05 Feb 07
It has become something of a tradition in our house that - holding out until the whining reaches the volume of a taxiing Jumbo jet - the entire family lashes off to the nearest purveyor of overpriced Christmas trees to select this year's victim.
Which, thinking about it, is utterly daft, because this leaves precious little room on board for the actual object of the exercise. Last year Honda's FR-V, with the capacity to fold down both front and rear centre seats, proved a notable exception to the rule; the tree, streamlined by its sheath of giant hair-net, fitting elegantly amidships as snugly as a tanker in dry-dock.
Happily, once the wrangling and endless posing of potential specimens was over, this year proved a doddle to boot: with the third seating tier folded flat and the second tier's optional centre console format leaving a suitable gap, the tree slid into the depths of the R-Class so smoothly I almost expected to hear the satisfying 'clunk' of some mysterious, patented Mercedes tree-locking mechanism engaging - CHRISTMATIC, or SANTATRONIC perchance...
Indeed, that rear centre console has proved something of a boon throughout. Not merely as a capacious toy 'n' book repository for the longer journey, but also because it keeps the children far enough apart that the relentless exchange of blows that is fast becoming a part of daily life (sigh) can only be achieved via the arm-lengthening medium of a cuddly toy, which automatically removes most of the vim from the intended violence.
