I’m in the throes of planning for upcoming travel while watching lava and possibly a hurricane (i.e. real-life dramas), and the conclusion of the second Sydney Brennan novel (not real-life, but so much more dramatic—I promise!), so I’m going to keep this Magpie Moments installment short and sweet. Like Sydney’s car.

I’d left my car in the carport, but Cecil, a light blue Volkswagon Cabrio, didn’t take up much room.

Back to Lazarus, Chapter 21

And later in the book…

“Cecil shouldn’t give you any problems either.”

“Cecil?”

“Yes, my car’s name is Cecil, and he speaks with a cockney accent. Don’t worry, he’s not that chatty with strangers.”

Sydney loaning Mike her car in Chapter 29

I love our hybrid Insight (especially with Hawaii’s gas prices!) but I’ve never had a really cute, just-for-fun car. I always felt a pang for convertibles, maybe a little MG, or say, the Volkswagon Cabrio.

My case of Cabrio Covet was due in large part to their great 1999 ad campaign with the Nick Drake song below. Click to take a moment to check it out…

Remember it now?

I never did get my Cabrio, so I gave it to Sydney. 😂

I always name my own cars (the hybrid’s name is Emma, but that’s a story for another day), so Sydney inherited that too.

And of course, if a Cabrio speaks with a cockney accent, what else can its name be but Cecil?

(Don’t ask me where the cockney accent came from; sometimes it’s best not to ask what goes in the writer’s mind.)