Austin 7

By now, a herd of elephants couldn't have kept me away from the sheik's tent.

So I was waiting that evening when Diana drove up in her little Austin 7.

We crossed the English Bridge, honked a couple of dogs out of the way, and roared out past Giza.

The road got rougher and rougher, and finally we made it to Sheikh Abbas Ali's encampment.

Now, Rocky, we'll see what the Cairo police think of murder.

Samak, Abdul, bring him along.

The two wild tribesmen took me, one on each arm, to Diana's tiny Austin 7.

We all piled inside somehow.

... version?

Uh, it was an Austin Seven, which they called a Baby Austin, and this was, um, in 1926.

This was her idea of a holiday, mind you.

[laughs] She ran a garage that ran 24/7.

The view from the fifth floor of the English, Scottish, and Australian Bank building on the corner of Queen and Collins Streets is an admirable one, especially at twilight when the sun shimmers on the Yarra across to Port Phillip Bay.

However, at this moment, all eyes are focused on the motor car that has just parked in the street below.

The tiny Austin Seven would not have merited a second glance, except for the huge pile of luggage stuffed in the back seat and tied to its exterior.

It has been stripped to its essentials.

Old and new, as long as they're enthusiasts, something interesting.

Yeah, I mean, we've got an Austin Seven, which is the oldest one, I think.

But we've got modern cars as well.

Yeah.

It's just another thing to people in Petersfield to enjoy.

Yeah.

Well, the Austin Seven is iconic.

It, it's, um...

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I mean, we've got an Austin Seven, which is the oldest one, I think.

But we've got modern cars as well.

Wow.

Yeah? Okay, yeah.

Just to just ask you straightforward, what is this car?

It's an Austin Seven.

Right, okay.

Oh, so the 1960s was full of 1960s cars, was it? Well, I'll tell you what.

My first car was an Austin 7 from just after the bloody war.

And he meant the first World War.

He had an Austin 7.

And then he had a Morris 8.

And so, like, as he said...

A cover-up if I ever saw one.

By now, a herd of elephants couldn't have kept me away from the sheik's tent, so I was waiting that evening when Diana drove up in her little Austin Seven.

We crossed the English bridge, honked a couple of dogs out of the way, and roared out past Giza.

The road got rougher and rougher, and finally we made it to Sheik Abbas Ali's encampment: four or five tents with camels and goats tethered downwind.

Now, Rocky, we'll see what the Cairo Police think of murder.

Samak, Abdu, bring him along.

[dramatic music] The two wild tribesmen took me, one on each arm, to Diana's tiny Austin Seven.

We all piled inside somehow.