Who's been a naughty boy then?

Yours truly.

Let me explain.

When we lived in London I drove an Alfa 75. Why? Because the company I worked for had the Alfa advertising account. It was cleaned very regularly.

After moving to Edinburgh I became responsible for the servicing bills, and boy, did they rise...

When one bill came to over £1,000 and the insurance went up to over £600 pa I called it a day. I bought a Hyundai.

Yes, I know, boring and not nearly as flash as an Alfa - and I do miss that purring sound. But it cost £6k or thereabouts and included a five year guarantee and three years' free servicing. Insurance went down to £230 and the mpg is low. The problem is that I hardly ever drive nowadays. Princes Street is a ten-minute walk away and one can't easily park downtown anyway. Taxi fares back here are reasonable.

Wrongly I'd ignored the gradual build up of tree-gunge, bird droppings and all the rest of the strange stuff that is accumulated on a city centre car and which was seemingly impossible to remove.

After yesterday's trip down to the Borders I'd had enough.

But there's always Google. And through them I found these guys.

When I arrived I noticed several taxis in the washing queue. A good sign: the authorities insist on their cleanliness. When I returned a couple of hours later and the car was like new. I was told that I'd been under quoted, such was the de-gungeification required, but they stuck to the deal. That's the real spirit of capitalism. Needless-to-say I'll be going back regularly despite the horrific tram preparation work on Leith Walk. No more Mr "naughty boy".