This is slightly off-topic, but I just have to tell you why my otherwise beautiful new Mini Cooper is always covered in dirt. See, I live in the countryside in Santa Cruz County, California (where dirty cars are the norm) and commute to the Silicon Valley (where they're most definitely not the done thing).

So when I got my first new car, I kept it beautifully waxed and shiny like a city person -- until one night a few years ago, when I was woken from a deep sleep by a strange and unidentifiable sound. Curious, I looked out the loft window to our front yard far below. Picture this: the full moon was shining gloriously through the redwood trees, and in its light, a 3-point buck who had seen his reflection in the side of my shiny car was systematically ramming it.

Now my car stays unwashed (but unbashed).

Claire