{"id":21008,"date":"2025-04-11T03:44:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T07:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=21008"},"modified":"2025-04-12T00:08:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T04:08:46","slug":"seeking-alfa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2025\/04\/11\/seeking-alfa\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeking Alfa"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>Position: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Micheldever\/@51.1858732,-1.3792256,12.1z\/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x48741a7be019188d:0x6f86c69f9b703394!2sMicheldever+Station,+Winchester,+UK!3b1!8m2!3d51.1820843!4d-1.2615907!16s%2Fm%2F010qtcxr!3m5!1s0x48741a7b398c74f7:0x3f8fc92f47dfddb2!8m2!3d51.1823506!4d-1.2607153!16s%2Fm%2F0267ckv?entry=ttu&amp;g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQwOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">51\u00b010&#8217;50.6&#8243;N 1\u00b015&#8217;43.6&#8243;W<\/a><\/h6>\n<p><strong>Date: May 08, 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alfa_Romeo_GT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-21009 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?resize=520%2C336&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Alfa Romeo GT 2008\" width=\"520\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?resize=520%2C336&amp;ssl=1 520w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?resize=1024%2C661&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?resize=768%2C496&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?resize=1536%2C991&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?resize=2048%2C1322&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?resize=215%2C139&amp;ssl=1 215w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?w=1208&amp;ssl=1 1208w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/alfa-romeo-gt-2008.jpg?w=1812&amp;ssl=1 1812w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When I arrived at Heathrow Airport yesterday, Hertz had set aside a Ford Mondeo estate for me. <em>(I hope I don\u2019t have to translate \u2018estate\u2019 to \u2018station wagon\u2019, do I?)<\/em> It smelled of smoke and the boot looked about as secure as a paper bag. So, I traded it in. The duty manager was young and good-looking with a thick head of black hair set just so. His white teeth looked brighter against his dark complexion and his polyester uniform fit him unnaturally well. He went through his motions on the computer and finally looked up at me and asked, \u201cHow many are there of you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust one,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll like this then. I have an Alfa GT that I can give to you for the same price\u201d, his accent rooted in West London, Fulham or Wandsworth.<\/p>\n<p>I processed Alfa. Then Alfa Romeo. Sports car&#8230;Italian design\u2026breakneck speed&#8230;and unreliable&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSounds good,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStall 126, just over that way,\u201d he pointed with the keys before handing them and the contract to me.<\/p>\n<p>Pulling my suitcase through the sliding doors and back out into the drizzle, I looked across the lot at acres of boring sales rep\u2019s cars, until I found her. She was sleek. Bertone designed with six speeds and enough leg room for my freakishly long thigh bones. Very nice I thought folding myself in. Hang on! What\u2019s this? Reading the green sticker on the dashboard: Diesel? Oh my dog! Diesel? WTF?<\/p>\n<h6>Pounce<\/h6>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AEC_Routemaster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-21012 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?resize=520%2C390&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"aec-routemaster\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?resize=520%2C390&amp;ssl=1 520w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?resize=215%2C161&amp;ssl=1 215w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?w=1750&amp;ssl=1 1750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aec-routemaster.jpg?w=1208&amp;ssl=1 1208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Turning the ignition, she rattles away like an AEC Routemaster (London\u2019s quintessential bus). Bollocks! I engage first gear and slip the clutch. My little bronze car pounces forward on her racing suspension. The contoured seat grips my kidneys and holds me tightly. I ease her out of her parking spot and follow the directional arrows. I tap the accelerator, and we momentarily rocket towards the exit gate. My pulse increases. This might not be so bad after all. I pass the gate attendant and he instantly disappears from the thumbnail-sized rear window.<\/p>\n<p>The M25 is a slow-moving parking lot, but it is the only way out of greater London. After 30 minutes of frustration, I am backing off from 95mph after overtaking some git in an Audi. The M40 has opened up. It appears Alfa\u2019s engineers have done wonders with diesel engine technology. Then they wrapped it in a sexy four-wheel package that sticks to the road like a gecko. Running a hand through what\u2019s left of my hair, I imagine I\u2019m Daniel Craig in the next James Bond movie. I drop a gear and red line my little car westwards towards Oxford. I\u2019m going to stay with my friends <a href=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2021\/02\/02\/my-mate-phil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phil<\/a> and Bev for a couple of days. Life sometimes throws a little lemonade your way.<\/p>\n<h6>Notes<\/h6>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-21019\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?resize=520%2C347&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?resize=520%2C347&amp;ssl=1 520w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?resize=215%2C143&amp;ssl=1 215w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?w=1208&amp;ssl=1 1208w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/salisbury.jpg?w=1812&amp;ssl=1 1812w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you drive south from Oxford along the A34 you have a choice to make when you reach Newbury. You can stick with the A34 or take the slower A339 towards Basingstoke. Since you don\u2019t want to go to Basingstoke, you turn onto the B3051 at Kingsclere and head towards Overton and Micheldever Station. There you turn right onto the A30, an old Roman road that heads like a snapped chalk line directly towards Salisbury. With one lane in either direction, there are a few twisty bits to keep you occupied and stirring through the gears, but mostly it\u2019s dead straight. I know the A30 well. When my sister moved to Salisbury many years ago, I travelled along it regularly. Now, I refresh my driving notes for the return journey.<\/p>\n<p>After a couple of pleasant days visiting, it is time to get back to work. The time is 5:30am. I am back on the road heading towards Heathrow for my flight to <a href=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2020\/05\/09\/notes-on-india-2008\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">India<\/a>. I calculate the risks of putting my foot down for the hell of it. The car is up to the task. There is no traffic. The light is good. It is dry and the birds hear me coming soon enough not to get killed. Plus, my memory was refreshed two days before. Oh, what the frick! Let\u2019s crank it! I stomp on the gas.<\/p>\n<p>I crest a hill at 105mph and dip down, slowing in anticipation of the slight left-hand bend that I took at 98mph in my own car 20 years ago. This time I drop to fourth and slow to 85. At the apex of the turn, I press back down on the accelerator. The tachometer nudges into the red and I take her up to fifth, then sixth. She\u2019s happy. We\u2019re beginning to trust each other.<\/p>\n<h6>Dense<\/h6>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blue_Monday_(New_Order_song)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-21013\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?resize=200%2C200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?resize=520%2C520&amp;ssl=1 520w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?w=1500&amp;ssl=1 1500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/new-order-blue-mon.jpg?w=1208&amp;ssl=1 1208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Throttling down ahead of a speed camera we slow to a pedestrian 50 mph. I\u2019ve learned to obey the speed limit signs when there are cameras around, and there are cameras everywhere in the UK these days. (Orwell was prescient.) C\u2019mon, c\u2019mon! At last, there\u2019s the sign with the white circle and black diagonal stripe signifying I can return to the national speed limit. On roads like the A30 that\u2019s 60mph. Unless you know what you\u2019re doing. Hah! Time for a change in music. New Order is in order: Blue Monday &#8211; How Does it Feel? Solid gone, man!<\/p>\n<p>The British are good drivers. Or they were 40 years ago. Back then they were skilful, courteous, and got the hell out of each other\u2019s way. Today, more cars on the road mean more traffic jams. That leads to more regulations, more automatic transmissions, and more speed cameras. All of which have made the average Brit a bit less predictable and a lot lazier behind the wheel.<\/p>\n<h6>Sharp<\/h6>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-21015\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?resize=520%2C325&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?resize=520%2C325&amp;ssl=1 520w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?resize=768%2C480&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?resize=1536%2C960&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?resize=215%2C134&amp;ssl=1 215w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?w=1208&amp;ssl=1 1208w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A30-nr-Stockbridge.jpg?w=1812&amp;ssl=1 1812w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pulling out of Stockbridge and cutting through two roundabouts, the Alfa barps and we\u2019re back up to 60, 70, then 80. She labours in sixth trying to get past 95. It\u2019s a granny gear, not a pulling gear. I drop to fifth and we pick up the pace again \u2013 touching the ton. Dense hedgerows reach out on both sides, narrowing my path. Slow, slow, slow down! Signs! Caution, sharp left-hand corner. Brain now instinctively reminding feet that British road signs are extremely accurate. It is time to slow the hell down! Crap it\u2019s a T-junction with a motorcyclist crossing our path. The perfect chance to test her anti-lock brakes. They work! I\u2019m almost done. In a couple of miles the A30 becomes the A303 which then joins the M3. Now it\u2019s all wide, dull highway to Heathrow.<\/p>\n<p>Damn that was pure, unbridled fun! I can\u2019t do this at home in America. Sure, you can drive fast, but you can\u2019t find narrow roads that make you feel like you\u2019re flying straight down a slot canyon on the Death Star. That kind of topography doesn\u2019t exist in Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>It is just past six in the morning. I am ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n<hr>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Position: 51\u00b010&#8217;50.6&#8243;N 1\u00b015&#8217;43.6&#8243;W Date: May 08, 2008 When I arrived at Heathrow Airport yesterday, Hertz had set aside a Ford Mondeo estate for me. (I hope I don\u2019t have to translate \u2018estate\u2019 to \u2018station wagon\u2019, do I?) It smelled of &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[615],"tags":[8,26,1658,649,16,1660,134,1659,393],"class_list":["post-21008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-memoir","tag-aleta","tag-aleta-life","tag-alfa-romeo","tag-driving","tag-mike","tag-oxford","tag-road-trip","tag-salisbury","tag-uk"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Seeking Alfa - The Adventures of Aleta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cYou\u2019ll like this then. 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