The other thing that happened yesterday was the disappearance of my car. Don't worry, it's not been stolen. Lisa and I decided that it would be a good idea, environmentally and financially, to get rid of the car and so the haulage company came along and took it away. I've been thinking about doing this for the past 6 months, and so I pulled my finger out and did it.
I've had a car since I passed my test at the age of 17, which, come September will be a decade of being an automobile user. I have many great memories attached to driving, from the many long drives I've done for gigs and tours, to driving away from my wedding with can's tied to the bumper and foam spelling out Just Married across the back window.
I'm sure I'll get used to taking the bus and train again, and walking the short distances that I used to endanger the planet by driving. And, of course, there will the extra cash at the end of the month which means we might actually be able to start saving.
A wee history of the car's I've owned:
Nissan Sunny: The best car I've ever owned. A G-Reg, sky blue, 5 door saloon 1.4 litre machine. I got this car after I passed my test so that I could drive to university. I'll admit it wasn't the prettiest car ever designed, but it always started (until that fateful day), had lots of space inside for passengers, drums, guitars, amps and more. This was the car that I had when I decided that being in a band doesn't mean you have to just play your own town, city or country, and so we (Dan, Puggs, and Myself) set off on a wee tour of northern England.The following week the exhaust came detached from the engine, at the engine, somewhere under the River Clyde causing a massive noise echoing through the tunnel and a maximum speed of 5mph. It was made in to a metallic cube the following day.
Rover Metro Kensington: While the Nissan Sunny was the best car I've ever owned, this one is perhaps the worst. It was tiny, 1litre engine, 3 doors and had less power than a hamster farting. I could quite easily get the car up to speed in towns, perhaps even to 50mph on a nice slope. However, motorways were a terrifying proposition with many an angry lorry driver being stuck behind this vibrating, floored 65mph monster. This car came to an end when I had parked it outside my flat in Govan. The immobiliser (!) failed, meaning I couldn't start the car, so while it was sitting on the pavement until I could afford to get it fixed, my local friendly neighbour hood Young Team came along and smashed every window and stole the front panel for the CD player. I found it with my CD collection scattered around the road, and a Policeman writing a report. It was towed away to be made in to a metallic cube later that night.
Peugeot 206 : This was the first car I bought new. I had just started my Phd, and decided that I wanted a car again, so signed up for a finance agreement. I've always said that this is the reason the recession happened. Anyone who would give someone like me credit to buy a new car shouldn't be in charge to giving out credit. I had this car when I first started seeing Lisa, and so I have good memories about long drives to Dundee to visit her in the early days. This was also the first car I had that didn't end up as a metallic cube, as far as I know. The terms of the financial agreement meant that I could trade it in for a brand new car after 2 years (see recession comment above), and that's what i did.
Ah well, I'll get another car one day.
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