Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce

A cracked screen disrupts plans and reveals the true cost of glass

- Richard Browne

OUR HEATED DISCUSSION ABOUT OUR O son's university maintenance loan was suddenly cut short by a sharp, violent thwack! - a sound like an assassin's bullet striking the windscreen. This wasn't the tiny tap of a rogue stone flicked up from the asphalt. It felt deliberate, targeted, and like it had come from above.... Perhaps kids messing about on an overhead bridge.

Two seconds of stunned silence followed before my wife finally caught her breath. 'It's alright - it's just a chip,' I said, trying to reassure her. And possibly myself too.