Monday 20 July 2009

Unconventionally Back By Popular Demand

Well I say it's back by popular demand, that’s technically not true. I didn't have a group of people camping outside my house and waving around signs nailed to an old piece of wood demanding I write another blog on my driving lesson. By popular demand, I mean it is the blog that has gotten the most responses than any of my other ones. Plus it is something that can be a regular theme until I eventually pass my driving test. From now on then, every so often, I shall write a blog about the last few driving experiences. Maybe they won't be that entertaining, and demand will disappear but it saves me having to keep coming up with different blog ideas.

I shall begin, where I left off last time so it's now lesson 4, early in the morning, on a Tuesday. Where I live, this is considered to be dustbin day, so my driving lesson started by manoeuvring my way through dustcarts. Then off through the narrow country roads which seemed to never end, but when they did, I stalled it, just as I was pulling out onto a main road, so not very handy. Nether-the-less, I carried on and done another three-point turn and again, didn't hit the curb, which I think was rather lucky. And when I got home, as usual, I found my shirt was rather wet from sweat.

A week later, and again on a Tuesday morning, but this time as we sat in the car near my house talking, while we waited for all the school kids to get to school so I didn't run them over, a nosey neighbour came over to talk to me, eating a 10 minute hole into my lesson. She ended up talking to my instructor about fruit, out of all the subjects of discussion to choose. Anyway, after she buggered off, I began lesson 5. Had to drive around the dust carts again and then the lesson began properly. This lesson we covered reversing into a parking space, which didn't go too bad, but could've been better. Then it was time to come home, and to go home always requires a trip down a dual carriageway and for the first time I got into top gear and started to hit just over 60 MPH, which at the time felt great. He was egging me on though, with him keep repeatedly yelling 'boot it' at me. Also, I did stall the car twice, but at this point in my lessons, it is expected still.

Lesson 6 now, this time on a Monday morning, so there were no wheelie bins to contend with, just little kids again, avoiding the nosey neighbours and it being bloody hot. This time I attempted the reversing into a parking space again, which I failed miserably with and after 5 attempts, we gave up and attempted the three-point turn manoeuvre which I seem to be rather good at. Again, I never hit the curb - surely this is a miracle. Anyway, on my way to do the three-point turn, I stalled it, but stalling it isn't bothering me yet. Also, I counted and overall I had 9 roundabouts, which are rather daunting sometimes, and then I decided I would park in a disabled bay for some reason at the end of the lesson, but he did stopped me. At the end of the lesson, he revealed to me that he felt like 'A Mouse trapped in a microwave'. I'm assuming he was telling me my driving scared him, which is good to know.

Lesson 7 and yet again it’s a Monday morning, but luckily it wasn't a hot day, so we didn't have to sit in the car sweating like mice in microwaves. Done reversing into a parking bay again, and this time it went pretty well, could have been a lot worse. However, I did stall it rather a few times, as for some reason I had forgotten how to use the clutch properly. Then we went on to attempt reversing around a corner, which went very well and done it one attempt, so I was rather 'chuffed' with that.

It's Wednesday afternoon (a week later), and I'm having driving lesson 8. It made such a change to me, and also for a change, I wasn't worried about it too much, in fact I couldn't be bothered to do a lesson - and this showed. The lesson started from school, so imagine the annoyance when I only stall the car once - in front of a load of my peers at the bus stop. Then I went and done a three-point turn, and for the first time, hit the curb. However, I did attempt to do reversing into a parallel parking space, and luckily I hit no cars, so this made up for it a bit. My confidence had been hit about two hours before though, after witnessing a pretty bad accident. But I survived however hard I tried to destroy the car. At this point in my driving lessons, I am coming home drenched in sweat still, so after every lesson, I have to make sure I have a bath.

When I wasn't going very fast, purely for the fact I was nervous at the start, he would shout 2 commands at me. It would either be 'Come on, Boot it' or 'Give it some more go-go's'. Now I have become more confident, and he no longer has to yell these commands at me, and instead he finds himself having to constantly remind me of the speed limit. I do still find those two phrases ringing around my mind, and I think I have many nightmares with him constantly repeating 'Give it more go-go's' in my ear.

Today’s driving lesson nearly ended in terror, but you will have to wait another month to hear about it. I’ve never done a cliff hanger on a blog before; I wonder how successful it will be. We shall have to wait and see.
Toodles m’dearys
xXXx

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