Latest news with #ReemanDansie
The Sun
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
I rescued abandoned 1929 Singer car I learned to drive 65 years ago after it was left to rot – now it's as good as new
A WOMAN, 81, has been reunited with the car she learnt to drive in six decades after he father saved it from a scrapheap. Merriel Gallifant's father, Harry Booth, bought the 1929 Singer Junior from a scrapyard in 1961, and the teenager, then 16, used it to learn to drive. 5 5 Quickly becoming a grease monkey, she fondly remembers practising gearstick changes in front of her father's Old Cottage Paint shop in Stanway, Essex. Sadly, just a year later, her Dad flogged her beloved wheels to David and Sylvia Rouse for a fiver. Astonishingly, Merriel was reunited with her old flame at a classic car rally thirty years later. The Rouse's were displaying the well-loved wheels at a car rally when Merriel spotted the old banger. She exclaimed, 'That's my Car!' and showed the couple a snap of her teenage self sitting on the bonnet back in the day. Mr Rouse was very attached to the Singer, using it daily, taking it for spins at vintage car club events, competing in hill climbs, driving tests and navigational rallies and tours. The couple kept their bargain motor for 57 years before David died in 2017. Mrs Rouse sold their vintage car collection but kept the Singer until Merriel approached her, buying the token from her childhood back in 2019. Selflessly, Merriel waved goodbye to her four-wheeled first love once again, selling it at auction for £4.1k and donating every penny to St Helena Hospice. Auctioneer, Lewis Rabett from auctioneers Reeman Dansie, said: 'It's a beautiful little car with a heart-warming story. 5 5 5 'A proper full-circle moment. There's even a photo of Merriel with the car now and back when she was a teenager – not much has changed!' He added: 'It's a niche buy, but for the right person, this car is an absolute gem. It's been loved and lived in – and it shows.'
Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Woman tracks down vintage car she drove as teen and saves it from grim fate
Merriel Gallifant, from Essex, learned to drive the 1929 Singer Junior when she was just 16 - but sold it again for £5 in 1962. She then launched a bid to track down the vehicle A pensioner tracked down the 1929 car she learned to drive in age 16 after she salvaged it from the scrapheap. Merriel Gallifant's father Harry Booth bought the 1929 Singer Junior from a scrapyard in 1961 and the teenager decided it would be ideal to learn to drive in. The 81-year-old fondly remembers practising gearstick changes in front of her father's Old Cottage Paint shop in Stanway, Essex. Mr Booth then sold the Singer to couple David and Sylvia Rouse who bought it for £5 in 1962. Incredibly, Merriel was then reunited with the car around 30 years later. Mr and Mrs Rouse were showing it at a car rally when Merriel showed Mr Rouse an old photo of her sitting on Singer's bonnet after exclaiming: "That's my car!" Mr Rouse used the car every day and took it to vintage car club events, competed in hill climbs, driving tests and navigational rallies and tours The couple kept it for 57 years before he died in 2017. Mrs Rouse decided to sell their car collection but kept the Singer until Merriel became the owner again in 2019 - buying it for a second time. And now she has sold it once again through auctioneers Reeman Dansie for £4,100 with all proceeds being donated to St Helena Hospice. It was sold at auction with a large file of historical documents and a collection of photographs. Lewis Rabett, head of the collectors department, said: "First of all, it is a lovely vehicle and has a very nice end to quite a happy story. It has come full circle and there is a nice photograph of Merriel next to the car today and one from when she was a teenager." Speaking ahead of the auction on April 12, he said: "I think it is quite a specialist classic vehicle. It's not necessarily going to appeal to everyone - they require specialist knowledge to work on and drive. But a combination of the history, lovely condition, and the fact the car has been used and enjoyed for years, for anyone with a collection of cars, this is going to be something they are really keen to acquire."
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Classic Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett comedy sketch script sale exceeds expectations
A PIECE of classic comedy history has been sold under the hammer during a Colchester auction for more than its expected estimate. Reeman Dansie, on Severalls Business Park, is hosting its latest specialist collectors' sale. The three-day auction started yesterday and will conclude tomorrow. A valuable original script for a comedy sketch called 'Three Men' which famously appeared on satirical television show The Frost Report in 1966, was up for sale today. The sketch was written by Marty Feldman and John Law, and starred John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, who would go on to become comedy legends. Lots 1438 and 1439 - the photos are of Josephine Tewson with Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett (Image: Reeman Dansie) Speaking to The Gazette on Monday, Reeman Dansie associate director Daniel Wright said the script's value was a 'complete unknown' because the auction house has nothing to measure it against. Taken from a collection of scripts, press photography, and items from the estate of late actor Josephine Tewon, who died in 2022, the script was valued to sell for a figure between £300 and £500. Today, the scripty, listed as lot 1439, has sold at the auction for £1,200 - £700 more than its highest estimate. Tomorrow from 10am, there will be vintage and designer clothing and accessories, music items, sound equipment and cameras up for sale. To find out more, visit
