Proton’s city nipper

I had confirmation of just how nippy this car was after being stopped by the police.

What an experience and one I feel able to share only because I think he stopped me out of sheer admiration for said nippiness rather than me being a danger on the road. I least that’s what I like to think…

It happened on a late night shopping trip into town in the run up to Christmas. All the lights were twinkling and we had had a jolly good look around without too much money leaving our purses, an achievement in itself. My passenger was of the nervous-in-cars variety, not being a driver herself. Me, being the considerate driver I am, tried to drive accordingly.

Driving in London is usually bumper-to-bumper gridlock, so even travelling at the speed-limit is a rare treat. Having left our fabulous parking space just north of Oxford Street, I set off and took advantage of the relatively empty roads and zipped round Portman Square without sparing the horses, but also without causing any alarm to my passenger. Brisk but legal.

Before we knew it, there was an area police car bearing down on us, lights flashing and siren blaring. It took us a couple of seconds to realise that we were its prey – surely not us two Mums in a Proton?

I pulled over with the most amazing thoughts going through my head, from the mundane ‘did I remember to switch on the headlights?’, to quite the ridiculous, ‘Proton have sent me a stolen car!’ We pulled over and wound down the window to be confronted by a very tall (and good looking) policeman in all his intimidating clobber.

‘You took that corner rather nippily – don’t you think?’ he growled. I couldn’t think at all at this stage as my heart was pounding so much. My passenger just giggled nervously. He questioned us at length, about the ownership of the car and why were driving it and them suddenly turned into a normal human being chatting away about the time of year.

I think he’d suddenly realised what he was up against! Two flustered middle-aged women who could barely speak. So off he went in his macho machine and off we went in our very “nippy” motor.

Perhaps there’s something to be said for gridlock after all?