It’s The Latte Latte Delta Tea Break 2018

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Bob, it's on Channel 5, and it's a series that starts tomorrow at 20.00, The Yorkshire Steam Railway which will feature the Flying Scot on the 1st episode.

That's unless C5 replaces it with another two-hour extravaganza about snow!!

[midgetman]

Isn't "Spike" a C5 off shoot?

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[John Elwin]

48 years ago today I took (and passed) my driving test in Norwich. The weather on the day? It was bitterly cold with snow flurries - so you see there's nothing new about the current weather.

(Another true story from Norfolk)

[delta]

How on earth do you remember events like that John . Well done did you pass first time . Took me four goes . Just thinking that was 1970 as well . So 48 years for me as well . I did pass motorbike test first time and it took two goes for my HGV. Licence . Happy days

[gary396]

Took me three attempts to pass mine but the first two were in a Vauxhall Viva so that's my excuse!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by delta

How on earth do you remember events like that John . Well done did you pass first time . Took me four goes . Just thinking that was 1970 as well . So 48 years for me as well . I did pass motorbike test first time and it took two goes for my HGV. Licence . Happy days

I'm not quite at Bauble's level but I do remember a lot of useless stuff - but anyway I do regard that as probably the most important day of my life!

...and yes, I did pass first time. It was my third test date though. The first two got cancelled when we really did have snow.

[Peter Mallett]

46 years for me. In a Vauxhall Viva HC SL. First time.

[John Turner]

Just over 51 years ago, first time, in my Dad's Triumph 2000. He taught me to drive in it. Such a lovely smooth driving 6 cylinder machine to learn on.

I also see that a number of you were kind enough to note Kev's birthday a week or so ago, so I will pass that on to him.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by John Turner

Just over 51 years ago, first time, in my Dad's Triumph 2000. He taught me to drive in it. Such a lovely smooth driving 6 cylinder machine to learn on.

I also see that a number of you were kind enough to note Kev's birthday a week or so ago, so I will pass that on to him.

Lucky you! My father wouldn't let me drive his Morris Oxford so I was restricted to the driving school Fiat 850.

A friend of mine took the test in his mother's Ford Corsair & was convinced he only failed because the heater wasn't working. He was even more aggrieved when he discovered a girl he knew had passed on the same day despite having to reverse off a roundabout (I do mean the grassy bit in the middle!) on the Norwich Ring-Road.

Speaking of learning on a Triumph, does anyone remember Tony Allies (sp?) who raced special saloons? He was a driving instructor & recall he had a Dolomite Sprint school car at one time. That would have been quite fun to learn on!

[MGDavid]

So we're all in snowbound reminiscing mode are we?
It'll be 50 years this July for me, 3rd time lucky IIRC. Within a month I'd driven to Istanbul and back with my father, to visit a sister who lived and taught there.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Speaking of learning on a Triumph, does anyone remember Tony Allies (sp?) who raced special saloons? He was a driving instructor & recall he had a Dolomite Sprint school car at one time. That would have been quite fun to learn on!

In the early 60s, my friend was an independent driving instructor, and he used an Anglia fitted with 1500 GT engine as his tuition car. The car was not very popular amongst the local police or the driving examiners.

[E.B]

Passed mine in May 1971 using a Driving School Triumph Toledo (I had my first 'proper' lesson for an hour prior to my test) Dad had taught me to drive in his 1600E Mk 2 Cortina. Every spare minute prior to my test from the moment I got my Provisional license, when he got home from work, I would pester him into going for a drive.

It was made clear that Dad's car was not for my use after passing the test so, for £80 (Dad lent me) I bought a 1963 Hillman Husky used by a friend's Father's business from new. I then went on holiday in it, driving it around France. It came back with bald tyres and a blown exhaust, so I flogged it (for £85) through Exchange & Mart and bought a Ford Anglia (deluxe!). It had been hand painted a very delicate bright purple with a wide yellow stripe full length, lowered, and sporting 5.5J steel wheels! I paid less than I got for the Husky, used the balance on buying an 8 track cartridge player!

[Mike Harte]

I don't know how I managed to pass my driving test on my first attempt. I had no formal teaching, and, even though the statute of limits ensure that nothing could be done about it, I'd rather not say how I actually learnt to drive.

Suffice to say, my parents were unaware that I had applied for a test date, and as they were away one yet another of their holidays, I managed to scoop a cancelled appointment at the local testing centre in Hendon on the day of my 17th birthday.

I must have had a very tolerant examiner, is all I can say. Firstly, the car I turned up in was a BSM Wolseley 1500, and driving it was similar to driving a truck. The instructor, who like me was new to BSM, had never sat in the car before, and driving up to Hendon he kept telling me to stop crossing my arms when turning the steering wheel, which it was almost impossible not to do. On the way back to the BSM office after the test, he drove (BSM policy in those days, pass or fail) he found out for himself what an awful drive it was - apologies to all lovers of the car - and he proclaimed that it was just like driving a bus.

Anyway, it is fair to say that I was pretty nervous about taking the test without instruction, and early on in the test, I had to perform a reverse around a corner. I made a complete hash of it, ending up in the middle of the road, nowhere near a curb. Mentally I relaxed at that moment, knowing that I must have failed. However, a few minutes later, the examiner asked me to stop again, and requested that I reverse into an alleyway that was not much wider than the car, which I somehow managed with no difficulty.

When we got back to the test centre, he asked me a few questions about the Highway Code ( I have never understood why they asked those questions after the driving part, not before you set off; it would have been the same if they asked you to read a number plate afterwards as well), and then gave me a bit of a lecture about not obeying a red traffic light, but I don't think that I missed any on the test. And then he said that he was sorry to say that I had passed, and gave me my pink slip.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by E.B

I then went on holiday in it, driving it around France. It came back with bald tyres and a blown exhaust, so I flogged it (for £85) through Exchange & Mart and bought a Ford Anglia (deluxe!). It had been hand painted a very delicate bright purple with a wide yellow stripe full length, lowered, and sporting 5.5J steel wheels! I paid less than I got for the Husky, used the balance on buying an 8 track cartridge player!

Obviously the previous owner had based the colour scheme on the paint job for my racing Anglia which we did in honour of Redex Gold Cross who gave me some support in the late 60s into 1970.

[John Elwin]

I seem to have started something here and my original comment was really weather-related!

We are supposed to get freezing rain today but so far nothing, which is a bit frustrating. I should be driving to Antwerp but don't fancy experiencing freezing rain on a Belgian motorway.

[bauble]

I'm trying to remember if they had driving tests when I started driving.............. What was I saying???

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by gary396

Took me three attempts to pass mine but the first two were in a Vauxhall Viva so that's my excuse!

It takes a proper driver to pass a test in one of those. (I took & passed my IAM Advanced driving test in 1980 in my Viva GT!)

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Obviously the previous owner had based the colour scheme on the paint job for my racing Anglia which we did in honour of Redex Gold Cross who gave me some support in the late 60s into 1970.

I'm embarrassed to say that I had a matching pair of purple flares and a yellow Grandpa vest I used to wear!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Obviously the previous owner had based the colour scheme on the paint job for my racing Anglia which we did in honour of Redex Gold Cross who gave me some support in the late 60s into 1970.

Was that the Purple People Eater?

[bauble]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Was that the Purple People Eater?

" It was a one eyed, one horned , flying Purple People Eater...."

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by bauble

" It was a one eyed, one horned , flying Purple People Eater...."

I think you have been breathing-in a little too much of the local atmosphere, Bob!

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Was that the Purple People Eater?

No, that was Les Nash in his 1000cc version, and I don't think that he had a gold/yellowy stripe.

[Mike Bell]

Did my practice for driving test in Mother’s Vitesse convertible, but instructors car was A40 Farina....

And John, this was King Street this morning..... only main roads clear!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Did my practice for driving test in Mother’s Vitesse convertible, but instructors car was A40 Farina....

And John, this was King Street this morning..... only main roads clear!

Very pretty, Mike.

Freezing rain has arrived here so don't think I'll be slithering off to Antwerp today. Ironic really, as up to now everything has been bone dry, nothing have fallen for what seems like weeks.

[morninggents]

I took mine in July 1961 in a Ford Prefect that had dual controls. I'm fairly sure I wasn't asked to do an emergency stop and for the first few minutes I was so nervous I didn't do any signals at all. This was in the days of cars having trafficators only sprouting from the B pillars and a left turn involved sticking your arm out of the driver's window and making an exagerated anti clockwise revolving motion. Slowing down was arm straight out and slowly lowering and raising said arm. However, I did pass.