.

[00:17:08] Goodness.

[00:17:08] And it kinked the car in half, virtually.

[00:17:11] It went like that.

[00:17:12] Wow.

[00:17:13] It went up and over the exhaust and bent the roof on the VR6.

[00:17:17] Ooh.

[00:17:17] That's not good, is it?

[00:17:18] No.

[00:17:19] I wouldn't recommend that.

[00:17:19] No.

[00:17:20] Must have been fuming.

[00:17:23] Yeah.

[00:17:23] It was proper.

[00:17:26] It was proper.

[00:17:27] It was really.

[00:17:28] Yeah.

[00:17:28] My dad was absolutely devastated.

[00:17:31] Yeah.

[00:17:32] It was Indian Red.

[00:17:33] Yeah.

[00:17:34] VR6.

[00:17:35] So he didn't actually have it for very long.

[00:17:37] And then he bought the Mark 3, 16 mile after that.

[00:17:39] Was that a three door?

[00:17:40] Five door.

[00:17:41] Three door.

[00:17:41] Yeah.

[00:17:42] Can you imagine that phone call to the insurance company?

[00:17:44] Yeah.

[00:17:44] Like they've ever had that before.

[00:17:45] You hit what?

[00:17:46] Yeah.

[00:17:47] Hit someone's exhaust that fell off.

[00:17:49] And yeah.

[00:17:49] And it bent.

[00:17:49] It broke the windscreen and kinked the roof.

[00:17:52] And it's.

[00:17:52] It sounds like this could have been a clown car.

[00:17:55] Yeah.

[00:17:55] Yeah.

[00:17:56] The strut top.

[00:17:57] Yeah.

[00:17:57] It had bent it up by about inch, inch and a half.

[00:17:59] Wow.

[00:18:00] Yeah.

[00:18:00] So it was proper broken.

[00:18:03] Does sound like a clown car.

[00:18:04] Just exchange the details.

[00:18:05] Mr. Tumble.

[00:18:06] Yeah.

[00:18:06] Tumble.

[00:18:07] Yeah.

[00:18:08] Hello.

[00:18:09] Hello.

[00:18:11] Yeah.

[00:18:12] So yeah.

[00:18:13] And I think the Mark 3 was the last Volkswagen.

[00:18:16] Okay.

[00:18:17] That he had.

[00:18:18] And then.

[00:18:19] Yeah.

[00:18:19] I think he went a bit to French after that a little bit.

[00:18:22] Yeah.

[00:18:22] Fair enough.

[00:18:23] The whole Volkswagen thing is sort of like definitely from my granddad and my dad.

[00:18:27] Do you remember what your neighbours drove?

[00:18:29] I know there was like Cavalier across the road.

[00:18:32] Yeah.

[00:18:32] Yeah.

[00:18:33] Vauxhall Cavalier.

[00:18:34] A lot of Ford Fiestas.

[00:18:36] Yeah.

[00:18:36] My mum had a little Fiesta for a little while.

[00:18:38] Okay.

[00:18:39] That's what she had to take me to school in for a bit.

[00:18:42] A little red one.

[00:18:43] And then my dad got her a Mark 2 Golf as well.

[00:18:46] Okay.

[00:18:47] So we had on the drive at one time we had three Mark 2s.

[00:18:52] Yes.

[00:18:52] We have got a problem.

[00:18:54] I just remember coming home and like.

[00:18:56] Oh yes.

[00:18:57] And then we used to have to play like Jenga on the drive.

[00:19:00] I'm like who needs to go out first in the morning.

[00:19:02] That either says they're great cars or they keep breaking down and I have one for spares.

[00:19:07] Yeah.

[00:19:07] Spares.

[00:19:08] It was.

[00:19:08] The one that my mum had wasn't brilliant because whenever it rained it broke.

[00:19:12] Something was going on and it didn't like the rains and my mum was like oh I can't be

[00:19:16] dealing with this.

[00:19:16] So we did swap that out.

[00:19:18] I don't know if Andy asked this.

[00:19:19] I might have missed it.

[00:19:20] But is there anything that sort of swayed your granddad and your dad to get into German

[00:19:24] cars?

[00:19:24] I don't think so.

[00:19:24] Because obviously it's always a bit of a controversial thing back in the day to sort of.

[00:19:28] Yeah.

[00:19:28] Absolutely.

[00:19:28] Yeah.

[00:19:29] And I think it was just a chance purchase.

[00:19:31] I don't know whether my granddad had found out from someone at work because my granddad was

[00:19:35] a builder and I think he just heard about it locally that someone needed to get rid of

[00:19:39] it I think.

[00:19:40] Sounds a bit like pub chat doesn't it?

[00:19:42] I think so.

[00:19:43] Yeah.

[00:19:43] I need to get rid of this.

[00:19:45] Yeah.

[00:19:45] And just turned up with it.

[00:19:47] But yeah.

[00:19:47] It's turned out into like a whole sort of lifelong thing for me.

[00:19:50] He won it on a game of pool.

[00:19:54] He could have lost his house but he came back with a golf.

[00:19:56] Yeah.

[00:19:57] That's it.

[00:19:58] Yeah.

[00:19:58] That's it.

[00:19:58] Yeah.

[00:19:59] Double this black.

[00:20:00] Yeah.

[00:20:01] You've got a Mark 2 8 valve.

[00:20:04] That's it.

[00:20:04] Yeah.

[00:20:05] So Cavalier over the road.

[00:20:06] Yeah.

[00:20:06] I see a Cavalier.

[00:20:07] Mark 3 Cavalier goes past my house every day.

[00:20:10] Grey ones.

[00:20:11] Yeah.

[00:20:11] Great to still see them on the road.

[00:20:12] Yeah.

[00:20:13] Yeah.

[00:20:13] I remember that and friends at the time like when I was driving my lap.

[00:20:17] That was the era of like the hot hatch.

[00:20:20] Yeah.

[00:20:20] And like my friends like when I got my Mark 2 they got like little Nova SRIs.

[00:20:28] We had Series 1 RS Turbo Escort.

[00:20:30] Yeah.

[00:20:31] But they're all cars that were like affordable of like you know something that was like four

[00:20:35] or five grand you know like that's what they were.

[00:20:38] Yeah.

[00:20:39] That sort of that sort of time and we see that now and the cars that like we did have then.

[00:20:44] My mum and dad bought the camper van because it was cheap.

[00:20:47] Yeah.

[00:20:48] You know and now like the value of stuff like that you see that and you think crikey we should

[00:20:52] have bought a few of them and save them.

[00:20:55] Yeah.

[00:20:55] And done that and over the years yeah you look back and you think wow we had one of them

[00:21:00] and like the Mark 2s the Mark 3s that are coming up all of those cars are now like they

[00:21:04] are the modern modern classics aren't they.

[00:21:06] Were there any particular journeys in the camper van that's kind of sticking your memory

[00:21:10] kind of any particular long trips or any games you used to play in the car.

[00:21:14] Are you an only child or have you got siblings?

[00:21:16] Yeah I'm an only child.

[00:21:17] So I think that's why like me and my dad in the garage and stuff like that is very much

[00:21:21] like a thing that we just did and yeah we had some cracking journeys.

[00:21:26] We used to go all around the country at weekends going motorbike racing.

[00:21:29] My dad was mechanic in for one of the riders who would have drive in 125s.

[00:21:34] So we used to go all over the place and I remember going to Skegness.

[00:21:38] Bartlands.

[00:21:39] Yeah up there which we did go to Bartlands but we'd be camping in the paddock like with

[00:21:44] the riders and stuff and then we'd go out and we'd go and get fish and chips and my dad

[00:21:47] because I used to get travel sick as a kid in the back of the camper so my dad built me

[00:21:52] like this little wooden seat in the front of the van in between the two seats with like

[00:21:57] a four point harness and I remember it had like some like really weird.

[00:22:02] And a bowl.

[00:22:02] Yeah yeah yeah.

[00:22:04] They used to buy me Joyrider tablets to take that's what they were called.

[00:22:09] Joyrider tablets.

[00:22:10] They work.

[00:22:11] I don't think so.

[00:22:12] They used to just like blame it on like the strawberry yogurt they'd fed me.

[00:22:15] Used to be those little wristbands as well you used to put on didn't they?

[00:22:18] Yeah yeah all them like little things yeah the little strips off the back.

[00:22:21] It didn't work.

[00:22:22] You tried all that.

[00:22:22] Yeah I tried all that but I remember sitting in the front and going to the seaside after

[00:22:26] we'd been racing and my mum and dad like we'd always have like fish and chips

[00:22:30] and things like that in the van I think that's probably what the van smelled of.

[00:22:33] Fish and chips.

[00:22:33] I was going to say if you've ever had fish and chips in your car that is the most lingering

[00:22:36] smell.

[00:22:37] Yeah.

[00:22:37] Of them all.

[00:22:38] Apart from maybe fox poo which I would never recommend.

[00:22:42] Yeah yeah.

[00:22:43] Or gearbox oil.

[00:22:44] Yeah.

[00:22:46] One moment.

[00:22:48] I've got a classic and it was in essentially a barn for ages and when I started up the first

[00:22:52] time about three years we had the smell of a dead rat and I think that's probably the

[00:22:57] worst.

[00:22:57] Yeah.

[00:22:58] You might win.

[00:22:59] Yeah.

[00:23:00] Yeah I remember like going out getting fish and chips and my mum coming out of the fish

[00:23:04] and chip shop and these portions of chips were so long she'd bought us like a fish each

[00:23:07] and they were massive and they were like overlapping them on our knees.

[00:23:11] Back when cod were cod.

[00:23:12] Yeah when cod was cod.

[00:23:15] It's not cod anymore is it let's be honest.

[00:23:17] Yeah yeah.

[00:23:18] Stuff like that.

[00:23:18] That's not a fish.

[00:23:19] This is a fish.

[00:23:22] Yeah it's just the memories of like terrible weather.

[00:23:25] I remember going out in like all weathers in the van like snowdrift.

[00:23:28] You know when snow was snow.

[00:23:30] Yeah yeah.

[00:23:30] Like snowdrift.

[00:23:31] Back when weather was real weather.

[00:23:32] When the weather was real weather and going out like my dad was using the van then for

[00:23:37] work sometimes to go out and he's like well you're going to have to come with me.

[00:23:40] Can't leave you at home.

[00:23:42] So we'd be going out and the snow would be so high.

[00:23:45] Yeah yeah.

[00:23:45] We just we don't get that now do we?

[00:23:47] No.

[00:23:47] No we don't.

[00:23:48] Like pretty crazy weather.

[00:23:49] We can't really cope with it can we now either.

[00:23:51] We're a bit scared of a little bit of sleet.

[00:23:53] Yeah a bit of sleet and people start don't they.

[00:23:55] Yeah.

[00:23:56] I remember going and taking I took my mark one as well to have some repairs done and it

[00:24:01] was nearly Eakin Staffordshire like a little place in the middle of nowhere and I set

[00:24:06] off from home and the weather forecast had given a bit of snow I thought oh it'd be all

[00:24:10] right.

[00:24:10] Anyway I set off and by the time I got there it was like this and I was driving the mark

[00:24:16] one through this through this snow.

[00:24:18] About two and a half foot deep.

[00:24:20] Yeah and they were like how on earth have you got here and I was like I just kept going.

[00:24:25] I was like the big bumpers like on my mark one it's like a snow plough and I just got

[00:24:31] it but the problem was I couldn't get back so they had to take me in their four wheel

[00:24:35] drive back down to the main road to get rescued.

[00:24:38] Fantastic.

[00:24:39] I think that's a great place to wrap it up.

[00:24:41] What do you think John any other questions?

[00:24:42] Just to sorry to keep harping on about smells any smoking in the car at all?

[00:24:46] Oh my mum.

[00:24:47] Oh good.

[00:24:48] Yeah my mum smoked.

[00:24:49] My dad didn't.

[00:24:50] So it's like yeah it's quite contentious in the camper.

[00:24:53] So my dad would play absolute hell if my mum had been smoking especially in the golf.

[00:24:58] Yeah.

[00:24:59] Like that but yeah.

[00:25:00] It's quite unusual isn't it to get only half the team smoking and not.

[00:25:04] Yeah only my mum.

[00:25:06] What brand on behalf of John just for his survey?

[00:25:08] Oh definitely Super Kings.

[00:25:10] Oh I was going to guess that.

[00:25:11] It was that or Silk Cut.

[00:25:12] Black Super King.

[00:25:13] Yeah.

[00:25:14] Black Super Kings.

[00:25:15] Yeah.

[00:25:15] That was the go-to.

[00:25:17] You know when I was old enough my mum would send me to the shop and I'd be going

[00:25:20] I need to buy some cigarettes and I used to get really embarrassed.

[00:25:24] Underage.

[00:25:25] Yeah.

[00:25:25] Yeah.

[00:25:27] Yeah really funny.

[00:25:28] Wonderful.

[00:25:29] Thank you very much for joining us Anna.

[00:25:30] Brilliant.

[00:25:31] Thanks so much.

[00:25:31] It's been a real pleasure and thank you very much to all you guys out there.

[00:25:35] Brilliant.

[00:25:36] Thank you.

[00:25:36] So yeah that was Anna's episode that we recorded at the NEC on Saturday.

[00:25:42] Yeah excellent.

[00:25:42] Our first live guest.

[00:25:44] Which yeah I felt went pretty well.

[00:25:46] There were some good stories in there wasn't there?

[00:25:47] It started with a Reliant.

[00:25:50] I've got a little bit of a history with three-wheel vans.

[00:25:52] So that was quite nice and yeah then we're into Volkswagens.

[00:25:56] Yeah.

[00:25:57] Which is now sort of ingrained into her blood isn't it it seems?

[00:26:01] Yeah pretty much so yeah.

[00:26:03] Obviously yeah her parents had camper vans didn't they I think and then yeah her grandad

[00:26:07] bought the Mark 1 Golf and sort of spiralled from there.

[00:26:10] As it often does.

[00:26:12] Yeah absolutely.

[00:26:13] Some nice stories in there and yeah thanks again to Anna from the Mark 1 Golf Owners Club

[00:26:18] for taking a little bit of time to have a chat with us with the added pressure of a live

[00:26:22] studio audience.

[00:26:23] Maybe it was quite a pleasant break for her on a busy weekend on her stand there in fairness.

[00:26:29] Just to have a little sit down is always nice isn't it?

[00:26:31] Yeah we did get a little bit of audience interaction on that one.

[00:26:34] I think we've included a couple of questions in there.

[00:26:36] There was a few sort of longer discussions we had at the end of that recording which we'll

[00:26:41] put out as just a bonus which I think would distract a little bit from Anna's story and

[00:26:46] obviously we recorded it as her story.

[00:26:48] So yeah we will put those out.

[00:26:50] So thanks to the guys who did offer those those little snippets up to us.

[00:26:53] Yeah.

[00:26:54] If you've not caught the episode from the NEC where we were wandering around that's out

[00:26:59] at the moment and yeah it's gone down pretty well I think.

[00:27:02] Yeah.

[00:27:03] So thank you to 350 Munro who bought us some coffees the other day.

[00:27:08] Very kind.

[00:27:09] Very kind of him.

[00:27:10] Yeah.

[00:27:10] Keep us warm over Christmas won't they Andy those ones?

[00:27:13] So yeah thank you very much.

[00:27:14] That's most appreciated and thank you very much John.

[00:27:18] Thank you.

[00:27:18] Let's yeah wrap this up.

[00:27:20] Roll the credits.

[00:27:22] Thank you for listening to My Love's Cart.

[00:27:26] I hope you enjoyed the show.

[00:27:29] Please support us.

[00:27:30] Bye to coffee and subscribe.

[00:27:36] And tell all your friends.