Forwards and occasionally sidewards – everyday musings of life

With the Cayenne sitting uselessly on the driveway following yesterday’s ‘limp mode’ betrayal, Plan B was officially activated. I set off at 7 AM this morning feeling a touch apprehensive about taking our little Fiat 500 up to London for my coaching session. The ‘Butterfly’ rarely ventures beyond the Wiltshire borders—though I assume her registration and insurance technically allow her to cross into the home counties.

At that hour on a Sunday, the motorways were blissfully quiet. It made for an entirely uneventful—and genuinely enjoyable—run. Even the notoriously treacherous M25 was behaving itself and flowing smoothly.

Once again, the two-hour coaching session was fantastic and worth every single mile. I learned a huge amount, though I was repeatedly reminded of basic technical tweaks that I desperately need to turn into muscle memory. I urgently need to get my table set back up at home so I can drill everything into my game.

To top off the trip, I collected my custom-made new bat. It is magnificent—blisteringly fast, immensely grippy, and infinitely more comfortable to hold than my previous setup. I officially have zero excuses left for not raising my game.

The return journey was considerably busier, but the Fiat held her own on the packed motorways. Though routinely dwarfed by massive lorries and outpaced by faster saloons, she was never outmanoeuvred. She even boasts a secret ‘Noss’ button on the dashboard: when pressed, it instantly surges her forward, boosting her output to a roaring 100 brake horsepower.

The only real drawback to the little beauty is her complete lack of cruise control. After nearly two hours of holding my right foot in a fixed position, I developed an acute case of ‘acceleratoritis’. My ankle was left semi-permanently locked at 65 mph.