Sunday, June 16, 2013

Falling In Love Again





Some people are car people and some aren't.  I come into the second category; if you ask me what sort of car somebody has I am likely to be able to tell you the colour, but that's about the limit of my knowledge usually.  Cars are for getting you from one place to another and if they can do that without breaking down then that's about all you can ask.  A few years ago though I saw a photo of a car and it was a coup de foudre experience for me.  The car seemed familiar but wasn't quite like any car I had ever owned or seen.  It had a definite retro look about it but wasn't a genuinely old vintage.  It wasn't deco but it wasn't modern looking either.  I filed away this image in my already overburdened memory banks and vaguely thought that if I could choose myself a car (without being wildly extravagant, always being realistic and adhering to Shoestring Cottage principles of course), it would be that one.  Now I finally possess my dream car and I am falling in love with her.  She is a Figaro, a concept car released by Nissan in 1989 under the slogan "Back To The Future" when they were making a few "niche" models.  They came in four different shades and my little beauty is one of the grey ones (or lapis as the shade is called).  The four colours represent the four different seasons with grey being winter.  (Now that I have covered colour I can't think of anything much more to say about her.)

I suspected Mr Shoestring was slightly dubious to begin with but he has warmed over time and once he took her for a spin he was quite happy.  (Also I told him that Eric Clapton and some footballer who played for Mr Shoestring's favourite football team, Arsenal, had owned Figaros.  Which was true, I wouldn't fib to him about cars because he would find me out in the end.)  We can't think of a suitable name for our new baby but hopefully something will come to mind eventually.  I favoured Fifi at first but Mr Shoestring detests that name and says it reminds him of a French poodle rather than a car.  Then we tried Felix and looked up "fig" in various different languages, but nothing takes Mr Shoestring's fancy as yet.

Because of her retro looks I think a large silk headscarf (not so big as to cause any Isadora Duncan type mishaps of course), a large pair of cats' eyes sunglasses and even some driving gloves wouldn't go amiss when driving.  (Perhaps not for Mr Shoestring, just for me.)  The Dancing Queen suggested the final touch - a pastel duster coat.  It may take some time to work up to all these accessories because for now we are still becoming accustomed to the strange looks we get when bowling along on the open road with the top folded back.  Some people feel the need to drive alongside and try to figure out just what this odd automobile could be, or they come screaming up behind us, getting ever closer in the rear vision mirror and causing consternation.  Others grin broadly and give a thumbs up, but it is a bit unnerving to feel so conspicuous.  I am sure we will become impervious to this attention in due course and just enjoy ourselves.

The only other thing which is a bit bothersome is the fact that Mr Shoestring has become so keen on Figaro accessories that I fear he may want to give them to me as birthday and Christmas gifts.  A car is only a car, after all.  So far he has ordered a Figaro key ring and now he is wanting to get some "eyebrows" for above the headlights.   And possibly some chrome trim to go above the wheels.  All well and good, but not if it means foregoing lovely perfume and other more traditional presents!





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