The Things You Are HAPPY About Thread.

[lemonjelly]

Congratulations. I am definitely jealous and wondering if, now that I’m 43, I’ve reached the point where I’m just too old to learn

Mrs jelly had her 1st lessons 6 months before covid. She's older than I, & I have 6 years on you.
She's taken 1 test at the end of 2019. Didn't pass, but she'll start lessons again soon.

In her 20's. She lived in Scotland & had a car for 4 years. Drove everywhere. When she started lessons was th first time she applied for her licence!

 

[EpsomWolf]

Passed at 17, spent the next 5 or so years driving knackered Escorts and Cortina’s drifting round roundabouts and perfecting handbrake turns. You’d be locked up in an instant now but it seemed like great fun at the time.

Passed motorbike test at 17 too. The days when you could ride a 250cc as a learner, pass a quick test which amounted to some bloke watching you ride around the block before randomly stepping out in front of you. If you didn’t run him over then you’d passed and went straight off to buy a 750 or whatever machine you wanted to risk your life on. No wonder people were getting killed left right and centre.

Couldn’t really make a case for those days being better and of course things needed to change, but it was a whole lot more exciting that’s for sure.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Passed in May 1990 just before my 18th birthday. Road safety has never been the same since…

 

[Paul]

Passed at 17, got a job driving a transit for a local timber company, my Grandad who was a mechanic in the war warned me to never have anything to do with transport, should have listened, I'm 57 now, still in transport

 

[pagey]

Passed at 18 in a Metro, biggest car id drove back then was a Escort 1.3, went to work day after and was thrown in transit pick up, to do a delivery in Stoke, shit my self travelling up on the M6 during rush hour, as it was the first time I'd drove on the motorway.

 

[Tony Towner]

Passed at 17 in a Fiesta Firefly..took 3 goes though

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I passed in a Nissan Micra and my first car was a Mini Metro

 

[leedswolf]

I passed in an Austin 1100. First set of 4 wheels was an A35 van!

 

[The Bear]

First lesson on my 17th birthday and passed 12 weeks later, 35 years ago this month

It was as soon as I was 17 for me too. I had 10 lessons over 10 weeks, the 10th being the hour before my test, which I passed first time with 3 minor faults. I did the turn in the road (3 point turn), and reversing round a corner. He didn't ask me to parallel park. At that time in 1995 it was always two out of those three that they asked you to do.

I had an advantage that my dad taught me to drive when I was 16 in his Mini on a disused airfield in Fradley, so my first lesson was straight out onto the roads. I was a bit cocky and told the instructor that I already knew how to drive, so he took me through the town centre on a Saturday morning, which was an experience for your first lesson!

Then in between lessons every Sunday I used to drive my dad, uncle and grandad to Beacon Park and back in Lichfield to play golf, in my dad's MG Maestro. So I had plenty of practice driving on the roads before I even had my test.

My first car was a light blue Nissan Micra that cost me £900. I saved up for it doing summer work at the brewery whilst I was in the Sixth Form at school.

 

[Tony Towner]

It was as soon as I was 17 for me too. I had 10 lessons over 10 weeks, the 10th being the hour before my test, which I passed first time with 3 minor faults. I did the turn in the road (3 point turn), and reversing round a corner. He didn't ask me to parallel park. At that time in 1995 it was always two out of those three that they asked you to do.

I had an advantage that my dad taught me to drive when I was 16 in his Mini on a disused airfield in Fradley, so my first lesson was straight out onto the roads. I was a bit cocky and told the instructor that I already knew how to drive, so he took me through the town centre on a Saturday morning, which was an experience for your first lesson!

Then in between lessons every Sunday I used to drive my dad, uncle and grandad to Beacon Park and back in Lichfield to play golf, in my dad's MG Maesteo. So I had plenty of practice driving on the roads before I even had my test.

My first car was a light blue Nissan Micra that cost me £900. I saved up for it doing summer work at the brewery whilst I was in the Sixth Form at school.

I left in 94, but my part time job for 5 years was working in the golf hut at Beacon Park

 

[sycophantia]

Passed in an Open Kadett, first car a very 'cool' Ford Anglia estate. Ended up giving it to my dad cos I was more interested in bikes.

 

[leedswolf]

Estate cars were never 'cool' unless you were a farmer of course...

 

[Wolf Hunting]

Estate cars were never 'cool' unless you were a farmer of course...

Went out with a girl when I was the Display Manager for British Home Stores (Stockport) She had an estate car.
Green Morris with the wooden framing on it. Can't remember its full name.
Had mixed feelings about it, in its day nice car to drive and loads of room in the back.
I can remember her name though, Vivian.....
She gave me a dose of the clap in that damn thing.

 

[leedswolf]

Morris Minor Traveller?

 

[sycophantia]

Passed in an Open Kadett, first car a very 'cool' Ford Anglia estate. Ended up giving it to my dad cos I was more interested in bikes.

It was probably the uncoolest car I could get but it was cheap (75 quid) from a known source (my brothers mate) so knew it was reliable.
Didn't bother me it was an old man's car, for being cool I had my Suzuki GT250. Cars for me have always been a utilitarian tool even as a teenager.

 

[Lupo]

It was as soon as I was 17 for me too. I had 10 lessons over 10 weeks, the 10th being the hour before my test, which I passed first time with 3 minor faults. I did the turn in the road (3 point turn), and reversing round a corner. He didn't ask me to parallel park. At that time in 1995 it was always two out of those three that they asked you to do.

I had an advantage that my dad taught me to drive when I was 16 in his Mini on a disused airfield in Fradley, so my first lesson was straight out onto the roads. I was a bit cocky and told the instructor that I already knew how to drive, so he took me through the town centre on a Saturday morning, which was an experience for your first lesson!

Then in between lessons every Sunday I used to drive my dad, uncle and grandad to Beacon Park and back in Lichfield to play golf, in my dad's MG Maestro. So I had plenty of practice driving on the roads before I even had my test.

My first car was a light blue Nissan Micra that cost me £900. I saved up for it doing summer work at the brewery whilst I was in the Sixth Form at school.

First lesson was the afternoon of my 17th birthday and I couldn't wait. Instructor told me to put in for my test after 2 weeks. It was August and test came back for December but that seemed ages to me so managed to get a cancellation for the October which was better.

As it was a cancellation I had to share test day with a girl I was at school with. She went first and passed so pressure was on!

I combined lessons in instructors MG Metro with my dad's Lada which was much harder to drive, it was like a fucking tank!

 

[The Bear]

First lesson was the afternoon of my 17th birthday and I couldn't wait. Instructor told me to put in for my test after 2 weeks. It was August and test came back for December but that seemed ages to me so managed to get a cancellation for the October which was better.

As it was a cancellation I had to share test day with a girl I was at school with. She went first and passed so pressure was on!

I combined lessons in instructors MG Metro with my dad's Lada which was much harder to drive, it was like a fucking tank!

I left school during a weekday while I was in the 6th form to have my test. Passed and walked back into the common room a hero with my own car parked outside

 

[sycophantia]

I left school during a weekday while I was in the 6th form to have my test. Passed and walked back into the common room a hero with my own car parked outside

Fucking hell, how many paper rounds did you do to afford a car at school?

 

[The Bear]

Fucking hell, how many paper rounds did you do to afford a car at school?

My first car was a light blue Nissan Micra that cost me £900. I saved up for it doing summer work at the brewery whilst I was in the Sixth Form at school.

^^^

 

[sycophantia]

^^^

Good effort
Guess a Nissan Micra was the same cool level as my Anglia in its time, still better than walking or catching the bus though.