don't know why this came up the other day, but it did so i thought i'd share it. Others must also have memorable moments, funny or not, that are worth sharing:
20 yrs ago, invited a mate from work to come on lads holiday in Greek islands that 2 of my mates had arranged. Felt sorry for him cos he was going through a really weary divorce. As i'd invited him to join the group he offered to drive us from London to Bristol airport, where we'd meet the others.
So one very wet and miserable morning i got the tube down to South London and despite the pouring rain and grey day was met by my mate wearing shorts, sandals and a Hawaiin shirt...intent on starting his holiday immediately..He showed me to a new steed as well...... fairly new Jag XJ6.....and stated he was doing his best to prevent his wife getting all his money.
So off we drove to the M25 to link up with the M4. The weather was awful, constant pouring rain and bad spray from the motorway. At one point whilst gingerly trying to overtake a lorry, the wipers going full pelt, this apparition appeared in front of us, which for the life of me I could not work out what it was....my mate, driving, shouted
"EXPLETIVE... It's the grim reaper".
It turned out to be a motorcyclist with a couple of fishing rods strapped to his back, so that they were much higher than him and his bike. We couldn't stop laughing, but some of it was through relief!
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used to share the journey to work with three other guys each taking turns to drive our cars. One day Mike is in the front passenger seat and falls asleep; Bill's driving and has to hit the brakes hard at one point. Mike instantly wakes up and is frantically trying to find the steering wheel and pedals - he'd been dreaming he was driving. Still laughing at the thought of it all these years later.
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going into a car park at skipton next to the canal,it was a cold frosty morning circa 1987 and i was in a very tidy mk4 cortina in white,the whole of the car'p' park was one big skating rink and i slid from the entrance to the big stone wall at least 100 feet away,there was nothing i could do,i hit the wall smack straight on and squashed the bumper up to the valance,it wasnt funny at the time and i spent twenty minutes warning other motorists before the carncil gritter arrived
sold the car next day at leeds indoor car sale place of the time "queens hall",you turned up gave the owner a £10 and the good people of leeds came saw and bought,i never went home in a car i brought back then and non of my trader mates did either ,you could never sell a green car though and i once took a kermit green fiat 128 one owner low miles and sold that delivered up the posh end of leeds north ish and walked back to leeds with a briefcase stuffed with notes and not a bus or taxi to be seen (sunday 2.30pm ish)
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I think I had my first memorable moment recently!
My friend's old Metro had been off the road for months, after a DIY headgasket change. It recently passed its MoT, and his parents were urging him to get shot of it quick due to the way it was driving.
I volunteered to drive it round the block to see what I thought. I was insured, and the car had MoT, but it was not Taxed. He warned me the fuel was low and to not take it far, and I agreed.
I started the engine and began driving it round the block. It made it up the road (slight incline) but was very hesitant - when I put my foot down on the gas it would actually slow down to begin with. I glanced at the fuel gauge to find it had not moved from zilch at all. I decided to turn in the road and head back. On the way back, some strange noises came from the engine, then my friend noticed the battery light had come on. The engine had cut out! I attempted a rolling restart to no avail. I had to "glide" it down the hill and get pushed the last few yards, then we all had to get out and push it back up the driveway! :o)
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In a Daimler SP250 with the roof down back in the '80's racing a TR6 on the M25. I backed off at 110mph as the bonnet was starting to flap a bit and they have have a nasty habit of flipping open if you haven't fitted an extra catch, which of course I hadn't. In my defence, the traffic was light and I was younger and more impetuous. Good fun though. Gave each other a friendly wave as we parted company.
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Few years ago when i used to work shifts, several "lads" from this town used to travel the 20 miles to work, in "car Schools", on my shift there were about seven cars used to go. One very dark wet and foggy morning after night shift, we gingerly set off home, and although the cars used to travell independently of each other usually, this particular morning everybody was hanging on to the back lights of the car in front as we made our way home. We were in about car 4 of the seven, on one of the country twisty B road sections, the cars in front suddenly started bouncing up and down and veering of the road in all directions!, it turned out the lead car had lost his way and driven through the open gate into a field, and everybody else had followed him. I remember we had to form gangs to push the bogged cars back on to the road!. still it could have been worse, the track to the quarry wasn't that much further on!
Billy
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I am lead car in a 4 car convoy going to Center Parcs over the A66.
I see the 2nd car in my mirror signalling to turn into the layby that I am just approaching so I pull in and drive to the end of it and stop.
Car 3 sees car 2 signalling to come in so also signals to follow her in. However car 2, instead of coming into the layby and driving to the end behind me, pulls into the layby and stops immediately as it transpires that little daughter is about to wet herself.
Yes you guessed the rest, car 3 (Orion 1.6LX) suddenly realises that car 2 is stopping, applies brakes but layby has liberal spillages of oil on it and goes straight into the back of the car!
Great start to the holiday especially since car 2 and car 3 were friends of mine but until that point, had never actually met each other!
--
2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
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First one is when I bought Polo - I've posted the full story of love at first sight somewhere else on here, but I still believe it was fate, and still get a bit misty eyed thinking about it!
Second memorable moment has to be my very first crash, on the M6 about 300 yards from the half mile mark to junction 15. Over 5 years ago now. Not a serious crash, just nudged the back of a lorry that had swerved in front of me. My biggest memory is of getting out of the car on the hard shoulder, knees shaking, in floods of tears, not knowing what the heck to do, and just seeing everyone driving on past me, gawping.
Eventually a white van man stopped - he was a big bloke but he came running back up the hard shoulder with such concern I could have been his daughter. When the police came they just sent him on his way with not so much as a thankyou (I understand why, as he hadn't witnessed anything and the hard shoulder is no place for a party) and I never got his details. That night, my friend (who later became a flatmate) drove me all the way home to Basingstoke because all I wanted was my mum and dad (once I'd plucked up the courage to tell them what I'd done!)
From that one, I learned always to leave plenty of room from the car/lorry in front.
Third one is another crash - on a treacherous roundabout in Wolverhampton that has far too many sets of lights on it, so you end up stopping and waiting half way round the roundabout. A huge yellow lorry moved over on me, pushing poor Polo up onto two wheels and across the roundabout on his rims. Far more scary than the first crash, I had a vision of the car rolling and me in the back of an ambulance, but eventually it stopped, and the lorry drove off!
Memory of that one is of the Vectra driver behind me shouting out in a fantasic Wolverhampton accent "Don't worry bab, I'll get him"... and my flatmate at the time getting out and sprinting round the roundabout. I don't know what was said to the lorry driver when the two of them they caught up with him, but he was suitably apologetic when he got back to me.
That one wasn't my fault, but I did learn never to get in the blind spot of a lorry, and never to trust a lorry driver to check his blind spot! I also learned that my flatmate is a bit of a hero, hence the reason he is now my other half. :)
There's loads more, but those are the ones that sprang to mind when I read the thread title. Pure coincidence maybe that both my memories of accidents are about people who came to help and random acts of kindness from strangers. That second accident is also the reason I came to the backroom all those years ago, because the people who put Polo back together again were complete cowboys!
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Oooh, lots for me.
Driving my boss' old 325i, and discovering just how quickly the back end comes round on a damp corner .... I executed a very neat 180 but luckily didn't hit anything ...
Hitting 42mph on a tuned Puch Maxi moped ... nothing has EVER felt faster than that!
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Oh Yes the infamous BMW 325i. I picked my boss's beemer up about 19 years ago, and almost a craig did, get the back end out on damp leaves. ooo errr.
Some memorable moments involve women, but one that can be repeated is about the first time I followed the girl who is now SWMBO down the M6 and M1 from Brum to London. I was in a Cavalier Sri130, she was in a basic basic Golf 3, 1.4. I didn't see her for dust. I arrived at least 15 minutes later than she did, and I was going some. Now you know why she has a Trajet diesel auto now - its the only way I can keep up with her.
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My friend did that in his bosses new Sierra Saphire in the 80s, said it was holding the road really well round a tight corner then with no notice at all it suddenly broke loose & they ended up pointing the wrong way.
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Picture it....driving along a countryfied and deserted 'A'road in the pouring rain on a dark and dismal afternoon early last spring. Mobile phone rings and I pull over to answer and when call finished, I discover that I am well & truly bogged down in the grass and mire by the side of the road. Miles away from the nearest house and habitation and car covered in mud by this time.
Saab 93 diesel and the more I try to get out, the deeper the wheels are sinking in the mud. All attempts to extricate my self failed, including ruining a half decent travel rug from the boot.
Pondering what to what to do for about 15 minutes when a beaten up old Nissan pouring out smoke driving in the opposite direction skids to a halt, turns round and drives up to me. A heavily tatooed driver - weighing 18 stone or more gets out and strides over to me pulling out a knife from his pocket in the process.
I thought my end was nigh but he told me that he had noticed me stuck and proceeded to cut a length of rope from his boot and offered me a tow out of the quagmire. After much of his clutch burning and tyre spinning, he pulled me out.
Depite my grateful offers, he refused to take a penny piece from me and drive off into the gathering wet and soggy gloom.
I certainly have questioned my prejudices since about 1 Ageing Nissans 2 Tatoos and their wearers and 3 human nature and my bigotry.
Whoever he was, thank you.
Ian
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So many, but my most pointless self-inflicted wound was when retuning from a holiday in the Lake District with my (soon to be) wife in about 1976. She was dozing contentedly in the passenger seat of my treasured 1965 Morris Oxford, the best car I had ever had and that had cost me £185. Ahead was a hump backed bridge. I thought it would be fun to speed up a bit to wake her up. I overcooked it a bit - I don't think we actually left the ground, though it felt like it, but the landing was hard and broke both back springs. I have been very wary of canal bridges ever since.
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Talking of grim reaper moments.
About 1979 i'd only been driving trucks for 3 years and the one i had at the time was SLOW.
About 2 am, turned off M1 south at Lutterworth to head for Tubby's all night cafe on the A5 near Rugby towers, nice and foggy just whats needed.
Anyway after leaving the motorway climbing the hill past the golf club going flat out uphill approx 20 mph, i'm aware that something is looking through the drivers window at me, bearing in mind i'm about 9 to 10 feet above ground, 100 yards later i'm aware its still there and i'm by now terrified (watched too many horror films) and dare not look at it, and i'm aware that the thing is starting to come round the side towards the front, and then the biggest stag with the most beautiful antlers runs diagonally across the road in front of me and disappears into a field. Relief or what.
I have had a very supernnatural experience at night, but that can be told another day.
ttfn
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My first time driving the Boxster was pretty amazing, along westway (A40) at night with the roof off - I was so excited I kept stalling though when I first drove it. Still love it now despite some painful bills.
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when i was a young boy we was going to the seaside in the fern green viva estate ..with few snack and drinks on board for the journey
as my father was driving down a a bit of a hill my mother must have opened a bottle of fizzy pop at the same time that he touched the brakes....dad goes " oh no the brakes have gone " as the fizzy bottle hissed
we still laugh at him about it today
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Several years ago attending a trade show at the NEC. SWMBO and myself using 'budget' accommodation, but friends invite us to join them for a meal at The Belfry. En route back to our out of the way B & B, and SWMBO stone cold sober and driving, me dozing in front seat drunk, she executes an emergency stop for a herd of cows who have escaped from a field and now ambling down deserted B road. I jump out. get to front of herd to warn any oncoming traffic with flashing head torch, and finding 5 Bar Gate open it, herd cows in, then return to B & B and notify police.
Next morning, returning on same quiet B road, look over aforementioned 5 Bar Gate to check on herd...you've guessed...someone's no longer pristine lawn with fountain ornament outside palatial home.
So very very sorry.....we drove off quickly.
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Anyone else driven their car into a prison? (Probably yes, if any backroomers are prison officers.)
I used to sing in the Bach Choir, and for some years in the late 70s / early 80s we did an annual Christmas carol concert in Wormwood Scrubs - you might say in front of a captive audience. This needed instruments to accompany the carols, including several kettledrums. As I had a big enough car - a Maxi, then a Renault 20TS, I used to pick up two of the drums from the Royal College of Music and drive them to the prison - and inside the gates to unload. Quite fun as long as one's exit was assured.
The percussionist was the wonderful James Blades who would do a few turns on his own and could entertain any audience with various instruments which he would bring in his fine old 'granny' Rover 100. It's not widely known that the bang of the gong which used to preface Rank films was actually made in a studio by Jimmy Blades - all 5'2" of him. He died not long ago at 97 - it was a great priviilege to meet him.
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Did you sing "Air on a G Wing ?" sorry !
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Once upon a time I worked for Consolidated Diamond Mines in South West Africa (now Namdeb, Namibia).
One of the places I had to visit regularly was a small prospecting plant located at Chameis Bay about 120km north of town. The road (sic) to Chameis was a dirt track that zig-zagged between the dunes, rocky little outcrops and the Atlantic. It had to be cleared by a grader or dozer every now and again to keep it passable.
On one of my trips the road had just been graded so I was making good progress (driving too fast) when I came around a blind bend and found one of these tinyurl.com/38o6rl in the middle of the track.
I had no option but to take to the desert to get around it. As soon as I hit the soft sand the jeep was up to the axles. Luckily, I hadn't even had time to hit the brakes and the combination of momentum and terror keeping my foot on the gas just got me back onto the track at the other side. It was a very bumpy ride but the only damage was a bruised elbow, broken VHF and loose spare wheel.
I sat there for what seemed like ages before I'd calmed down enough to carry on.
When I got back to town I found out that the grader had been there for four days after losing all hydraulics but no-one had bothered to put out warning signs.
Darwin was good to me that day.
Kevin...
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My first drive on the M25 in 1993 - aged 18, in a car with 2 cylinders, 652cc, 35 BHP, mediocre brakes....and a knackered UJ in the steering column. Bit of an eye opener given that I was brought up on the Isle of Wight were m-ways are a distant dream....
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Driving back to London on a Sunday night in July after 4 hours in the pub after cricket. Open passenger window to keep the driver awake; woken up by bits of wheat flicking my face; I'm now awake but when I look to my right I see the driver isn't! Luckily the field was flat to the road with no embankment, and we rejoined the road with no further comment, and no sleeping by either of us!
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Late 80s South Africa was a rather 'conservative' place... (Undertatement of the week, there!)
However, i was living in London at the time, and had cultivated a rather different look - shoulder length hair etc.
Was back in SA for a holiday, and took my sister to Port Elizabeth - about 200 miles from where we lived - to visit a friend. We had my mum's Chevy Commodore, which was a gas guzzling beast of note - 3 speed auto box!
On the return trip, in the middle of nowhere, the back LHS tyre felt funny, so I stopped and got out to have a look. Not good. So with help of sister - a rather good looking blond - replaced tyre.
I was just finishing up screwing the studs in, when a Datsun came howling past... Imagine these two gentlemen's reaction? Two blond changing a tyre! Emergency braking manouvrre - they must have been doing close to 150 km/h, and slid this Datsun along for at least 100 yards, leaving great big black stripes on the tar.
A very macho U-turn, and they growled up to us ...
"Hey! You ladies need any help?"
I stuck my hard over the rear fender, and sais "Naaah mate - fixed now."
The response from the driver was a single syllable. And they roared off again!
Laughed? nearly wet myself! And those black marks were STILL there a month later when I drove that way again!
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One April in the early ?70s, I was camping on the shores of Loch Ness.
I?d read in Motor about the old General Wade military road from Fort Augustus to Laggan Bridge. My friend and I thought it was a good idea to have an evening drive over the hills.
I?d a £50, 1961 Ford Popular 100E on Blue Peter remoulds. The road was a rutted rocky track, occasionally crossing natural rock outcroppings. A charge and a bounce up was the only way to get up some bits. Lots of scraping and banging but plenty of traction. Think the engine got a bit hot though. Got to the summit (2507 feet) and was soon stuck in a snow drift. We used the melamine camping plates to dig the car out and I got it turned round. Going dark by then. Got back to the camp site OK. The folly of youth but one of my most memorable drives.
The sills were a bit dented as was a hub cap. Later on found a couple of the tyre sidewalls had developed ominous bulges.
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>>I stuck my hard over the rear fender, and sais "Naaah mate <<
OOh errr!
no wonder their response was:
>>single syllable. And they roared off again!<<
;-)
Billy
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Last year on a VERY rural, very very remote road on the Bearra Peninsula
the road got steeper and narrower, the surface became rougher and rougher, the stream valley at the side got closer and closer to the edge of the road.
I decided to retire hurt, but at the moment I braked was the moment the road surface dissapeared for a mess of gravel and one side of the car came of the road and was perilously close to the stream ravine. Trying to edge forward back onto the road just ended up with us rolling back and further away from the road, with the car at a progressively worse and worse angle for reversing round a bend on a steep road with an 8ft drop a few inches from your door.
It took half an hour of too-ing and fro-ing with an awful lot of chocking of the wheels in the meantime !
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A memorable moment indeed was flat on the tank on a much tuned rigid-framed BSA B31, exhaust roaring through Brooklands "silencer" and remote needle carb singing, seeing the speedo needle flicker (Smith's Chronometric) past the magic "ton" for the first time on the Kilmarnock road. Wearing sports jacket and flannels, the air resistance of a Belstaff three-in-one coat would have been too much (I never went back to look for my cap!).
Curiously enough things were more marginal later; perhaps the McAndless rear frame was discouraging wheelspin or the Gold Star silencer had taken the edge off fortuitously optimum exhaust tune.
With a fairing it might have been easier, but we distrusted them then, and it seemed like cheating.
I suppose it was a bit hairy, but legal. Now it is ludicrously easy and safe, but illegal. We are not to enjoy motoring, dammit.
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First time I ever drove a Mini.
Back in the '70s. MIL's car needed some odd job doing for which I was volunteered. I took it for a test run after, it had been snowing hard, and the roads were mainly compacted snow. I'd only ever had RWD, and was taking it very carefully, but was learning what prodigous grip these Minis had. Coming up the leg of a T, downhill, I discovered the laws of physics still applied. I scrubbed off as much speed as possible, releasing the brakes just before the junction, and aiming at the drive of a house nearly opposite. Fortunately nothing was coming along the top of the T. The drive was full of deep virgin snow, and stopped me. I got out, and only had to bend the underslung front number plate back to it'soriginal position. I took the car slowly back to the in-laws.
Years later FIL let me know I'd been spotted, the car recognised, and he'd been told, but kept quiet.
Edited by bathtub tom on 07/11/2007 at 15:36
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A day long drive around the Ijssel Meer in Holland.
The highlight of course was the trip across the Afsluitdijk with the north sea to my left and the vast enclosed expanse of the Ijssel meer to the right. Had the road almost to myself for a while and it was quite spectacular.
The return journey across the reclaimed polderland was just how one imagines holland to be - dead flat and seemingly endless.
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Lots on four continents, but I've recounted most of the best ones already. Is this the natural home of the saloon bar bore and buttonholer?
In Nigeria once at night in a friend's car, driven normally more or less foot to the floor at 90-odd, I noticed that he was in fact driving into a permanent black hole, while the trees and road verges were brightly illuminated. After a while I began to complain about this and suggest that we stop and point the headlights down the road where they belonged. My friend's henchmen, who were responsible for the vehicle, complained that I was being interfering, but eventually he realised I was right and stopped. However adjusting the headlamps of a strange car at night on an insect-infested road verge in Yorubaland is a delicate and fairly lengthy business. After about three minutes everyone including my friend had become so impatient that I had to give up, and we continued our suicidal charge into a dark road between brightly illuminated trees.
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i would have sat in the back then, seatbelt tight ,head between legs.
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Quite likely that I was in the back, with up to three or even four other people... Seatbelts? You must be joking. Nevertheless, here I am. A charmed life in some ways... :o)
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Amazing how that little part of your brain takes over when you think it's all gone horribly wrong and gets you out of situations...
Car:
Driving far too fast round Chobham years ago on a wet night, came round a corner with a long line of traffic at some roadworks. No chance of stopping and had made the decision to aim the car into the ditch rather than rear-end the queue when I saw that the other side was clear. Skidded a long next to the stationary cars for a good 5 car lengths...then simply stuck my left indicator on and pulled in! (Got out to apologise to the driver behind!)
Working in Camberley on the Watchmoor estate with a central roundabout. Had come back from holiday and forgotten I still had luggage PSI in rear tyres. Thought I'd have a laugh and lift off the throttle to slide the back end out a wee bit before I got into work, and ended up doing a complete 180 facing the couriers van now on the roundabout behind me. Shoved it into reverse and managed to just keep on going round, out of his way and stop. Couldn't have done it better if I'd planned it!
Memorable for the right reasons!
Bike:
Convoying with 8 other bikes through the empty roads of the Ukraine/Czech Republic in August on my charity run and getting waves and smiles from people we passed.
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When 6 or 7 (early 1950s) Dad had a pre war Triumph Gloria: elderly but good (new cars v expensive). We were travelling round NW Scotland.. single track roads, gates which had to be opened and closed.. along cliffs beside the coast, very hilly.
Round a corner up a steep steep hill, closed gate. Dad stops , puts on handbrake, gets out, walks to gate and opens it. Handbrake fails and car starts sliding backwards and towards edge of cliff. I'm in the passenger front seat navigating (Mother us at that!).
Panic.. pull on handbrake hard.. Car stops just...
In Africa , out in bush - 50 miles from anywhere on a game reserve .Wife and 3 kids (5-12years) in car. Stayed 3 nights, got up early next morning and started driving back.. 20 miles through bush on dirt track roads. In a Mercedes 260E.. Down a hill to dried up waterhole.. remember this bit.. very rough and huge boulders at bottom had to be very careful on way in as could crack sump...5 mph job.
Got to 20 metres from bottom and young bull elephant comes out of bush and stands in the watercourse. I stop. He stops. I try to go forward. He trumpets and looks as if he will charge (been charged prior day in L Rover - not nice).. I try to reverse.. car does not like it... very steep. I stop. He stops. try forward he trumpets, prepares to charge.
And so on for next 30 minutes. And although he was a young bull he must still have weighed 3 tonnes and he had tusks...We did , however, not break the cardinal rule.. stay in the car.
Eventually he walked slowly to one side, and I saw chance, gunned engine, down bank, up over rocks and past where he stood. He took one look, trumpeted and charged.
Away from us!
No damage to car , elephant last seen running away as fast as possible. Great relief all round.
Prior day, in open L/R Safari with 10 other guests and proefssional driver and guide complete with gun. Come across mother elephant and calf.
Mother not happy. We are pointing twoards her so driver swings LR round just as Mum decides to charge from 100 metres away. I was in rear (open) seat of LR. Mother got to within 40 metres gathering speed and then we accelerated away. Fortunately the cars were all well maintained and did not falter...
madf
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I've got one - my work colleague took out his dad's new 5-series when he was 16 (c.1993) and his mum was in, dad was out. His home had a steep driveway up to the door & he timed is so he'd turn off ignition as he rolled up so his mum wouldn't hear the car. He got it totally wrong & stopped at the bottom of the drive, well below where his dad had left it. When his dad got home he heard his parents arguing. About 1 month later his dad managed to convince the BMW dealership to fit a brand new gearbox.
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In the glory days of my almost new White Ford Cortina 1600E. I had just turned off the motorway, in the dark, towards Nottingham, and the power seemed to be somewhat lacking so I rolled to a halt to investigate. Oil was sprayed all around the engine compartment and the filler cap was in place. I just knew things did not look good.
After confirmation of a very sick motor I arranged for it to be transported back to Hounslow the next day.
A flat bed arrived with a couple of willing lads and the 1600E was winched on board.
I looked at the, less than pristine, bench seat in the cab and asked " We agreed, when booking, that self and SWMBO would also be transported home?"
" Yeh- thats right - HOP UP INTO YOUR 1600E" so, without arguing, we did just that.
We had a very entertaining but strange trip home.
Sitting behind the familiar wheel of your own car but several feet up in the air is most odd. I kept checking the rear view mirror and going for the brake if we were in traffic.
Watching passengers in coaches coming up behind and suddenly seeing someone looking down on them was quite amusing so I perfected the regal wave.
There was no means of easily communicating with the driver so we resorted to writing large messages on paper, copying the message on the back and then posting it in my windscreen so the driver, hopefully would see it. I was not keen on using the horn.
En route quite a few drivers swerved while staring at us which added to the drama.
The lads had never been to the Heathrow area ( or London) and it was our turn to swerve when they saw aircraft landing.
We made it OK
Engine problems were, to every ones amazement, a main bearing cap had snapped and caused piston and rings to get damaged.
Only competition caps were available and what with all the machine shop work required it was a new engine installed.
How things have changed re recovery. :-)
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"we resorted to writing large messages on paper, copying the message on the back and then posting it in my windscreen"
A texting pioneer no-less !
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A texting pioneer no-less !
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Yes BUT, it really was on a BIG scale. I had with me a whole box of computer tractor feed paper that was for friends kids as scrap/scribble paper, so our messages were as wide as the windscreen. so "Time for tea /pee !" was a typical instruction, ;-))
It made the coach viewers very confused.
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When me and SWMBO both worked in same place in 93 we were both at work and contacted each other to say "it's started snowing - should we think about getting off".
Well, we left it half an hour and by that point it was too late - it was really heavy and we could not get out of town for the queues, stranded cars and worsening weather.
At 8.00pm, after travelling half a mile in 4 hours, we gave up and parked it up outside someone's house. Careful to get the car on the pavement as gingerly as possible, as we were conscious of the risk of sliding cars if we left it on the road, we knocked on the door of the house we had just marooned the car outside to let them know of why it was there. Our intention was to cross the road to a reasonable hotel for the night which still had spaces, but the bloke who's house it was invited us in, gave us a dram to warm us up, and said we would be fine at his local. Not wanting to seem rude after his kind offer, we let him ring the landlord and arrange it.
Needless to say the local was the worst hole you could ever imagine. We lay in half built beds, in freezing cold, wishing we had followed our instincts. Best bit was, in the morning, sat the bar waiting for a bit of breakkie, we heard the landlord, a bloke you wouldn't look in the eye, on the phone to someone shouting loudly "WELL HURRY UP AND GET HERE YOU BIG FAT **EXPLETIVE**", Before coming through to the bar and saying "sorry, chef's not arrived yet, would you like some toast".
Made me smile for a week.
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August 1990, was a student and had borrowed my mums Fiat Uno for a holiday in Cornwall.
At the end of the holiday on the way back to the north east, decided to visit Wales. It was very hilly, and we didn't have much cash for petrol so was free-wheeling down most of the hills.
As we went down one hill into a town, noticed a funny smell. My friend popped his head out of the window, and advised me that the car was on fire. At about the same time that I noticed the brakes weren't working. As a reminder, we were entering a town, downhill, with no brakes and with lots of other cars about. So I put the car into a low gear, for which the high pitched whining was only drowned out by our own screams.
I noticed we were approaching a pub on the left with a carpark. So I span the wheel and managed to get in, and then applied the handbrake which caused us to spin dramatically, but at least we stopped.
So we got out of the car to find smoke pouring of the front wheels, where the brakes had seriously overheated. Dashed into the pub and asked them for a bucket of water, which we used to pour on the wheels in an attempt to stop anything catching fire. Luckily, no real damage and once the brakes cooled they worked again.
Very scary at the time.
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This happened to a friend of mine, so apologies for lack of details about the car. It happened in the 1960s and he was driving a British car of late 1940s vintage up Porlock Hill in Somerset. About half way up the car stopped. He called the AA and eventually the chap arrived on his motorbike. The throttle cable had snapped, and the AA man had a plan to my friend's car to a garage at the top of the hill - he stood on the front bumper and operated the throttle by hand while my friend drove, peering past him to see the road ahead!
How times have changed!
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Sometimes I think I was born 30 years too late. No chance of some of these escapades in today's namby-pamby compensation culture.
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Pulling into a totally deserted car park in Carlisle in the early 70`s.
I parked right in the middle, another car then entered, parked right at the side of me and `CLANG` as the passenger let the door smack into ours. A loud clang that is as the car park was on a slope.
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My mate driving us along for a day's fishing on a lovely hot summers day, he has his shirt half open and we are puffing on the fags as many did then. He tries to remove the cig from his mouth and some concoction of misfortunes caused the burning gig to drop straight down his open shirt, I've never seen the like of the manoeuvres performed to remove the said burning object from clothing whilst trying to drive at the same time.
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Also a large bluebottle fly hitting between my slightly open teeth and disintegrating inside my mouth while riding a Triumph twin at speed in the 60`s. Always wore a silk scarf over nose and mouth after that.
Edited by oilrag on 18/11/2007 at 10:58
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That can still happen, copped one in between my glasses and face last week !
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seeing the post about fags reminds me of the times you would pull the cig out of your mouth but it had stuck to your lips so you burnt your fingers as you were driving or worse you pulled the whole lighted burning ash into your lap
or you are driving along when a massive bumble bee/wasp comes in the car and starts buzzing your head
or in the days of positive earth batteries you had to fasten the new fangled philips compact cassette players to dashboards made of metal very carefully or the body of the player which was negative earth would cause a spark ,i still remember driving over the top of the pennines on the m62 going to blackpool for the day and the cassette player caught fire and two of us had to abandon car pdq as the acrid fumes filled the small cab
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