The bite of frost is in the air and grumpy middle-aged English types (all right, me) start their annual bemoaning about ‘the commercialisation of Halloween’, so it is a pleasant distraction to consider a critical issue – what is the best way to travel to Château de Bois Giraud? My first thoughts are a via a Chapron-bodied Citroën DS Decapotable or perhaps being chauffeured in a Facel Vega Excellence, but there are challenges with such exquisite vehicles. Firstly, they are really really expensive; secondly, they are both very complex and thirdly, neither is the most sensible car in the world when you need to convey a week’s worth of luggage.
And so, one inevitably starts to think of many of the great French classic “commericales” from the Peugeot 404 to the Renault 12 Break, but Tanya Field’s solution is both ideal and so left-field as to be positively surreal yet highly practical. Her choice of wagon is a 1994 Montego Countryman that goes by the name of “Monty”.
For those unfamiliar with classics of the 1980s and 1990s, the Montego was the 1984 replacement for the antiquated and generally unlamented Morris Ital. Less flamboyant than the Ford Sierra, the car that was ‘designed for living – perfect for driving’ ¬-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atoox8AAGeE – attracted a loyal following during its 11-year production run and the Countryman estate version was especially prized for its versatility.
Monty had enjoyed a varied career, and some of you will remember his guest appearance on Escape to The Chateau DIY. This is not his only encounter with the world of show-business, for in 2015 Monty paid a memorable visit to Elstree Studio. There he effortlessly stole the thunder from two very rare four-wheeled television stars, even if comments from some passing actors along the lines of ‘I thought they’d all been scrapped!’ were most ill-considered.
Naturally, Monty took such ignorant remarks with his customary dignity, and he is still ready, willing and able to transport a vast amount of necessities from the UK to Saint-Philbert-en-Mauges as he approaches his 25th birthday. This is not a car to be under-estimated; in a recent argument with an Oxford taxi, the cab lost…
Of course, any Montego is now a rare sight in its homeland, a relic of the days when John Major was the still the Prime Minister, but in France, Monty is quite a talking point. Indeed, this very British estate car is entirely in keeping with French culture – any nation that embraced Monsieur Hulot and Serge Gainsbourg clearly appreciate true individualism…