Particularly if you have an older car (and doubly so if that car happens to be a Citroen) Donald's your man. Tucked away in an unpromising courtyard* off Constitution Street, Donald pretty much qualifies as a one-man trade secret among the classic French car fraternity, and can most often be found in his workshop, elbow-deep in some obscure piece of automotive history**.
I came to know Donald through my first car - a troublesome 1979 Austin Maxi, which he basically kept on the road for me, long beyond the point where any reasonable mechanic would have suggested we push it into a lake. He improvised, adapted and spot welded it through several MOTs before I foolishly (sensibly, really) replaced it with a Nissan Micra, which he was kind enough not to judge too harshly.
Donald's very softly spoken and doesn't waste his words, but is utterly passionate about cars and a very interesting man once you get him talking. A real diamond.
* A courtyard where, incidentally, several of the slum scenes for the 1997 film adaptation of Jude the Obscure were shot.
** For example, he once spent six months with half of his garage taken up by a battered-looking 2CV - one of only a handful tailor-made for use in the Sahara. Two engines, one back, one front, with linked clutch, accelerator and gear shift - essentially a 4x4 2CV. read more
