Owners of LBCs will surely appreciate a vintage story titled "Bill
Bailey," by Ian Hay. Here are the opening paragraphs:
FOR SALE.--A superb 3-seated Diablement-Odorant Touring Car, 12-15
h.-p., 1907 model, with Capecart hood, speedometer, spare wheel, fanfare
horn, and lamps complete. Body French-grey picked out with red. Cost
£360. Will take----
THE sum which the vendor was prepared to take was so startling,
that to mention it would entirely spoil the symmetry of the foregoing
paragraph. It is therefore deleted. The advertisement concluded by
remarking that the car was as good as new, and added darkly that the
owner was going abroad.
Such was the official title and description of the car. After
making its acquaintance we devised for ourselves other and shorter terms
of designation. I used to refer to it as my Bargain. Mr. Gootch, our
local cycle-agent and petrol-merchant, dismissed it gloomily as "one of
them owe-seven Oderongs." My daughter (hereinafter termed The Gruffin)
christened it "Bill Bailey," because it usually declined to come home;
and the title was adopted with singular enthusiasm and unanimity by
subsequent passengers.
You can download a copy at http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/billbaly.htm
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Jim Kearman
73 MGB
jkearman@juno.com
_____________________________________________________________________
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