Claire Smith: Twenty years on and Chitty flies again with a full carload I always think of this expression whenever a missing item is restored to me. Until I looked it up I was convinced it was said in The Winter's Tale - when Princess Perdita returns to court after being brought up by shepherds. Ironically, I can't find it. Anyway, the expression came to mind when a little girl was returned to me after an absence of more than 20 years. She is about half an inch tall, cost me the most part of a tenner and came through the post. The little girl was Jemima, the missing passenger in my corgi Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car. And the little hole in the back seat where she should have been was a constant reminder of her loss. But in our modern online world you can find anything. and when a friend started buying and selling toys on eBay I asked him to search for the missing girl. And there she was. "Do you want me to bid for you?" he asked. "Yes" I said. It was an exciting few days. The price went up and up. There were nerve-wracking moments. My friend bid on another, cheaper Jemima - a modern day replica. "But I want the REAL one," I said. My friend then spotted another - restored by someone with a shaky hand. But her face is EVIL. I said. She is not MINE. Luckily the price stayed under a tenner, so I never got to find out how high I would have bid to get "my" Jemima. She arrived in the post, she fitted perfectly into the back seat. And I remembered how I'd lost her in the first place - because she sits back to front waving to people behind. I remembered my little fingers fiddling and trying to get her to face forward. It was good to get her back. And with all four characters in place my Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is now worth about fifty quid. But there's a problem. While I was tracking Jemima online I realised the car is also missing its front and rear wings. I might bid on some if they come up for auction. I wonder how far I'll go this time. Never thought of myself as a collector, but now I understand how it can become an obsession.