The poor, much lamented Gadfly. May the big, traffic free motorway in the sky be brightened by her manifold emerald loveliness. I was minding my own business, driving along a fairly busy country road near the village of Badgeworth, between Cheltenham and Gloucester, when the car in front stopped somewhat unexpectedly. I, being the vigilant and proficient driver you all know and love, stopped in plenty of time. (Only a fool breaks the two-second rule and all that jazz)

I had the briefest of moments to gather my wits and think “Oh, I had to stop quite quickly then; It was lucky I didn’t crash” when a massive Nissan Four by Four thing rammed the unsuspecting and innocent Gadfly right in the rear, smashing the windscreen and, to some extent, the back wheels, into oblivion.

Needless to say, I was taken aback. Being that it wasn’t my fault, I have a brand new hire car to drive for the moment. It has a CD player. How new-fangled.

I am quite happy, though. The Emerald Gadfly will be much missed but I have come out of it unscathed and with a shiny black Toyota Corolla to play with for a few weeks.

All very exciting, eh?