Can I see?

Driving Miss Crazy

My cousin is finally taking the plunge and learning to drive!!! Mainly because her dad is fed up of ferrying her around and is paying for her lessons, which makes me laugh a lot as she’s now 28 with a full time job!!

She’s got a nice friendly guy teaching her and she has an hour lesson each week in a rather sporty Mini Cooper (or Mini Coupè as she calls it!!) It’s been going fairly well and she seems to be getting on better than I thought she would, or gave her credit for!! She got hooted at by an impatient bus driver on her last lesson and I’m pleased to report she gave the disrespectful nobber a mouthful back, don’t know if that will be approved on her test. But I mean, come on Mr Bus there’s a clue that she won’t set off from a junction like Nigel Mansell when the car is plastered in L-plates durrr.

Personally, I couldn’t wait to learn to drive and took lessons the day of my 17 th birthday (well it wasn’t quite the same day, because my birthday is Boxing day and no driving instructors would give lessons the day after Xmas.) Sure enough 4 months later on my first attempt I passed. Check me out – licence to drive!!!

I drive to work and back every day now, and I think it toughens you up to cope with city centre madness, you get used to the ways and the tricks. Coming home, though never fails to rile me. The last part of my trip involves taking a road that eventually leads to the motorway. The whole world always tries it on, by zooming down a dual carriageway and then trying to cut in at the last minute. It causes everyone to brake as nobber’s in Beamers try to force their way into the slower moving traffic.

Yesterday I was feeling quite strongly about this and concentrated on maintaining a gap just small enough to the car in front to ensure that no one could fit in. A dark coloured car zoomed up on my left with his indicator on looking to cut in front of me. I wasn’t having it though. I’ve waited in the correct lane to get on the motorway, what right does Nissan man have to force in front of me?? Would he do that if we were in any other environment if we were queuing in Tesco would he rush up and push in front of everyone at the checkout waving an orange flashy light at everyone?? Does the fact he has an indicator flashing impatiently mean I have to respectfully yield my position and bow before his 2.0 injection?? So I resolutely refused to let the car in… I checked the mirror and there was a big enough gap to go in behind, the person there obviously not as immature as I am and was happy to let mean shovvers force their way in. So Mr Nissan slows and swings into the gap behind me and does the only thing left to assert his superiority and puts his headlights on full beam. They’re bright as well and it made me jump!!! I search the Bug for my retaliation and put on my hazard lights. I know, I know what does that achieve??? But realistically I didn’t care that much, he was behind my fabby Bug and me. I waved my flower at him defiantly, dropped down a gear and put my foot down, and left him for dead at the motorway slip road.

I’ve advised my cousin not to learn from my actions.

posted by Pixie @ 12:12 PM 0 comments

That's the way to do it

For the last 5 years or so I’ve been playing netball for my local team every Monday night in a local league. The standard is fairly good and we have some close games. The season before last we got promoted to the Div 2 which was great news, but we were soon relegated back down to our rightful place!!

We’ve missed our six foot tall GS, who damaged her knee ligaments and needed surgery. The rest of us are all normal human sized and I think I’m one of the shortest, if not the shortest of the lot. I play on the wing either in defence or attack and picture my role as a kind of Stelios-type midfield terrier; only I’m tougher, not bald and certainly not Greek.

I only really got involved for the laugh and that some of my friends from work had started the team and needed girls to help support it, only now most of them have left to go to pastures new, or have had babies (yikes)! So now it’s a team of new faces but we do have a good time and our social events are legendary.

Which brings me onto a new thing I discovered on Sky Sports TV who are showing Netball Premier League for the first time ever, featuring teams from around the country in a competitive league. The only netball player I’d ever heard of is Tracy Neville, sister to the famous footballing Nevilles. She plays for the Manchester team, but she is injured at the moment.

I couldn’t believe the game, I suppose it helps that most of them are aged 20, and from what I can gather it is at some kind of semi-professional standard, many of them were at university so have the time for training and keeping fit, not just one hours session on a Monday night. Plus most of them were over SIX FOOT Tall. Now that can’t be natural. If that is the requirement there is no chance of me turning professional, plus the fact that I’m rubbish!!! The game was brilliant to watch, really fast and furious with lots of contact. Much better than what I can do.

Anyways, I think it’s fabby that netball will be on Sky now, and it may encourage me to pick up some tips, although I was trying to demonstrate some of what I had learned to fellow team member at lunchtime and managed to punch myself on the nose.

It made my eyes water

posted by Pixie @ 5:29 PM 1 comments