Traction Avant

Dad is now racking up the hours as his firm prepare to 'go-live' at their new location. All our walks are now taken in the dark and generally after supper. Not a problem - the sights and smells are just as exciting as in the daylight.

2CV Llew takes leave of all his senses and invests in a BEAUTIFUL olde Citroen; a 1952 Traction Avant "Light 15" which he buys on a well know on-line auction site and has to go and collect from Chippenham. The car is in fine, drive-able condition and in need of hardly any work. She has a grey body and black wings. She gleams.

Llew goes down west with a mate in a good tow-car and a serious trailer, and is coming back past our town onthe M2 on 2CV club night, so he phones Dad to suggest we follow him back to the workshop so we can then drive him to the club meeting. Well if he phoned as he was passing then he must have been rattling along because Dad does 20 minutes of fast driving down the A2 and along country roads and only manages to catch him up in the lane, 200 yards from 'home'. That's no way to treat a classic, lads! The men unload the car and put it for safe keeping before adjourning to the pub with beer-drinking dog Rosie (another pint of Betty Stog please), girlie Jack Russell Ruby, and venerable brindled greyhound Janie.

Meanwhile, Neice M from the non-dog loving side of the family delights Dad (and Mum) by managing to get work in a Castle just outside Dublin, She is learning the Hospitality Business and some 'front of house' work is good employment experience as part of her studies. We'll be round to see you soon, M

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Betty Skoggs

Tuesday night we are abandoned by Dad (admittedly after a goodly walk round the boatyard) who is off to 2CV Club at the Haywain in Bramling. He will return smelling of Rosie the beer drinking dog and the marvellously named Cornish ale, Betty Stog. Our Betty is a buxom wench according to her picture on the beer tap, all be it drawn in that crude 'crayons' stylee that kiddies use, her face round with a curved-upwards smile and her hair sticking out in all directions in coiled ringlets like bed springs.

Dad's driving, so he only gets a taste of 2CV Llew's pint (yeah, lightweight allegedly sticks to alcohol free Becks) but the rest of the evening is given to crude barracking between the club members, especially 'Enthusiastic Pete' who is actually Cornish, along the lines of whether he knew her in his youth; and a raft of made up stories of her exploits.

Deserted again last night too, as Dad is off again to do "Hon Treasurer" at the Hort Soc speaker's night. Remember that scene in 'Calendar Girls' where they are talking about a talk on propogating broccoli? Well this was almost as gripping as that, apparently, the 'speaker' being 2 guys who put together a slide show using a double barrelled projector with a fade between each slide alternating the lenses, and accompanied by gently plinking pastoral music in the 'Greensleeves' and 'English Country Garden' stylee. Zzzzzzzzz, says Dad, Where's that Stog woman when you need her?

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