My first Mini memory goes back to the early 1960s when my father turned up in a Mini Traveller having left the house with an Austin Cambridge (his cousin had the dealership in Cardigan).
As a Mini back-seat passenger, the novelty wore off quickly – there were often three of us back there, so the sibling fight for the middle seat was epic! Having to sit on those bins still brings tears to the eyes over 40 years later…
It should be no surprise that I learned to drive in a Mini. No syncomesh on first gear! Soon after passing my driving test, like Chris Chilton, I just had to get the speedo needle past the ignition light. Going down Arnold’s Hill on the A40 to Haverfordwest was best for this.
I can still smell that damp carpet smell all Minis seemed to have. The essential accessory was a can of WD40 to dry the points in damp weather, which was most of the time in West Wales. And boy did they rust.
The classic Mini’s still great fun. One of the few cars to make 40mph feel like 80mph.