Happy ending

The first car we ever had as a family was a green Austin A35. It was so primitive compared to our modern cars, no heating, manual on/off windscreen wipers, a switch which looked like a poached egg on the dashboard to engage the indicators, these indicators  were plastic arrows on either side  of the car would pop out to point the direction we were turning… And no doubt other things which I didn’t realise as a child – the mysterious double-declutching to change gear, a choke, a handle to crank the engine if it wouldn’t start… Hard to imagine now! From Aussie our beloved Austin we moved to a Wolseley – a small family car not a posh big one. In later years. we had various different cars which I don’t remember, especially since I didn’t learn to drive until I was 17.

My own first car was also an Austin A35, a pale blue one (see featured image!) which was another loyal servant until it eventually died. Over the years countless other four-wheeled friends transported me around the country. I moved to the north, my parents and sister were in Weston-super-Mare and I travelled down to visit for many years. So cars have always been important and necessary to our lives. We’ve always had a large car – husband is a large man, two metres tall, and he needed to transport his drum kit to gigs – drums take up an awful lot of space, plus there’s “the coffin” to transport all the metal-ware.

We’d had our car for many years – until last week-end. Son had borrowed it and unfortunately he was clipped by another driver who didn’t stop, and the damage to the wing which seemed superficial at first sight, did our car to death. To cut a long story somewhat shorter, a second-hand car dealer was recommended. We visited and he was indeed a most helpful person who had a car which was exactly what we wanted although we would never have thought of that make and model. So, happy ending, we have a news (second-hand) car which is an absolute delight and perfect for us. End of the story of our cars!