Like Smashy and Nicey, the cheesy old disc jockey characters
portrayed by Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse I do like to do my “bit for
charidee”.
So that would probably go some way to explaining why I,
along with quite a few other learner drivers were to be found standing in a
windy car park last Wednesday with our instructors awaiting the arrival of the
previous leg of the Big learner relay for Children in Need, so that they could
hand Pudsey Bear over to our convoy of dual controlled vehicles who would be
escorting him from Strood to the Isle of Sheppey.
Hang on, I hear some of you cry, you’re still a learner
driver after all this time?
Yes dear readers it’s true I’ve still yet to make the
transition from student to full time menace on the road.
I finally plucked
enough courage to put myself in for my practical test during the summer
holidays and took it last month however an altercation with a hill start on a
mini roundabout in Hempstead put paid to my pass certificate dreams so here I
am back in the learner driver seat for the time being.
Fingers crossed though
with my next test being booked up for a date around Christmas maybe I might be
legally allowed on the road by myself by the turn of the New Year.
So anyway on with the story,with Pudsey and his light up
learner box installed on the top of the lead car bedecked in all its multi coloured dots finery and with
our large group of yellow eared personnel attracting some curiosity from those
walking across Rochester bridge we all made our way back to our vehicles,
started our engines and filed our way out of the car park to proceed onwards with
our journey.
Third in line of the L plated fleet, my driving instructor
Amanda and I laughed and joked our way like a Medway version of Thelma and
Louise through the trip that took our motorcade up out of Strood , through the
Medway tunnel and along all the back
streets of Rainham , Sittingbourne etc to reach our destination on the Isle of
Sheppey.
The weather though cold stayed as bright as our moods and
apart from a few stops along the way where being learner drivers some of us got
a bit left behind when we weren’t able to all get over some of the roundabouts
at the same time we more or less maintained our procession till we reached the
climax of our journey.
Pulling into The Aviator pub car park in Sheerness where the next chapter of
Pudsey’s escorts awaited, selfies were taken to upload to the events Facebook
page and with a quick handover of the box from vehicle to vehicle the convoy
made its way back out on the road for its journey onto Whitstable then Ramsgate
.
It was so much fun and for a good cause , I would do it all
again , however I’m not planning to still be a learner driver by this time next
year so it looks like I’ll have to find another way to help those who really
are in need .
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