Cars

 This is a Google image of a Morris 1100, my first car.

 

Cars

 

When I was a child hardly anyone seemed to have a car.  Of course, that changed over the years, and I resolved that I would get a car when I could.   I saved and bought a car when I was 18, a Morris 1100 through a man at my dad’s work at the BMC (British Motor Corporation later to be British Leyland).  I was ecstatic, only one problem I didn’t have my full driving licence, enter my friend Davie who did but didn’t have a car.  What a partnership, as well as proper lessons with a driving instructor, Davie sat beside me as the experienced driver in his spare time, and we were always out at the weekends going to different places.  It was a change from the West Calder Polly which used to be the regular Saturday night dancing haunt for the locals. My sisters including my older sister Moira were not allowed to go for quite some time after I was, my Father, God bless him, got his ‘blessings’ from them.  Davie and I went to, Edinburgh, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, Seahouses (north England), Darlington, Sunderland (and stayed with my Aunt Isabel who had moved to near Darlington from Dunoon by then). My first car, an old Morris 1100, caused my first and only run in with the Police. I had car trouble one Saturday in the winter, it just wouldn’t start so I called my Mechanic, Willie who with his friend got the car started.  My friend Davie and I went to the Raith Ballroom in Kirkcaldy.  When it came time to go home the car wouldn’t start, we tried everything, I wasn’t in the AA or RAC and it was very late, seriously cold and freezing.  Neither of our parents drove or had a phone so we used our intelligence and went to a police station to ask for help.  They just were not interested, so here were Davie and I freezing, very little funds and nowhere to go for help.  Davie suggested borrowing a car battery to jump start the car.  That is how we ended up spending the night in the cells in Kirkcaldy, we had to remove our shoes and belts, this was after questioning of course.  Next morning, we made bail, my Uncle Kenny who did drive and had a car brought my Mum and Dad over to get us.   We got the offending car started, got halfway across the Forth Road Bridge when it broke down again.  We eventually got home when my Mum gave me a right roasting.  Although I heard afterwards that during the night when I was in the Police cell my parents got a knock at the door from the local police to tell them what had happened, my mother wouldn’t believe them and was in danger of losing her temper with the police.  I felt duty bound to tell my boss in the office I worked in what had happened, I had pictures of me getting the sack, ending up in jail.  Fortunately, my boss knew me and was very supportive.  Davie and I went to court on our own without a Lawyer and got a small fine which was a very small amount to pay for the lesson it taught us.

 

The most problematic car I ever had was an old petrol Mercedes.  Another mechanic friend of mine said that old Mercedes were great reliable cars.  He found one for me which I bought and when I was driving it home a bit fell of it, the warning bells should have been sounding then. There always seemed to be problems with it, not always mechanical, I seemed to have more than my fair share of flat tyres too, however in the main it was okay.  We were going on holiday to visit my sister Helen in Bristol for our Summer holidays and enroute I had to call in at Stockport, Manchester to see a client.  The timing of the appointment meant we had to leave at 4.30 in the morning.  There was my wife and two of my sons, Alastair, Colin and me. Christopher, my oldest son who is a piper was away with his Band. We set off in the Mercedes which I had serviced prior to the journey.  We were leaving East Calder and heading down across country to Carlisle.  As we were heading towards Carnwath, the solitary car in front threw up a stone and chipped my windscreen, a little later a horde of rabbits literally flooded the road in my path then a bird fell out of the sky and bounced of my windscreen.  I didn’t realise at the time that this was the fun part of the journey.  We got to Stockport in good time, I did my appointment, and we then had a nice lunch before heading back to the M6 Motorway.  We were moving slowly along the slip road heading onto the motorway and into heavy traffic, as I was looking over my right shoulder, the slow-moving lorry on the motorway let me know I had a flat tyre.  I managed to pull into the hard shoulder, Pat, my wife and Alastair got out of the car, Colin stayed in the car.  We got all the luggage out of the car, got it jacked up and just as I was about to remove the wheel Alastair got back in the car which then proceeded to roll of the jack!  Eventually we got going again and we finally got on the M5 motorway on the final stretch of our journey, and I felt by now that I had been travelling forever.  The sun was starting to sink below the horizon, and it was a beautiful view as we headed towards Bristol.  Suddenly there was an almighty bang and smoke started billowing from the engine at which time I gently manoeuvred into the hard shoulder thinking what next?  I sat there stunned (after switching the engine off).  No mobile phone in those days, I looked at Pat shook my head and got out the car to go and find an AA roadside phone box, glad that at least had very comprehensive cover with them.  As I was walking along the hard shoulder, I spotted a bit metal on the motorway, and I was sure it was from my car. I checked to make sure the road was clear then I gingerly went to lift it up, I then realised too late that it was extremely hot and burnt my hand.  The AA turned up in due course and towed me off the motorway, it transpired the engine was a write off with no clear reason why.  The car was towed back to Scotland, and I got a car for two days as part of my cover with the AA.  I then hired a car when it was time to head home.