Things that irked me about where I grew up.

[hirez]

It was the countryside. There were no buses. Well, there were - one a day into and out of Cheltenham (the 'work' bus, because it got you there for just before nine and left again circa ten to six) during the week, ditto Saturday (but towards lunchtime) and one once a week in the other direction for people who liked to visit Winchcombe on a Wednesday morning.

Thus one applied for one's licence as early as possible and blapped around on an ancient Suzuki (or Yamaha) two-stroke Miasma. A year later one saved for driving lessons, passed as quickly as possible and then rattled around in an ancient Mini or Escort.

If you were a bloke.

Girls just went out with car-driving chaps. Which always seemed a bit... dependant.

Comments

[ingaborg.livejournal.com]

Mmm. I'm a girl who grew up in towns, but I never liked the dependency thing either. Therefore I learned to drive at 17 and bought a motorbike at 18.

[kathbad]

I grew up with no buses, I pootled about in an old vauxhall (goodness, the model has gone out of my head completely), then an old mini.

Girls who chose not to drive did not last long in our group of friend...

[hirez.livejournal.com]

So I'm getting the distinct impression that I grew up around a bunch of useless people...

[ingaborg.livejournal.com]

The girls sounds pretty useless to me! But I was exceedingly lucky in having 2 older brothers who broke trail for me, and parents to whom it did not occur to say "you can't do the same as your brothers because you're a girl".

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

Nah, it was the same in Shropshire too.

There were *some* girls who drove. Theresa, a six-foot-something blonde made entirely of intimidation, who taught me two important lessons, viz: 1. How to perform a handbrake turn and 2. Why not to do it in a 4x4 rally edition hatchback. She also used to race me down Bridgnorth bypass; being the perfect gentleman, I courteously bottled out at 115mph and "let" her win.

[cybermule.livejournal.com]

Heh. Fiat 131 Mirafiori by the time I was 18:

http://www.wheelsofitaly.com/wiki/images/4/4a/Seat_131_Estate_Tenerife_1979_.jpg

Complete rust bucket, bitch to bumpstart on Cotswold hills unless you were pointing down (50/50) but taught me everything I know about cars AND YOU COULD SLEEP IN THE BACK!!!

[quercus.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I had one of those (amongst my _vast_ pile of Fiats). Probably looks a bit spartan today, but it was so much better than the regular crop of Escorts. What use was a Mini? No chance at all of kipping in that, let alone doing the end of term furniture run.

[cybermule.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Kind of miss the days when I could cram all my stuff in the back of an estate.

[girfan.livejournal.com]

I was given a car for my 16th birthday. We didn't have any public transport where I grew up, so one learned to drive at age 15 in preparation for 16th birthday.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

The "girls don't drive" concept didn't exist where I grew up, and even if it had, my Dad wouldn't have fallen for it.

[mog-warbeast.livejournal.com]

I Can't Even Drive, but then I have never lived in the countryside. Whilst I was not sorry to go out with car-driving chaps, I definitely didn't pick them on that basis.