Aug 26, 2021 – willowdot21

Throw Back Thursday: Learning to drive.

Lauren and Maggie have come up with is great idea for a new prompt.

Welcome to the first edition of the Throwback Thursday Memory BlogHop where we take on a nostalgic object, event, or memory and blog about it. This week Maggie chose the topic, “learning to drive.”

Let’s see what the law in the UK says.

You can apply for a provisional driving licence when you’re 15 years and 9 months old. You can start driving a car when you’re 17. You can drive a car when you are 16 if you get, or have applied for, the enhanced rate of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can help you with some of the extra costs if you have a long term physical or mental health condition or disability.

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Now neither my mum or dad ever drove or even had a car! It was bike, bus, tube, train or shankses pony for us. We did live in London so it was not too difficult to get about.

I met my husband went I was thirteen and he was driving his dad’s car about when he could borrow it. He was the grand old age of just seventeen. We got married when I was seventeen, 50yrs ago last Saturday. We could not afford for me to learn to drive as the lessons were too expensive on our small budget.

We moved to Devon from London and I managed to walk, bus, train myself around again. After a year or so hubby was transferred back to London so I didn’t even have a car to learn in. ( I had to say behind in Devon because we had to sell our bungalow and find a house)

Back up south at the age of twenty four hubby tried to teach me in our beautiful ford Capri.

Ours was plain beige.

All I can say is it was a disaster. I save up for lessons but I always seemed to get very stressed out before a test.

It took me over ten years and eight failed tests before I passed. By the time I passed it was like magic.. I could do the shopping, no more need to lug it home, no just throw it in the boot. Be taxi driver to the boys, visit family and friends. I tell you all the worry all the embarrassment all the failure was worth it. I never looked back.

Ronovan Writes Décima Poetry Challenge Prompt No. 72: (CROOK) in the A rhyme line.

THIS IS PART OF RONOVANWRITE’S WEEKLY HAIKU CHALLENGE.

He is such a bully , that chuck
Thinks he’s the boss, keeps pushing us.
Why does he always make such fuss.
He’s afraid of the two leg’s crook.
Disobedience he’ll not brook.
The shepherd’s rules he’ll never buck.
Then he pushes us and his luck
We pretend to do his bidding
Keeping our true feelings hidden.
Then shepherds dog gives us less truck.

#writephoto: Portal.

This week’s prompt is a post with a difference – our August guest photo!

For visually challenged writers, the image shows a puddle with leaves and trees reflected in the surface.

Last week we saw Morgarna jump into the anomaly to return to the lab, after successfully dealing with Dr De’arth……

Except it wasn’t the lab! Morgarna had the distinct feeing she had wet herself. Looking down she found herself sitting in a large puddle in a forest, somewhere.
This was so odd the backward journey always ended up in the lab. Something had gone wrong she thought to herself.
This trip was going from the ridiculous to the totally mad.
Just as Morgarna was struggling to get feet, her newly mended hip started hurting her. As she was muttering a soothing spell she hear the sound of approaching horses.
The way the day was going Morgana decided it would be best to hide until she found out where and when she was.

From her vantage point in the branches of the oak Morgana could see, the soldiers below were those of the sheriff of Nottingham. Morgarna recognised the uniforms immediately…she realised she was in the back end of the twelfth century! Last time she’d been here she had upset said sherrif so she sat very still until the soldiers had gone.
Climbing down from her perch she went back to the rather beautiful mirror like puddle and stepped into it, nothing happened, so she jumped in to it, fell into it…. Nothing happened.
“Damn and blast it” hissed Morgana “it’s a bloody Portal and now it’s closed.”

Now , hungry, tired, soaking wet and aching Morgana was hissing expletives and raining curses down on Merlin’s head. Suddenly she heard a laugh , she spun round quickly loosing her balance and ending up on her bum in the puddle/ Portal again.

“Robin of Loxley, as I live and breathe, you made me jump” Morgarna’s eyes lit up with pleasure as she looked at the young man dressed in green and his companion, dressed in autumn gold.
“My lady Morgana here you are again and as always you appear from nowhere!” Smiling Robin held out his hand to her. “Beautiful as you are you look a tad disshevelled and wet! ” Robin ducked quickly as Morgarna kicked out at him pouting .
“Steady on” said Robin’s companion, Gamble Gold. “Let us help you back to our camp and there we can sort you out.”
“I’ll sort you out” said Morgana lighting a cigarette.
Gamble Gold stated at her, he’d never seen a cigarette before. Robin tutted, “Really my lady those things can’t be good for you”
After a while Morgana allowed Robin to carry her, she was utterly knackered.