Kitchen Monkey

22 February 2008

A mini and a monkey!

I have had my fair share of cars, but I have to say that I really have only changed my car when the need was there.

My first car was a beautiful fun filled little mini 1000 which I loved to bits as everyone does their very first car. I had saved up for months to buy it, literally paying my board to my parents and then putting aside the rest. I remember paying just over £100 for it which I have to say was a lot of money then. A lovely white mini 1000 D registration (the original D registration that is, I hope I am not sounding old as it wasn’t that long ago, believe it or not). It wasn’t immaculate either it did have rust on it, but as my dad said I was a women first and also it was my first car, so why give me a sparkling new car which I would scratch or bump while I got use to the whole driving experiences of my driving independence.

My father was a practical man, very fair and he had morals, which is why he had me save for that car out of my own hard grafted cash. It’s a lesson his father had taught him and a lesson he passed on to me. A lesson of respect for your own independence and money, along with the responsibility of it all which goes with it, one that is a hard lesson to be learnt by some.

That little car was my pride and joy, (as a further note I did actually pass my driving test first time which lost my dad his bet, and it was snowing hard to the day I took my test, they didn’t cancel your test in those days due to bad weather). I would polish, wax and clean that car religiously, why? because it was mine and I had worked hard to get it. Both in earning the money for lessons and the test and then earning the money to buy the car plus I wanted my dad to be proud of me too so I could show him I had learnt from him.

I went everywhere in that little car, on one occasion the mini would be full of my friends as we went off on days trips. I remember distinctly once flying over a canal bridge in a back country road once on our way to the Zoo for a day, only doing 30 miles a hour however, the mini flew literally over this bridge like something out of the Italian job film. We all hit our heads on the ceiling as the car landed. I even drove out in the snow which was the depth of bus stop tops and just one tunnel open in my little white mini, it never let me down.

My friend nearly had heart attack with me once when we were out on a Saturday morning driving down country lanes to visit a friend, when I drove around a 90 degree bend only to have a huntsman on horseback come flying over the hedge. The horse’s hoofs hit the bonnet and carried on over the hedge the other side of the road and off. We sat there watching in amazement as all these horses and riders piled over the hedges onto the road with the dogs and back over the hedge the other side. After they had all gone and we felt it was safe to get out of the car a farmer came over to us to ask if we were ok, who was following the hunt. We were of course, just shocked but the poor mini had another scare to its decor. We were amazed how no one had got hurt really including the horse.

I remember coming home from work one night in the mini and at that point I use to have 2 other friends whom I worked with in the car with me. As we car shared to save money (and that was before the petrol prices of today). We were driving along a very long straight piece of country road when suddenly there was a dragging noise. When I pulled over and got out, the boot lid had come off and was being dragged along behind us. So I drove around for a couple of months at least with the boot tied on to the car.

Then when I was out with my best friend on a Sunday afternoon, after we had treated ourselves and had a lovely day out at the local town carnival. We had had a great time. Driving back gossiping away, as there was so much to talk about when suddenly, the bonnet flew up for no reason and blocked my vision as I screeched to a halt. My poor little mini now it was tied up both ends it was then when I knew its days were numbered and this little car would have to go.

I remember my Dad looking over the mini (did you name your car by the way???); he told me it was dangerous and that it needed scrapping. I was broken hearted and I welled up when I saw it loaded on the trailer for the car scrap yard. My poor little mini, but boy what fun and memories I had in it.

I have to say I want on to have more minis (cars that is) and even brought a classic mini which I kept and brought out to attend mini rallies for years until I hadn’t the room but it was fun, just like the car.

What are your first car memories, let us know.