Today I waved off Suzanna, my beloved Figaro as she begins the next chapter in her life after ten wonderful years full of adventure with us.
I’m relieved that she is going to a good home; people with a workshop and the classic car expertise to get her through an MOT which was beyond us this time as she had tragically succumbed to that dreadful cancer of the automotive world, rust!
She will always be my first Fig love and her successor, Primrose, who is patiently waiting outside, definitely feels like a pale copy at this point, but I’m sure we’ll bond better now Suzanna has left our chilly Yorkshire drive for warmer climes – the Isle of Wight no less.
Scotland rally 2015
What a decade it was. Thanks to Suzanna we have made a host of very dear friends in the Figaro Owners Club and have travelled to rallies in Holland, Scotland, Belgium, France and Wales in great company. Closer to home she played out with other classics in Craven Old Wheels and Dales Historic Vehicle Club. We look forward to introducing everyone to our newbie, with her lower mileage and better bodywork.
Suzanna’s finest hour was leading our Yorkshire Dales Rally in 2017 which went on to win the Best Rally award later that year at the Classic Car Show held at the NEC.
Conversely her penchant for European breakdowns (Belgium 2016 and France 2022) was challenging, but at least on both those occasions she only got poorly on the long haul back to the ferry after all the rally excitement with her chums was all over, having held her own through all the fun!
Suzanna’s darkest hour, poor thing, was the November night in 2016 when, after several failed attempted routes at getting home in torrential rain and flooding, I got within the final ½ mile of home and cruelly drove her into a too-deep flood on Hartlington Raikes. She floated briefly and then sank, with water pouring in up to my knees. The only upside of the incident was me getting a fireman’s lift to dry land from a member of the local fire brigade who came out to rescue us! Miraculously Suzanna survived (though evidently many other more modern cars over the years didn’t at that spot) and she was dubbed the Yellow Submarine for some time afterwards.
I shall miss my ‘sunshine on wheels’ but look forward to hopefully seeing her new adventures online under the stewardship of her new owner.