I Do Wish...

Wish I learnt how to drive now.

Himself is excellent at spotting a bookshop from three hundred yards away on the opposite side of the road...never one to drive fast he'll speed up, so by the time I've said...Oooo, look, a bookshop...we're a couple of miles away.

He's the same with the Hospice Charity shops, which are excellent actually...some of the managers even colour co-ordinate the clothes. They don't smell of things long dead when you walk in either, unlike some charity shops I've visited where all the goods for sale are grimy and slightly greasy to the touch.

But he zooms past or says he can't stop because there's a car behind him or there's nowhere to park or he'll look pointedly at his watch as though we have to be somewhere urgently...

He does the same when we've been out for a while and I really need a cup of coffee. Straight past a petrol station at sixty miles an hour while I flap my hands about pathetically and say we could have stopped there so I could buy a coffee...he did that one day and announced he hadn't stopped because we didn't need petrol. Didn't speak to him for the rest of the afternoon...

Then there are all those seriously interesting signs pointing down narrow side roads...Disused Burial Ground...Old Cemetery...Early Church Ruins. Oh look ...but we're past the turning and Himself says we'll stop there next time we come this way and I know without a doubt we'll probably never come this way ever again...

So I do a Google search when we arrive back home and find we could have seen the 'earliest inscribed Celtic Cross in Ireland' or the 'clearly visible remains of a Plague Pit' 'the burial place of the early Monks' interesting stuff like that...

Last year I saw a bramble patch with the biggest juiciest Blackberries ever...he did stop so I could pick some...and drove very slowly behind me, all the time, practically running over my feets as I braved the nettles and thorns and savage Wasps intent on stinging my hands...

So I wish I'd learnt to drive a car when I was in my youth...

[redted]

Sounds very much like my husband,and I must never plan to go anywhere or do anything,that will take longer than midday.

[Hidden in reply to redted]

That puts a certain stop to a whole day out then...lol

[redted in reply to Hidden]

Yep afraid so,can't remember the last time I went out for the day,apart from when my Son comes over from Germany,he takes me out for lunch and afternoon tea,with a little shopping in between,really nice.

[mmzetor]

im so glad my wife learnt to drive the first time I was in hospital she couldn't and she had to relie on friends and a not very frequent bus service I think it was the push she needed to learn now she says she don't know how she would manage with out her car , Our youngest is now learning but its so expensive for the youngsters £19,00 per hour for lessons and when he do pass his car insurance will be around £1400.00 per year on a small car .because our eldest moved to kings lynn his insurance went up an extra £30.00 per month to what he was paying in the village . I feel himself must have had a very quiet afternoon on that particular day lol ,(only joking )

[Hidden in reply to mmzetor]

It's €45 an hour here...I've seen it as much as €50 an hour! And insurance is mad...trouble is those that do insure their cars are paying for those that don't bother...my husband is now 77 and he pays as much for his insurance as a lad of nineteen...

Still wish I could drive though...lol

[Katinka46 in reply to mmzetor]

Soooooo right. Driving to the spinal injuries unit a few hours after my husband's accident I thought, in this order: Thank God I can drive, thank God we have a joint account, (in those days cheques and the signing of them ruled) and thank God he can do his job from a wheel chair. Callous or pragmatic? But it doesn't do to be too calm, twice I was taken to be a member of staff. And a nurse got me to look in his mouth: "Look," she said, can you see the jawbone sticking out through the gum?" Err.... And the liaison nurse gave me a booklet on looking after tetraplegic patients at home, "I don't give this to everyone." She said but you can obviously cope. Err...

In the event he made a good-ish recovery. After 22 years it now looks as though he will need a wheelchair for the first time.

So, yes, driving a very useful skill.

K xx

[Katinka46 in reply to Katinka46]

P.S. I thought they didn't fuss too much about driving licences in Ireland?

K x

[Hidden in reply to Katinka46]

Used not to bother much but everything has changed now...very strict indeed, which is just as well.

[grannyjan in reply to mmzetor]

Funny I should just read this, have just been on the phone for an hour renewing my daughter's ins. (she's 20 and drives a little Nissan micra). We managed to get it for just over £700 when she was learning, then when she passed her test, it went up to £1700, which we could not afford, so she didn't drive for a year. Then on a dual car policy last year, £1000 and now thankfully this year gone down to £625, which is great cos' this year she is paying it herself. (yipeee, more money for me)

jan x

[mmzetor in reply to grannyjan]

the good old bank of mum lol, our eldest was doing a full time collage course then worked part time at MacDonald's to pay for his insurance. A lot of weeks he was only earning enough to pay for his insurance and petrol to get him to work and back don't give youngsters much encouragement to work .

[Azure_Sky]

I was 43 when I passed my test, I had my own car until two years ago. My husband hates sharing the car. I have told him it is time I got another one. Just an old banger would do.

Vashti, don't you get mobility allowance in Ireland? You could still learn to drive, even with your oxygen. For somebody sharp witted like you, it wouldn't be too hard.

Why not tell Himself either he pays for driving lessons or he must agree to take you where you want to go.

Make a list before you leave. I have to do that to my husband,

[hufferpuffer]

It's a pain alright, I learnt how to drive a couple of years ago but didn't take my test...I just kept getting too anxious and I felt like I couldn't breathe...anyway I'd be a hazard probably 😁

I just picked enough blackberries for a pie in the lane yum!😆

[Azure_Sky in reply to hufferpuffer]

The secret is to memorise every bit of the driving manuals and highway code. Drill yourself thoroughly night after night, I had three fails due to sheer fright, Then I was persuaded to try a private instructor. He told me if you know what you are doing, you don't need to be nervous.

I drilled myself and concentrated hard during lessons. I got a perfect pass on my fourth attempt.

[Hidden in reply to Azure_Sky]

Well done!

[Hidden in reply to hufferpuffer]

Blackberries already? Lovely...

It isn't just the driving...there's insurance and stuff as well...but at least you can drive...in an emergency I mean...lol

[hufferpuffer in reply to Hidden]

The big fella has a tune he's called ' she's crashed the feckin car again' and he's been singing it all week since I crashed it into the swing last week lol!😁🎸🎼🎵

[Hidden]

I passed my test back in 82 - first time. Don't know how coz on my reversing I drove back onto the pavement When I had finished the instructor said 'You have passed but not with merit' and made me promise to read up on motorway driving. x

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Ah...but you passed first time even if you didn't get a gold star!

[Azure_Sky]

The thing is, you can have several minor errors and still pass. One serious dangerous error will fail you. so if you are careful to use your gears properly, don't roll back on a hill, overtake carefully, use your signals correctly, you should pass.

There are pitfalls like choosing a safe place to stop. If you do it near a junction, or park too far from the kerb you will fail.

It's all about observation, constantly checking your mirrors. The main aim of the test is to see if you are safe.

[Sheilab123]

Hey Vashti I agree with Az take that test, you won't regret it and your never to old to learn. xx

[Hidden in reply to Sheilab123]

If we had the spare cash I would...but we haven't...so I won't!

[DecD]

I wish my Boss had learned to drive. She scares me to death when I'm sitting in the passenger seat as she drives me to the pub !

Dec

[Hidden in reply to DecD]

You be careful Dec...if the Boss reads this you'll be paying for taxi's next time you fancy a pint...lol

[Dragonmum]

When I took my first test the examiner grabbed the wheel and I thought "'ello I don't think I'm going to pass this time" - and I was so right! Always did well in exams at school but this was SO different; was a complete nervous wreck before I got in the car and my mind just froze, I think the poor guy was glad to get out of it alive. Got there in the end of course, and a clean record, but I leave the driving to my son when possible now. There are enough idiots on the road.

[Hidden in reply to Dragonmum]

I'd be useless...probably pull in to let a lorry overtake and come to a complete stop at a roundabout...!

[Nikkers]

It's never too late. I'd be lost without my car. As for having to rely on a man for ANYTHING? No way thank you! lol.

[Hidden in reply to Nikkers]

And money doesn't grow on trees...lol

[Azure_Sky]

Why can't you learn in Himself's car? Tell him if he gets poorly he will need you to drive. Much cheaper. If you have an automatic car it is easier still.

There is such a mystique built up around the Driving Test. Barely literate idiots manage to pass. A mature intelligent woman like you would walk it!

[Hidden in reply to Azure_Sky]

No money...

[Azure_Sky in reply to Hidden]

I take it you don't get Mobility allowance in Ireland.

[Hidden in reply to Azure_Sky]

No, we don't...

[Azure_Sky in reply to Hidden]

That is such a shame, you would be amazed how much difference the mobility allowance makes.

[2malinka]

Living alone, I would be unable to leave the house without wheels. I find it hard to walk outside even with the oxygen. My car is my lifeline.

Last time I was in Ireland , we went to Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. (my parents birthplace) Galway was incredible. One of my sisters & I rode on horseback on Galway Bay. Obviously very slowly. Sure as Hell beats Watford,

Take care

Malinka

[Hidden in reply to 2malinka]

We live in Roscommon...! Mayo is lovely...our part of Roscommon used to be Mayo until the boundaries changed...

I don't know Galway at all though...

[2malinka]

I drive an automatic so I don't get too breathless having to change gears. I took my first test when I was living in New York back in the 80's and everything and most cars are automatic. The test there is like 20 minutes So when I took the test here I chose an automatic. Took 3 tests before