One day my husband came home and asked me if I wanted to go on an endurance rally from Peking through China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus then through Europe and then to Paris. 14,000 kms. He loves cars, I don’t. There was some fast talking to be done. Needing back up, he rang the rally organiser Phillip Young, who is a well known figure in the rally circles and known for being flamboyant and passionate about his rallies.
Gunther held the phone out to me and a very English voice said,”You know of course that when you are the navigator, you are the boss and your husband has to do everything that you say without question.”
I was sold. I love being the boss and even better when there was no arguing back. We had no rally experience, no navigation skills and even more important, no rally car. My Prius just wouldn’t do the trick. I secretly believed that the idea would slowly sink into oblivion and we could do a cruise like all our friends instead.
Two years later we have the car, a 1969 Mustang Mach One which Gunther bought from Barry in Byron where it had been sitting in a shed as a home for rats for 12 years. Gunther now knows at least how to change the oil and tune the carbie (even I know the word ‘carbie’ now, meaning short for carburettor), and I don’t have to hold the map upside down.
Keep Matilda Waltzing 