You mentioned Sports Motors, on Orpington High Street, which is amazing because my granddad was sent to reinvigorate Cullens, the high-class grocers store nearby. My grandad worked for the Cullen family all his life, and it was a bit like Downton Abbey. Among the Cullen workers, staff knew their place.

Having said that the Cullen family were extremely kind to their good employees, I remember one of the Cullen family giving me rides in his 3-litre Lagonda, saloon. Staff adored the Cullens, and the memories of my grandad compared to these times seem a very long time ago. If my memory serves me well, Sports Motors had hand-painted murals on its walls of racing cars from the Fangio era, and that type of motoring memorabilia. An Anglo-Indian guy called Ray was one of the owners, and a big plump guy with a handlebar moustaches was the boss. As a kid I always marvelled at the exotic motor cars in that showrooms. I remember a white Daimler Dart, with a disconnected chrome police bell on the front. Another car I remember was a Railton, soft top, that was eventually sold to a Railton specialist, who was a Mr Hughes, from Edmonton, North London.