It was 29 May and it was a beautiful, bright, hot sunny day. Later that evening I’d be doing my favourite type of presentation, a co-presentation with mature driver ambassador and rally driving legend, Paddy Hopkirk, to South of London Advanced Motorists.

It’s a sad fact of life that solving one problem almost invariably causes another. The widespread use of diesel engines in cars has helped to reduce transport carbon dioxide emissions to combat climate change. An unwelcome side effect has been the increase in urban pollution from diesel exhausts.

According to recent RAC surveys the price of fuel has been going up by almost a penny a day in recent weeks. It seems to have steadied now but with diesel nudging into the low £1.30 a litre zone it is clear that the lower prices we have got used to may be a thing of the past - again!

When I say ‘never meet your heroes’ I don’t mean in terms of people you admire – I never got a chance to meet racing driver Ayrton Senna, but I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with 1992 Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell several times in his capacity of IAM RoadSmart President, and talk at length with him about his career and viewpoints.

My car finally had enough. It had a successful three year stint until various problems started to arise, suggesting it may be time for me to start searching for something else. My little Night Fury (the name I gave my car due to the resemblance of the dragon’s eyes in the film ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and the headlights on my car) was ready to be passed on to someone who could put him on the operating table and fix him – something I couldn’t afford to do.