Personal London landmarks
RIP The Standard 8 of Selborne Road
We all have our personal landmarks; features that we identify on entering a certain area as having some personal resonance. Their very familiarity engenders a sense of comfort, small certainties in an ever-changing world. One such was the Standard 8 car parked outside a house in Selborne Road in Palmers Green. It was a light grey Standard car of the mid 50’s permanently moored in the paved driveway of a typical Edwardian house in Palmers Green.
The people's car
The Standard 8 was a car produced by the Standard car company in Coventry from 1953 until 1959. It was an early attempt at a very affordable people’s car that was so basic it didn’t have an opening boot and had sliding windows. It had a maximum speed of 61 miles per hour and a fuel consumption of 43 miles to the gallon. It was a small, cute rounded edged automobile with a radiator grille that had the appearance of a sad face. It was possibly the nearest thing to the British Trabant.
Anyway, this car was always parked in a slightly dilapidated condition on the drive, a quirky antidote to the mass of anonymous modern cars that transport suburbia. On the way to friends and family who lived nearby it was something I always looked forward to seeing. I have always liked 50s design and technology and this was its archetype. It made me smile.
Tell us about the little details
Now it has gone. On my last two visits to this part of London, it seems to have disappeared. Now this pleasant but unremarkable road has become more samey, more anonymous. I hope it is being
cared for somewhere else but something strange and anachronistic has gone. If anyone knows its fate, please let us know and similarly tell us about your personal landmarks, the little details that give you a sense of security and place.
