159 THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING!!!...

The tale of the third car in our convoy has had more twists than the Gotthard Pass.

Remember when R&R were supposed to use an Abarth; then, when more comfort was required, there was tongue-in-cheek talk of a funeral car? Next, a van was suggested to help with the fancy-dress part of the trip, before they settled on a Ford Kuga, which was then potentially swapped for a campervan. Yeah, well, all that is in the past. The Abarth/funeral car/van/Kuga/campervan is dead! Long live the Audi Q2!

Just before Christmas, Rachel decided to treat herself to a new car. She has picked up a lovely new Q2, resplendent in Ara Blue, with swanky alloys, electric windows, climate control and a DAB radio - something she wanted for a long time.

It also comes with a reverse gear, although Rachel admitted she struggled to find it!

The plan now is for R&R to make the epic trip in the Audi. It ticks a lot of their requirement boxes: nice and comfortable for Richie's hip, reliable and returning decent MPG, definitely necessary for a very long journey. It also has plenty of space for bags and supplies like the European Driving kit, breakdown tools and emergency bottles of Kirsch (a delicious cherry brandy from the Black Forest region of Germany, don't you know).

I'm glad R&R have now found their steed for the journey. They have been wrangling with how best to complete the trip, but now it looks to be all sorted, which is a relief. Phase two is how to rallyify the car. We already have some ideas!!!