WHY THE INTERNET IS AMAZING...

Do you remember the coolest thing that ever happened to me? Thanks to Flickr I now know that the exact car still exists, and who the kind man in the photo it belonged to was. (The barrette sporting passenger attempting a Royal wave is moi.)

A comment on the photo, which I posted on Flickr:

"Yes, that particular car still exists in the UK but is off the road at the moment. The driver is Mr Les Frampton who lived just west of London. He bought the car new in 1966 and used it a lot right up to his death in the early 1990s. Les spent a lot of time in Jersey as well as along the South Coast so the picture could have been taken anywhere, although title hints Dorset. He was one of the few Amphicar owners brave enough to use the car in salt water (although that is also the reason it is now off the road !) Looking at some of the detail on the car I would guess the picture was taken around 1971, but could be a few years earlier, he did tell me, but I can't remember, when he changed the whitewall tyres for black wall !"

David Chapman
www.amphicars.com

{N.B. It was taken in 1982 when we were on holiday in Swanage.}

I'll be raising a glass or two to Mr. Frampton today (and Mr. Chapman) - I wonder if he would ever have guessed what a lasting impression driving around in the sea in that beautiful car had on six year old me. (And don't ask, yes I am tempted but lucky for me, I already have pretty much the car of my dreams. It doesn't float as far as I know, but it does speak to me in Japanese.)

{photo credit: my dad}