We recently celebrated our Mini D's first birthday. It's been a solid worker so far and I've enjoyed driving it, although it's not as much fun as our old Mini Cooper S Convertible (or my MX-5). I do love having DAB radio and 6Music on the motorway, though.
   The Mini's first service had come up, so we took it back to Wellsway Mini in Bath. We were grateful we'd taken out the package covering service costs in advance. They gave us a bill to show what we would have paid - £206.80. WHAT? For an oil and filter change? That is pricey.

Cracked windscreen
I took it back a couple of weeks later because a vertical crack had appeared at the base of the windscreen, then taken a left turn. I wondered if it was covered by the warranty, but they had a look and said there was a microscopic stone chip, so it was down to me. We called our insurance company, Aviva; we were covered, but had to pay the £75 excess.
   Smiley Mark from Autoglass was dispatched to replace the screen. He called ahead, before arriving bang on time, did the job within an hour and even put our tax disc and National Trust sticker back.
   I was a little disturbed to hear that he does four or five Mini screens a week - they seem to be vulnerable because they're so upright. Apparently we could have left the crack a while, though. The screen is laminated so it won't shatter and it wasn't in our eye line. With Christmas sprinting towards us, I wish Wellsway had mentioned that.

Miles too many
Our main concern at the moment is the mileage. We bought the car on a PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) based on 14,000 miles per year. If we go over that, the car could be worth less than its agreed Minimum Future Guaranteed Value. We racked up 17,000 in the first year. Not sure how we're going to pull that back. We may end up having to take out another loan and keeping this car rather than trading it in.

I wouldn't usually have made a beeline for a Landcrab at a classic car show. But, while strolling around the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC, I  stumbled upon this beautifully restored Morris 1800 with a familiar name on the door.
    The somewhat lumpy machine was a rally favourite, and gained the nickname Landcrab for its fondness for going sideways. This blue and cream model with pink corners was decked out for the 1970 World Cup Rally, and had the names of three woman drivers on the door. One of them was Jean Denton, who would later become Lady Denton of Wakefield. 
   I first met Jean in one of the halls at the NEC. I was just starting as Road Test Assistant at Autocar, she was head of external communications for Austin Rover and she welcomed me to the industry.
   I got to know her better when I became a patron of WOMAC (Women on the Move Against Cancer), a charity she'd founded and she was always friendly and always encouraging.
   Her own list of achievements made me feel quite exhausted. She was Britain's woman racing champion in 1967 and 1968. Within 10 months of passing her test at the age of 26, she was competing on the racing circuit, driving Jackie Stewart's former Formula Three car. In 1969, she drove the only sports car to finish the London-Sydney rally. The next year she raced 16,000 miles across Europe and South America in the World Cup rally, leading the first private ladies' team to reach the finish in Mexico.
   She and her co-drivers were sponsored by Woman magazine and its logo featured prominently on the backs of their jackets;the chaps on the NEC stand said they also painted eyelashes on the headlamps.
   Later in life Jean went into politics, she became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry and worked in the Northern Ireland Office. She was a co-founder of Forum UK, the British branch of the International Forum for Women, and was President of Women on the Move Against Cancer. Sadly, we lost her to cancer all too soon, in 2001, at the age of 65.