The subject of this week’s column has been a long time coming.

I’ve been writing about it on and off for the best part of 3 years  because unlike some who are eager to shoot out of the starting blocks I’ve stuck faithfully to my tried and tested method of slow and steady always wins the race.

There’s been some stopping and stalling, times when I didn’t know which route to choose and sometimes the odd breakdown that wasn’t always to do with the mechanical side of things but last week after what has seemed like a lifetime of trials and tribulations behind the steering wheel this columnist finally succeeded in passing her driving test.

Four is my lucky number it would seem after having taken it three times before and fallen foul each time to my tendency to turn into Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army shouting “don’t panic “as I turned something trivial from a molehill into a mountain when the dreaded nerves got the better of me.

So this time I decided not to draw attention to when my next attempt would be and instead concentrated on keeping myself calm and collected without the extra worry of whether I was going to be once again disappointing everybody as they waited in anticipation to hear of pass or failure.

On my big day only my instructor, children and mum were aware of the “important” appointment I had to keep that morning and I think I can safely say without the added pressure of wanting to impress everyone I relaxed into one of the most important drives of my life and performed almost as if I had been born to do it all along.

So I want to say thank you to Amanda my instructor for whom the past few years have probably been quite the experience in trying to teach me how to drive, I’m sure her nerves have been shredded almost as many times as mine but she was always there for me with words of encouragement even when at times I might have felt like giving up.

I’d like to show my appreciation too to the examiner who took me out on this test and put me at ease from the moment we left the centre and those who believed I could do it even though it took me so much longer than I ever thought it would.

And finally I’d like to give thanks to those who are accompanying me out on my first trips as I know they can be a little bit hairy at times because when the reality hits that there are no longer dual controls and the responsibility of safety of the passengers is all down to me it can all be a little daunting.  

Hopefully that won’t be the case forever though and perhaps sometime soon I’ll be able to enjoy getting this show out on the road finally.