Dear LPG,

Recently, I read an article on your pages which described someone with a condition I seriously recognise in myself (►►►), and that post got me thinking about a little postscript with a related article for all Anthropomorphist’s who, on that day learnt that they have the condition.

I have a story to tell, but before I begin, I need readers to know a little about what life was like before the ‘Once upon a time aspect of the tale…

I am in my seventies and I am also still a car driver.  I suppose that I use my car typically for someone of my age.  I go to the shops, visit my friends and not a lot else, but there is something really comforting about knowing that, no matter the time of day, if I need to get somewhere quickly and safely my car will take me.

The thought goes through my mind daily and I do know how lucky I am to be healthy enough to drive and have the funds that allow me to be able to continue to do so.  I also read your article that marked the day when many pensioners must have been forced to say goodbye to driving because of the then new ULEZ driving laws and the fact that their car did not meet the criteria.

 I do now have a compliant car but put off doing anything about getting one until way too late.  Because of my attachment to my beloved old one, I did a very good imitation of an ostrich with its head in the sand but in the end the time came.  I always turn to my nephew when buying new wheels but I could not help feeling that my existing car was getting a raw deal.  I would have driven her until she could no longer pass her annual MOT, but having consulted the internet I worked out that she was officially worth £150 if that, which made her fit for the scrap yard.  The day before she had to go I drove her 40 miles up the M2 in pursuit of a replacement in the knowledge that her days were well and truly numbered.  She ‘hummed’ her way there and back perfectly while I got more upset about the whole situation.   I spent weeks determined to find someone who lived far enough afield to look after her while all my friends and family told me that she was not sellable.  I have to say that I spent the last few weeks before the new law set in feeling like a traitor as I drove her around. 

On October 21, the situation left me unable to sleep and at just after 4 o’clock in the morning with a very heavy heart, I posted an advert on line that read as follows…

‘Is there anyone out there who knows someone who lives and drives beyond the London North and South Circular? I am hoping to find someone who will look after my car even though she is not ULEZ worthy and who will spend some time on her.  I can’t afford to keep her and even though she is old and not that good looking, she goes and I would rather give her away than scrap her.’ 

...and I received a phone call less than an hour later from a young man who was so thankful to have found my post because his car engine ‘blew up’ just days before he saw it.

Friends told me that I was just giving the car away so that he could have it pulled to bits but it is still going strong in spite of the fact that the locking mechanism that allows you to open the bonnet broke and you now need to stick a sort of poker in to do that job, for years I parked it under a somewhat prickly bush which has left it very scratched, the air conditioning needs fixing, and there are so many little things that have stopped working over the years. 

I handed her over in the knowledge that at least she would be saved if it were possible which made me feel better than if I had just phoned a car breaker and even if she only lasts a little bit longer I feel better about saying goodbye. 

Whatever the final outcome, I think that my story left me feeling more positive about my trusty old car’s future and renewed my faith that positive things coming from the negative …

HW, Crofton Park