Practically Classics Forum

While walking along the street in the French Atlantic coast seaside resort of Royan the other day I heard a vaguely familiar sound. Then, to my great surprise, three Mini Mokes drove past. Don't think I've seen one for more than 20 years.

There was a scrappage scheme in France some years ago - before the British one. Some garages in rural areas still have fields behind them full of motors turned in then, because - as is often the case in France - they never got around to actually scrapping them. There's some interesting pictures in t...

I saw one a bit like that outside an antiques shop in Villefranche-sur-Mer, not far from Monte Carlo, a couple of years ago. It had a price tag of 16,000 euros.
So how much is the stolen one worth, maybe?
And how did the tea-leafs get it away?

Yesterday on local TV here in central/west France they interviewed a bloke who had a mint 2CV. Nothing odd in that, I hear you say. There was. This one had - wait for it - chrome wire wheels. Bloke said they were made in UK at the time when 2CVs were built in Slough. I'm rarely rattled but I never w...

Nice one - and interesting too! I took my XJS V12 convertible to the testing station here in France the other day and the owner was full of the fact that he'd bought a Fregate the previous Sunday. He offered to buy the Jaguar but I told him he'd probably have enough to worry about for now...

If you fancy something a bit different in that line, how about this? It's a converted 1950s Magirus Deutz fire engine with their famous air-cooled V8 diesel, that I spotted parked near where I live in France a couple of years ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64660965@N03/7648946838/

Somebody once said that when the Bentley/Napier started up it was like God clearing his throat

God almighty. I know I've been away a long time but whatever have they done to West Bay?

I said to someone just the other day 'you never see a Renault 12, 14, 16 or a Fuego these days, even in France, do you?' Yesterday I was strolling through a village not 3km from home when I saw a 12 tucked into an open barn and a Fuego dumped in someone's garden. Both looked not too far off roadwort...

I've just worked my way through the events calendar and there's a worrying number of errors. OK, everyone knows Silverstone isn't in Somerset but things like days and dates are important to get right. Here's a tip lads - forget all the tired old lines about tea drinking and the like, just get back i...