Almost a reunion

I collected Speranza from Joe Macari in Wandsworth yesterday. The team did a terrific job repairing some small damage I had done in the South of France. They service and maintain modern Ferraris and Maseratis but they are really specialists in rebuilding and/or restoring classics. Not only do their skills with carrosserie reflect that specialisation, they actually brought the job in below the agreed budget. Thank you, guys.

They were also a great help with the Great American Road Trip of 2013. Not only did they fettle Speranza, but they recommended the company that shipped her to the States and back and the broker who organised her insurance. Mr Macari himself, a veteran of the Gumball Rally, also helped by coaching me how to deal properly with an American State Trooper. I met a few of those guys and they all seemed to appreciate his work. I certainly parted friends with all of them, which I have never yet achieved with a British policeman.

When I picked her up there was a nice example of my previous car parked nearby, a Maserati Granturismo. As I move my registration plate from car to car I thought for a while that it might actually be Vittoria herself. On closer inspection, I realised the red seats had black stitching, not Vittoria's more elegant white. Still it was nice to have the chance to take a photo I missed at the time.