Sunday
Deeply enjoyable trip to Paris in a Citroën C5 Aircross, doing some reporting for a story you will see soon enough. Two cheery colleagues and I left south London at midday and travelled via the Tunnel. We splurged on Flexiplus fares to avoid the constraints of the timetable (there was a massive truck queue on the M20) and to allow a coffee stop in that welcoming little croissant hut beside the embarkation lanes at Dover.
I wasn’t familiar with the C5 Aircross, so it was fun discovering its nice, quiet ride and generous space for people and luggage. However, when it comes to big Citroën suspension, I still can’t get the special nature of the old self-levelling hydropneumatic system out of my head, for all its old-school cost and complexity.
Today’s Progressive Comfort Cushions (in effect fluid-filled bump stops at either end of the steel suspension’s stroke) are a game attempt at a modern substitute, and they work perfectly well, but they’re more special in name than function.
Tuesday