I learnt to drive in a 1963 Morris 1100, which was my mother's car. I was driving it long before I was 17 because I used to pester my dad to take me down to the gravel pits from the age of about 12 so that I could drive. That meant I knew the basics and only had four official driving lessons before passing my test within days of turning 17. I was just so impatient, I couldn't wait.
Mum was very generous and I think I drove the Morris more than she did. It helped that she did not enjoy driving and would only do so when she needed to get specifically from A to B, but I loved it, so while I was living at home, if ever we went anywhere together then I always drove. And we lived in a village where the reliability of the bus service had sadly deteriorated!
I think I inherited my love of cars from my father's side. My great grandfather was an apprentice blacksmith here in the village of Woodford. He started a bicycle business at the end of the 1800s in Thrapston, building bicycles under the Globe brand. From cycles, my great grandparents progressed to motors and ran a garage.
My grandfather took over that garage in 1936, but though my dad used to work there when growing up, that was not where his interests lay and so his career was as a research metallurgist working in the labs at Corby steelworks. My grandparents retired in 1963, and although the premises are still a garage business, they are no longer part of the family.
I've been in buses all my working life, but I love all this family history and it has always fascinated me. Dad did trace the family tree when he retired and got right back – fully authenticated – to 1600. I'm sure you don't want the full 400+ year story though,
