Life of the party

For many of us, our cars are there for the special moments in our lives - like another member of the family who delivers us to important places, events and experiences - but it’s not often we choose to throw them a birthday party and write them a speech. For Diana, however, honouring the family car was also an excuse to do her favourite thing - bring people together and celebrate the good things.

“When I had my first child, I drove myself to hospital in Gelly,” she recalls. “I actually went into labour without realising it. I was on my way to an appointment and I knew I wasn’t feeling great but I thought that was just part of being pregnant. Before long I found myself needing to do breathing exercises as I drove Gelly over the harbour bridge. As soon as I arrived and got out of the car my waters broke, so I hopped back in and drove myself to hospital, where our son Jacob was born soon after.

“Then obviously we brought him home from hospital in the car, and did the same with our daughter two years later.”

Since then, Gelly has remained a constant staple through the children’s growing years. “We’ve driven them all around, done baby changing on the boot, and all that stuff that goes on when they’re little,” says Diana. “Now they’re 10 and eight years old and they still think she’s just great. Whenever we talk about whether we need to buy a bigger car they’re emphatic that Gelly will still be our number one.”

Despite the absolute reliability of her engine, naturally Gelly is starting to suffer a little wear and tear after so many years. “Because she’s old now, there are a few little things going wrong, like the ceiling is starting to fall down in places. Last summer we had her parked in a really hot spot and when we came back the ceiling was drooping, so the children had to hold it up as we drove home -  they thought it was hilarious.”

Gelly still holds her own on the open road though, with family trips to Northland and Taupō under her belt and more planned in the future.

But back to Gelly’s party, where everyone had been asked to come dressed up in something car related. Diana says her friends made a big effort, with many interpretations on the theme. “One guy came as an exhaust pipe  - in a skin tight silver costume with a whole lot of cotton wool at the top. I think his girlfriend organised it, with no consultation with him. Then she herself came as roadkill - wearing a bunny onesie with tyre marks on it. She actually painted the tyres of her car and drove over the costume to get the effect!”

Alongside this there were Mario and Luigi, the Pink Ladies from Grease, some F1 drivers, Bonnie and Clyde and Diana herself as Penelope Pitstop from Wacky Races.

And while it may seem a far-fetched idea for a party, it was more importantly a moment for coming together, having a laugh and raising a toast to the good times: something that ties in closely with Diana’s philosophy in life. “I always think about the importance of community - in raising your children, in work, and in life. If you can help others and let them help you too, I think it makes life so much better.”

And who knows, maybe the same can be said of beloved cars?