Bambino Banditos

The 1970/1980s School Run was a precursor to Car Pooling. It was a practical way of transporting c. 8 children to school in a car designed for 4. All school bags and snorkel jackets went in the front seat, smiling mother in driver seat, cargo/scholars in the back. There were no inconveniences like seat belts, air bags or NCT discs; tax discs were generally in the post.

The O’Greally’s school run car had one distinct advantage over all the other smoke-belching bangers involved in this transport. The car was a Fiat Bambino; not the slick one sold in 2015 but the original classic produced in the 70s. The important point about this Bambino was that the window screen washers could be twisted side ways and thus shoot the water at unsuspecting pedestrians. This turned the Bambino from death trap to Death Star.

The attacks usually took place while Mrs O’Greally was getting ‘the messages’ at the Meaney’s shop on the way home from school. ‘Nose gunner’ Tim would sit perched on the bags in the front seat with his thumb on the rubber screen washer button. ‘Bomber command’ in the back seat who identify the target pedestrians. Tim had the best shot and regularly hit the target pedestrians straight in the face. Older kids, like Tim, had triangular rulers so probably were equipped to understand the trigonometry of hitting moving targets. These victims never knew where the water came from as the assassin, Tim, dived for cover beneath the snorkel jackets.

Bambinos, probably the best built cars in Turin.