IN THIS FEATURE First memories 'Can you ring back in the Autumn?' History lesson A proud history of car-making

I know we share a common language...

Maybe I like British cars because my mother was born and raised in Scotland, but I've always felt a bit of an affinity for the British Isles. I first encountered a British car when I was about nine years old, growing up in a town called, ironically, Andover. I was riding up a hill on my bicycle and I looked over and saw this ghostly apparition outside a barn garage - it was a Jaguar XK120.

The Jag was steel grey, had spats on the back and sported disc brakes all round. It had red up upholstery, too - really stunning. I stood there open-mouthed at the end of the guy's driveway. He motioned for me to come in.

"Hey you like cars?" he said, and he let me sit behind the wheel and play with the controls. This was the greatest experience of my life. Most guys can remember the first woman they had sex with. I have no idea who she was, but I can remember that XK120 and to this day I find it one of the most beautiful cars ever made. I was interested in British cars from that point on.

Proud Jay next to his XK120

Though I now own an XK120, my first British motor was a rather more humble '64 MGB. I paid $600 for it. It was red with a black interior. I remember sitting down to read the MG manual and it said 'First, you'll need a complete set of spanners'. I said, "Spanners? I have tools and I have got wrenches, but spanners?"

I called up a few places and asked them "Do you have spanners?" Everyone said "What?" as if I was an idiot. Later I found out that spanners were wrenches.