Timmy Mallett: 'I bought a black cab for £300 - I'd only popped to the shop for bread'
Television presenter Timmy Mallett says his first car was great fun.
“I went out to the shop with a list of bread, eggs and comb and somehow came back with a taxi which I’d seen for sale.
"It was a private sale and I just came across it outside a house and I thought, I’ve got to have it. It was just what I wanted.
“It was great. I loved it. It had a very tight turning circle and I used to give my mates a lift.
"They kept turning on the For Hire sign so people thought I was a real taxi.
“I kept it for quite a while until it became uneconomic to repair.
“The sitting position isn’t the most comfortable but it was a great car to drive. I just wanted something different and that was it.
“I was just 23 and working at BBC Radio Oxford at the time. I don’t think £300 was a bad price for the car.”
Timmy, 69, is best known for the Wide Awake Club on the BBC, is now a keen cyclist and has completed mammoth journeys including around the United Kingdom.
He is also an artist and is known for his striking visual style, colourful glasses and shirts, and a giant pink foam mallet as well as his "utterly brilliant!" and "blaaah!" catchphrases.
“We are a two car family but I much prefer cycling,” he said. “In fact I don’t think I have driven a car since February.
"You see much more by bike and you can chat to people much more easily. I loved cycling through Yorkshire.
"The view of the Humber Bridge was spectacular. I think the view from the south bank just beats the view from the north.
"I just prefers bikes to cars. You get more conversations on a bike and you see far more than if you just whizz by in a car. It’s a far more social way to travel.
"I will use a car occasionally but it’s a long time since I felt the need to.”