Wednesday, March 01, 2006
La Deux Chevaux
Jacques' reference to the Citroen Dolly, also known as the 2CV (deux-chevaux), brings back great memories of my first car which I used to whizz round the pot-holed roads of Malta in. The second belle et tragique francaise hadn't appeared on my horizon yet so my love-affair with all things French was still intact at the time.
I had bought the burgundy-and-cream beauty for LM 1000 after having spotted it outside the Labour Party Club in St. Julians. The Dolly was great fun in summer and almost as tragic as les filles parisiennes in winter. It loathed pot-holes - I once ended up navigating the darn car down Regional Road with a broken steering wheel and axle. The October rains weren't its ideal scenario either. Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. But in summer it came to life - open top, great sound from the engine and ideal to go to the beach in. No hassle with the sand guys! It was also cool to drive round Tal-Qroqq in the car during the Renault Clio plague that had attacked every university student at the time. But Dolly needed constant care and Philip, the nice mechanic at Ta' Xbiex was only too glad to fix the umpteenth fault that appeared from time to time. Broken axles, bent wheel rims, engine trouble - the lot. The car used to literally shudder when navigating the smallest of holes.
One day my dad 'borrowed' the car and came back empty-handed.
Fejn qieghdha l-karozza, pa?
Tajtha lil ta' l-iskrapp.
And that was the beginning of my post-Dolly life. ¶ 7:51 AM
Jacques' reference to the Citroen Dolly, also known as the 2CV (deux-chevaux), brings back great memories of my first car which I used to whizz round the pot-holed roads of Malta in. The second belle et tragique francaise hadn't appeared on my horizon yet so my love-affair with all things French was still intact at the time.
I had bought the burgundy-and-cream beauty for LM 1000 after having spotted it outside the Labour Party Club in St. Julians. The Dolly was great fun in summer and almost as tragic as les filles parisiennes in winter. It loathed pot-holes - I once ended up navigating the darn car down Regional Road with a broken steering wheel and axle. The October rains weren't its ideal scenario either. Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. But in summer it came to life - open top, great sound from the engine and ideal to go to the beach in. No hassle with the sand guys! It was also cool to drive round Tal-Qroqq in the car during the Renault Clio plague that had attacked every university student at the time. But Dolly needed constant care and Philip, the nice mechanic at Ta' Xbiex was only too glad to fix the umpteenth fault that appeared from time to time. Broken axles, bent wheel rims, engine trouble - the lot. The car used to literally shudder when navigating the smallest of holes.
One day my dad 'borrowed' the car and came back empty-handed.
Fejn qieghdha l-karozza, pa?
Tajtha lil ta' l-iskrapp.
And that was the beginning of my post-Dolly life. ¶ 7:51 AM
