“When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.”

– John Ruskin, English critic, essayist and Reformer

Participants in the provincial auto rally had never seen a car quite like our ’59 Ford Consul. It was what some termed an English Ford – compact by 1959 standards. The colour made it hard to miss; Mother referred to it as salmon or coral but Father just called the old car Pinky.

It was 1969 and my parents were on their way home from a wedding dance. It had rained all day and the drizzle continued well into the night. Few country roads had gravel in those days including the one that took us from the main road to our farmstead. Having lived in the country all his life, Father had become skilled at driving in every imaginable road condition...

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