[ViscountCharles]

I must be crackers, but after a lot of grumbling, whining, complaining, soul-searching, head-scratching and pondering, I've reinstated my order for a John Cooper Works Clubman.

I'm not happy - will never be happy - with the extra wait, but the alternatives (buy Golf, buy a JCW from Germany, buy another type of Clubman, buy something now and trade it in next year) were all either too expensive or just too difficult to accept.

Now I have to hope that my current MCS soldiers on (though the only thing that's gone wrong since the warranty expired three years ago is a Xenon bulb), and we'll just have to manage with the inadequate boot space we have now (one little one - buggy in the boot and luggage on teh other rear seat; two little ones, buggy in the boot and luggage on our laps). But it'll be cheaper to hire a car for our summer holidays than to replace the MINI now, just to trade it in when the Works is finally ready.