Just slipping this blog post in amongst the posts I am preparing about our recent trip to Washington DC.  Its Mavis, my new (old) fab little 1977 MGB.  And sure, its odd that an Australian is driving a British car while living in America but stranger things have happened….lets not forget Roswell, being able to buy everything you will ever need in Walmart (guns included), frying pretty much everything edible and the election of George W. Bush!

I have had Mavis (yes, I actually named her….its the first time I have named a car) for about two months now.  Anyway, purchasing Mavis had me thinking about my time in the lovely South Australian town of Gawler.  I was so very fortunate, while living there, to have been able to volunteer with FOGL (Friends of Gawler Library) and during my time with this group I not only met some amazing people, but I also had the opportunity to volunteer to read to a group of guys and gals on a Tuesday morning.   One of those in the Tuesday morning reading group was Lincoln.  An aficionado, an appreciator and an avid admirer of fast yellow sports cars.

Mavis needed quite a bit of work once purchased as she had been sitting for almost four years in a yard uncovered.  First stop was a week at the mechanics where she arrived with a box of new parts then once home I gave her a makeover.  Her spa treatment included one whole day of cleaning, washing, polishing and vacuuming.  She had two bottles of Armorall rubbed into her top alone and another entire bottle was used on her interior.  Slowly she looked to be coming back to her former glory……well as close to her former glory as need be as nobody is perfect!

You can see I had a little help from two of my favorites……

My number plate…..

And topless……..

Mavis, not me! This is how she will look with the top down….

Mavis can be a little, lets just say for the want of a better word….temperamental, and she needs to be handled in a particular way when behind the wheel.  She has some little quirks which only she and I seem to appreciate and driving a four speed manual – yes, believe it or not I am driving a stick shift on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road has been great fun.  Steve has a little difficulty in driving her and her size and his size are currently not compatible.  And again, its all about how you drive her and how well you adjust to her little eccentricities.

Hearts were originally set on a Mustang and we are still on the look out for one.  Actually we are looking at one this weekend so I am hoping we don’t appear as capitalists as we ‘collect cars’ while here in the states.  My understanding is that two cars is perfectly reasonable but three or more is possibly on the cusp of hoarding!  Anyway, we still have 18 months left in the states so who knows what we will arrive back in Australia with.

Here in Georgia we seem to have almost missed the mild season of spring and we have launched into another blistering summer.  That said however, there is no reason not to go topless and take a lovely early morning (around 4:30am) Sunday drive down the peach and pecan lined back roads of this beautiful American state.  So with my massive Jackie O sunnies and sun hat on, and as I drive through the flat lands of orchards and just sown cotton fields (dodging the massive rednecks and their massive trucks and the slow moving armadillos), I will fondly think of Lincoln and his passion for fast yellow sports cars xx