But it's only a bit of rust ---

Oh dear. Son's car has failed its MOT, for several reasons - i.e. it's not worth having the repairs done.

He bought it last summer on Ebay. He also bought it from a friend and near neighbour who, if she had known Ro was looking for a car, would undoubtedly have given him first refusal. It was an elderly Metro, whose most interesting feature was the leather Saab seats; friend's son had written off her very nice car a couple of years back and they were salvaged.

So, Ro is in the market for a car, fairly promptly; at present he's borrowing his father's, who's borrowing mine. But it needs to be smallish and oldish, so that the insurance isn't horrendous. Correction: it will be horrendous in any case: so that it isn't unaffordable.

But I'm not sure that one can blame the insurance companies. A friend was lamenting to me that her son has just been caught drink driving and banned for 26 months. Ouch. Idiot. He's only 21 and has already, when sober, wrapped a car round a lamp-post because he misjudged a bend. He has lost his job 10 miles away and, although he has got another, his parents are refusing to give him a lift and making him walk.

Can't say he doesn't deserve it. I do not suggest his mother was upset because he was caught, but because he did it. However, he didn't hurt anyone and was not hurt himself; it was a spot check coming out of the pub car park. So he's lucky really, even if he feels hard done by at present.