I'd just settled into my chair, pretty much minding my own business without any expectations whatsoever, ready to watch another episode of Vera on Britbox.
Our 1966 Mustang back in the day. |
Most of the episodes were well written and I got hooked, binging on one show after the other.
One of the things that really intrigued me was that most of the series was filmed in Newcastle, a beautiful port city in the northeast corner of England just a stone's throw from the Scottish border. Hadrian's Wall is just a short drive away. I can tell you this without ever having set foot in England. Because of Britbox, I've walked the campus of Oxford University, floated down the Thames, seen the White Cliffs of Dover. You get the point.
![]() |
Heading overseas. Note decal on windshield. |
Watching Britbox has even sharpened my vocabulary. I mean, we're in the land of Shakespeare here. After watching all these police shows, I learned that "defenestration" is the act of throwing somebody out of a window. Really. It's in the Oxford dictionary. Look it up. You can use it in a sentence: Vladimir Putin employs defenestration as a policy to subdue his political enemies.
Anyway, I digress.
The thing about Newcastle is that it's the city where my cherished 1966 Mustang ended up, of all places. It wasn't until about the 11th or 12th season of watching Vera that the thought popped up in my mind that, hey, maybe the Mustang will show up in the background parked on the side of the road or something. So I kept a casual eye on the lookout, not really expecting much.
I still call it "my" Mustang because we owned it for 19 years, slowly refurbishing it over time: we had the engine and transmission rebuilt, put on new chrome trim, replaced the upholstery and carpet, gave it a new coat of Wimbledon White paint. There was clearly a personal relationship between us. And it looked fantastic.
![]() |
On TV in England. Note decal. |
My breath quickened. My eyes widened. Could this be it?
The one clue I had was that our car had a Mustang Club of America decal on the front right corner of the windshield.
And there it was. I reversed the video for another look. The decal was still there. Oh my God! That's my car! It's on TV. In England.
Well, I was about 90 percent sure, anyway. Another clue is that the windshield had two BB shot nicks in it, and yep, there they were, right where they always were. My heart was pounding. Now I was 99 percent sure.
But I still had one more verification (Vera-fication?) to make.
So I texted Phil Ternent, the owner of Northumbria Classic Car Hire in Newcastle. After we put up our Mustang for consignment with Streetside Classics in Charlotte back in 2014, Phil ended up with the vehicle after the original buyer in Kent suffered some health issues and could no longer drive it.
Phil has a fleet of classic cars, most of them European, like MGBs, Jaguar E-Types, Porches, etc. He rents them out for weddings, graduations, birthdays, stuff like that. Phil texted me out of the blue one day asking if I was the last American owner, and we've become Facebook friends ever since then. Right now, he's still my only friend from across the pond.
He once posted a video driving the Mustang down a back country road lush with deep green English scenery. The video was from the driver's perspective and, being in England, he was on the left side of the road. It was a little disorienting for me. A car was coming from the other direction. "For God's sake, man!" I shouted. "Get on the right side of the road!" I'm glad he couldn't hear me.
Anyway, I texted Phil: "I'm writing because I'm curious: did the Mustang show up in an episode of "Vera," the one titled "Tender"?
Phil answered: "Hi. Yes it was in Vera in one episode. Shot a few minutes away from where it lives! I do see your posts on Facebook. Hope your football team is doing well." (That was about the time the Philadelphia Eagles were on their way to winning the Super Bowl). Then he added: "Car still going strong, still being used for hires for weddings and bucket list experiences."
And, apparently, for TV appearances as well.
I couldn't believe it. I couldn't wait for Kim to get home for lunch. She teared up when she saw the car. So did I. We watched it over and over again.
It was a jolly good show, luv.
Cheerio.