Learning to drive
When I was about 10 my Dad first let me drive his Mini 850 around a field. I'll never forget that feeling of being in control for the first time.
Later in my early teens I was lucky enough to live in a stately home set in a huge private estate with lots of private roads and an old airfield. Here I continued my driving experiences and first drove at over 100mph on the old airfield runways. One day I still hope to drive at over 200mph - but on the Salt Lakes in Utah...
Where we live now, there are less opportunities. So today I took Huw up to a private road just off the Ridgeway and put him in the driving seat of my old VW Golf for the first time.
He did amazingly well. He's as tall as me now (at only 12yrs old) and could reach the controls etc. He's always been interested, so knew what pedals operated which controls. Here's what happened.
We had a few scary moments, the first when we went through a huge puddle and it covered the windows with muddy water and Huw didn't know how to turn the wipers on, another when I said "slow down" and he pressed the accelerator not the brake and I pulled hard on the handbrake and we nearly skidded off the road as he pressed harder and harder on the accelerator trying to slow up!
A great first attempt. Many more lessons to come!
3 comments:
YAY Huw!!
I learned to drive a stick shift on a VW Rabbit... with a father who was nowhere near as patient as you!
Congrats Huw... ride on!!
Well done Huw! I did enjoy the muddy puddle and the way your feet twitched Simon!
I too remember driving on the airfield before the age of 17. Briliiant fun as I'm sure Lucy will also remember. Hairing around with Queen blasting out my little stereo. I didn't quite make 100mph in my little Mk1 Escort - must have been all the stuffed toys cramed along the rear parcel shelf! Oh those the days - our kids aren't so lucky.
What a great time we had back then! Didn't appreciate it enough at the time I guess.
I remember being towed down the runway on an old Lambretta to try and get it started, and the chap towing me stopped suddenly, I ran over the rope and it wrapped round the front wheel throwing me off at about 30mph onto the wet tarmac and skidding on my hands onto the grass at the edge. Ouch that was painful And getting followed by the police down it at around 90mph in my old Singer... I had some explaining to do as to how I had crossed the road to get on there, but once they knew who I was they let me off thank goodness.
I'd forgotten you had all those furry toys on the back shelf! But can see them now.
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