It was another average day in Hove in the early summer of 2002. Birds tweeted in the trees, postmen whistled as they strolled from door to door, children played boundlessly with tennis balls on their way to school, learner drivers parked outside our house thirty-five times a day yet never in front of any of the other hundred or so houses on the street, but all this tranquility was about to end. Something was happening, dark forces were at work, and the quiet, peaceful world of suburban Hove was about to be shattered.... by a Renault 4.

Unfortunately, the real story isn't half this suspenseful. My sister's second R4 is seen here parked behind my own, during its transitory yellow phase. As can be seen from previous photos, it was red when she acquired it the previous year, but phase one of the masterplan had been completed, and at this stage it was rather tattily painted yellow in preparation for things to come....

Above is another image salvaged years later from my parents' archives. This photo was taken to highlight the dodgy situation involving a large, loose tree hovering over the parking space outside the house. On windy days, the trunk could be seen unearthing itself from its moorings, eventually prompting a call to the council who had to remove it.