@ 2008-09-10 – 22:17:02
Yesterday was my second lesson with my new instructor. He is quite relentless and criticised my tendency to change gear too quickly. The pressure is on and I am swatting up on my highway code too.
I read a story recently of a learner driver who failed her test because she drove through a puddle and splashed a pedestrian. Well, I did realise that the test was going to be difficult!
@ 2008-09-02 – 19:03:28
Today I resumed my driving lessons and although I am still a bit rusty, the instructor was brave enough to let me drive back from town. He even said that he was not in control of the pedals that much. Whey, hey! 
It is ten months since my last lesson I realised but after an initial groggy start I soon found confidence behind the wheel. I am also driving a brand new Mini Cooper. Not sure why I chose to learn in a Mini because the most I will be able to afford is a second hand Ford KA I reckon. Still, it is nice to be back behind the wheel of such a great car.
@ 2008-08-30 – 12:28:11
Finally, I have got round to booking a driving lesson for this Tuesday coming.
It's quite exciting and I will have a two hour session so better be on the ball for that. I feel slightly nostalgic for my previous instructor Steve who was so good at his job and had a cheeky sense of humour which was a bonus. However, this new instructor sounds keen and has even got himself a new Mini Cooper for the job. He might not be so keen to show off his new Mini when I get behind the wheel though, hee, hee!
I'd better start swatting up again on the theory this weekend.
@ 2008-08-25 – 12:37:14
Although driving has been on my mind for months, I've been a lazy assed cow and done nothing about it except some swatting up on the ol' theory.
It's not that I have been sitting around doing nothing but with no clear direction ahead, my life has stalled. I have been trying to set up my own business called SEALS - Secretarial, Editorial, Administrative, Literary Service and it is a tough journey.
I have also got involved in a local animal charity called Animals in Mind and am trying to raise funds for them. They take care of animals with behavioural problems usually from neglect or abuse. If anyone would like to take a look at their website for interest or make a donation, it's www.animalsinmind.org.uk.
I am going to create a second blog so that just coz I haven't been driving, it doesn't mean I can't say something else about all manner of different things.
@ 2008-01-16 – 10:38:00
I thought I would let Chrimbo and the New Year pass before taking up lessons again. It has been a great struggle to stop myself sneaking out in the middle of the night and slipping into my parents' car and taking it for a sneaky joy ride. They have refused to let me practice in it.
Of course, I would never do such a thing but I was worried I would forget everything I have ever learnt about driving in the last few weeks. Not so! Whenever, I am in the car with the parents I have flashbacks and try my hardest not to pull either of them up on their slack driving habits.
Once, we were joining a motorway from a slip road and following an elderly driver who was driving at around 30mph. I was instantly reminded of what Steve had told me about always going with the flow of traffic and adjusting speed accordingly. The driver was going dangerously slow at this point as he moved onto the motorway lane but did speed up a little after we had passed him by. It was nowhere near the kind of speed he should have been driving at though.
There are so many adverts on TV about speeding and drink driving, perhaps there should be more about the dangers of slow driving as well?
@ 2007-12-29 – 19:08:38
It's been a while. Things have gone a bit 'Pete Tong'in my life and I had to put my driving lessons on hold for the last few weeks. Having moved out of Brighton I will continue my driving lessons in another part of the country - Weston Super Mare.
This is situated in the West of the UK and I do feel a sense of loss for where I was living before as I was forced to leave because of financial reasons.
I also miss my driving lessons with Steve who was my brilliant instructor. However, life goes on and I will continue to document my determination to become a driver. 
@ 2007-10-23 – 19:57:49
Last Saturday I had an extended lesson because I was going to do a mock test. It certainly did not help that I was still hung over from the night before and my instructor informed me that it took 18 hours for the alcohol to leave the system. Great. It was certainly not 18 hours since I had last touched alcohol.
I was awful, I really sucked as an American might say. I did not look in my centre mirror enough when slowing down or when there was a hazard. I stalled the car four times but, of course, I was very nervous and HUNG OVER as well so some pity for me please. I also did not change from 3rd to 2nd when going round a bend which is a major error. Practice, practice, practice is what I need.
Is there not any kind soul out there who would consider taking me out to practice? I am a good driver really. I promise you.
@ 2007-10-10 – 18:10:44
Last Saturday I had a very varied lesson that included travelling at 60mph along a twisty country road before being spilled on to a dual carriage way and increasing my speed to 70mph. I also had the usual fun of negotiating the built up areas around Brighton where you can be travelling in 1st gear for a while. We did, indeed, get stuck in a jam towards Newhaven but once out into the picturesque countryside of East Sussex it was a breeze and I enjoyed the views, perhaps, a little too much as my instructor commented on my lack of concentration several times. I must keep my eyes on the road and my mind on the gears, mirrors and any potential hazards.
For more information on the town where I live and drive through go to www.mybrightonandhove.co.uk
I don't have a driving lesson until Saturday week now but I have been told to prepare for a mock driving test where my instructor promises to be ruthless, well, not ruthless but I will have to drive as if I am being examined. The butterflies have already started fluttering in my stomach.
@ 2007-10-04 – 14:37:57
Last week I had an unexpected journey into unknown territory. Unfortunately, the wheel of my instructor's car was damaged so I had a lesson driving back to his home so that he change his tyre before he could do any further lessons. The trouble was that he couldn't take the tyre off as a vital piece of equipment was missing. In my technical ignorance I have forgotten what it is called. I drove all the way to Shoreham, a place I had only previously visited by train, bus or bike, so I was quite excited by the experience.
However, my instructor was not so joyous as myself as he had to borrow a colleague's car to let me drive back to Brighton and for him to pick up his next client.
I was again a little rough with the gear stick and my skills on the steering wheel do need improvement but I still put this down to not enough practice. These are things to bear in mind as well as keeping up with the flow of traffic and not to be over cautious at times. I am comforted by the reassuring words of friends who tell me 'everything becomes automatic after a while'. They don't offer to take me out in their own cars though.
@ 2007-09-21 – 20:36:24
Yesterday I had another driving lesson which went well considering that I was stressed and exhausted after a gruelling day at work. That's always my excuse for my poor concentration at times. Practice, practice, practice...I need more practice to get to grips with the 'reverse round a corner' for sure as my poor brain panics whenever I attempt it.
A work colleague was advertising her car for £150 and, unfortunately, someone else got in there first. To make matters worse, I took my bicycle to a cycle shop just to have the tyres pumped up a little and ended up spending £26 pounds on a new tyre, inner tube, break pads and cable!
Still, the sensational ride home along the seafront was fabulous and I must congratulate the employees at Baker Street Cycles in Brighton for the attention they gave to my rusty, old clanger of a bike. Maybe I was wise not to go for a rusty, old clanger of a car right now considering I have yet to pass the test.
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