A Kiss On The Hand ....

The last time I went to an auction was when I was a teenager and I bought an ironing board for my 'bottom drawer'.

MrQ and I went to The Imperial War Museum at Duxford today where MOO, his 1962 Triumph TR4, was due to go under the hammer. We were joined by our daughter, who collapsed in floods of tears when she saw MOO, polished off the face of the earth by the HandH auction staff, in such exulted company.

MrQ loves a premium position and we bagged three seats in the front row within touching distance of the Ferrari Dino with only 10,000 miles on the clock, which was the star of the event and on the front of the catalogue.

A couple arrived, he carrying an enormous hot dog with an extravagant squiggle of mustard on it. They sat on two seats with signs saying that they were reserved for a named woman.

Shortly afterwards a slim and stylish blonde woman, speaking in a foreign accent and dressed head-to-toe in Ferrari red, appeared. She asked if the hot-dog people were sitting on reserved signs. They produced the signs and she very graciously said that she wasn't going to ask them to move. When she approached the rostrum the auctioneer greeted her with a chivalrous kiss on the hand. She was the widow of the owner of the beautiful and rare Dino.

I'd met a knowledgeable and friendly main man on Monday and he and a colleague were on the platform taking phone bids. My daughter pointed out that with their white hair, amusingly, they looked a bit like Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. :)

We were very happy that MOO sold and we wish her new owners as much fun as we have had with her. MrQ celebrated with Spitfire fish and chips. :)