Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Elan Peter wrote:Wow another truly fantastic story, kindness like that is rarely seen anymore (shame).
What a lovely gentleman for doing that and what a coincidence that he happened to know his elans!
There is something wonderful about a classic car that runs on nothing but magic and TLC.
Best regards, P

It was one of those 'in the moment' things and I was just so happy to escape the fog, keep the Elan running and get back to Bedford that I neglected to get his name, address, shoe size etc - or even properly register the area. It wasn't until I had a little time to reflect that I thought I should thank him properly - with a bottle of something as good as or better than that which he so happily dispensed to complete strangers - and I had a bottle in the Elan for the next weekend.

And the next - and the next...customs (in Belgium, France and the UK) didn't care back then and I was in the services so I was one of them

Retraced my steps the next weekend but I couldn't remember if it was "just before this roundabout" or just before this roundabout so I failed to deliver the goods.

Towards the end of her 3 months notice, the weather was better, nights were lighter and I didn't feel quite so compelled to hasten back to Bedford so I took the time on a couple of the trips to actually stop the car - I had finally installed a new battery - and knocked on a few doors. A bit embarrassing for me as I was just in my unpolished twenties and must have appeared like either an inept con man, a purveyor of religious tracts or a vacuum salesman when I burbled away in my thick tongued Scots burr (Scots have a burr - never a brogue) getting more and more red in the face as I tried to explain.

Most of the people were very nice but couldn't help...I would like to say I found this gentle soul and thanked him properly - not for the coffee flavoured libation - but simply for his kindness and grace to complete strangers.

I never did. One of the few, true regrets I have.

The kindness of strangers is the most humbling kind.

Thanks for sharing the story.

Quite. I won't bore you all with the full details, but I recall a time around fifteen years ago when my motorbike died in a rural area (eastern Oklahoma, for my fellow Yanks), right in front of a stranger's house. The motorbike club to which I belong has a directory of members across the country who may be called upon for help in such time, but my mobile phone was useless as there was no service in the area. I rang the doorbell on that house with trepidation, not knowing if I'd be met by a shotgun or kindness, and luckily it was the latter. All I asked was to use the telephone, but I was welcomed with true warmth and offered a meal and a bed for the night should it come to that. It didn't come to that, and I was able to locate a fellow member in the directory who was kind enough to drop everything and drive three hours each way in his truck to collect me and the bike and get me home. I had the club send both the family and the fellow member its Helping Hand Award, but in hindsight I should have done more.

Epilogue: the problem with the bike was in the charging system, and it wound up being a hair-puller to figure out.