Tea with a lady...
Page 2
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
On Friday I spent the afternoon drinking tea with Dame Vera Lynn – something I never thought I’d be doing. The ‘forces sweetheart’, who celebrated her 95th birthday this year, agreed to sign her name on sister title Truck & Driver’s Pimp My Truck Scania. The truck is being auctioned on eBay this week and all the proceeds are being donated to Help for Heroes – a charity Dame Vera supports. Not only was she happy to endorse the truck, but she didn’t mind
when Truck & Driver editor Colin Barnett churned up her garden and flattened a gatepost while reversing the Scania up her narrow driveway!
After signing the truck, the singer/songwriter/actress (who holds the record for being the oldest person to have a number one album) invited us inside, where she recalled stories from the Second World War and let us browse through her precious 1944 Burma photo album. She is a wonderful lady, and I feel privileged to have met her.
Back to the truck. It’s a 2002 Scania 124 Topline 6x2, and it looks fantastic. It was donated to the magazine by used truck dealers DW Commercials, J&L Commercials and Trucks 2 Go, and over the past two years it has been pimped by a host of industry specialists. Highlights include a hand-crafted suede and leather interior, a custom-built Eminox exhaust stack (it sounds as good as it looks), an SB Components catwalk, a new set of Michelins and more lights than your average Christmas tree. Coles Custom (read all about it on page 32) has worked its magic on the
truck and renowned custom truck airbrush artist Matt has agreed to decorate a panel for the cab rear to the purchaser’s design. Happy bidding. Will Shiers