Well I have a few things I do like today...

First of all, going to see a 2002 Fiat Punto 1.2 with 6 months MOT as a possible first car. Checked it over and it is in near-mint condition and the engine/gearbox/clutch are all sound with just over 130k. It was advertised for £150 purely because it is now redundant and the owner is worried it will need further welding for the next MOT (needed the sills done for the past one but to be honest it will probably be fine for another few years). 15 minutes later I had secured it for collection on the 27th and my wallet is only £100 lighter... I don't know if I am just lucky or have some sort of skill when it comes to consistently buying incredibly cheap cars - either way I'm not complaining!

After that we went to an off-road area where I had my first "lesson", just to see if I can drive a car. Turns out I was overthinking it as the clutch (at least on a Nissan Primera 1.8 petrol) is almost impossible to stall and I managed to get myself comfortable with gears 1 through 4 and speeds up to 35MPH. I know I still have zero skills when it comes to driving on the roads, but having been able to drive a car for the very first time and not stall once, get used to steady braking and steering plus shifting up and down gears was quite an achievement. Not so much the driving, but the fact that I managed to get through my anxiety which has plagued me for years and is one of the reasons I have waited until the age of 20 to get behind the wheel.

The final thing to add is that after getting home I telephoned an instructor (who happens to be the brother of the gentleman selling me the Punto) to book a professional driving lesson for 19:00 on the 28th.

All in all, I feel quite good. Secured a car (that actually runs and has an MOT, rather than a project which I'd never get around to!), proved to myself I can drive a car and booked my first lesson to get to grips with driving on the roads.

Not a bad Sunday!! B)

glad you enjoyed it

Well done Jamie :)

Well done! Sounds like you'll get to grips with it all rather quickly. :)

Reminds me I need to sort out my driving lessons...

Well done! Sounds like you'll get to grips with it all rather quickly. :)

Reminds me I need to sort out my driving lessons...

Well I sure hope so. Having the Fiat parked outside will be motivation to get me through my test ASAP too. Not as much motivation as a Fiesta or Focus of course, but it'll do...

If you are purchasing driving lessons I would recommend buying a "block", rather than spending around £30 on each individual lesson. Makes sense as long as you are happy with your instructor.

Hopefully by the time you start lessons I will have successfully passed my test, if not I'll be thoroughly irritated

Well I sure hope so. Having the Fiat parked outside will be motivation to get me through my test ASAP too. Not as much motivation as a Fiesta or Focus of course, but it'll do...

If you are purchasing driving lessons I would recommend buying a "block", rather than spending around £30 on each individual lesson. Makes sense as long as you are happy with your instructor.

Hopefully by the time you start lessons I will have successfully passed my test, if not I'll be thoroughly irritated

Quite often a block booking of lessons will result in a discount too - bear in mind that everyone learns at a different pace.

£30 a lesson . . . . ? Think i might come out of retirement :)

Well I sure hope so. Having the Fiat parked outside will be motivation to get me through my test ASAP too. Not as much motivation as a Fiesta or Focus of course, but it'll do...

If you are purchasing driving lessons I would recommend buying a "block", rather than spending around £30 on each individual lesson. Makes sense as long as you are happy with your instructor.

Hopefully by the time you start lessons I will have successfully passed my test, if not I'll be thoroughly irritated

Yeah hopefully it'll spur you on. And good luck, you do have a 5 month head start so I'm sure you'll make it!

I am pretty sure who I'll use as an instructor, a nice lady called Lisa that I used to drive around Dunsfold (with the 208) she was really nice and it turns out she lives just around the corner so it'll be convenient for both of us. Yes I've heard buying them in a bunch saves some money, my parents are researching already!

Talked to my dad today and he thinks a MK3 Foci will suit me nicely. Can't wait!!!

I do like finding a good deal on the B&Q website.

Bosch multi tool, usually £125, on offer for £97, use online code if you spend over £100 (so I bought some wallpaper paste lol) = got the lot for £87! Bargain!

Quite often a block booking of lessons will result in a discount too - bear in mind that everyone learns at a different pace.

£30 a lesson . . . . ? Think i might come out of retirement :)

Yeah, the money is certainly there - although taking into account the cost of fuel, insurance, tax, not to mention wear and tear to the vehicle (clutches requiring regular replacement I'd imagine) £30 per hour is not too unreasonable.

The instructor I have gone with is only £26 though, so I managed to get a bit cheaper.

Yeah hopefully it'll spur you on. And good luck, you do have a 5 month head start so I'm sure you'll make it!

I am pretty sure who I'll use as an instructor, a nice lady called Lisa that I used to drive around Dunsfold (with the 208) she was really nice and it turns out she lives just around the corner so it'll be convenient for both of us. Yes I've heard buying them in a bunch saves some money, my parents are researching already!

Talked to my dad today and he thinks a MK3 Foci will suit me nicely. Can't wait!!!

Well that should definitely give you the inspiration to get your licence! To be honest new cars don't really "do" anything for me, I get greater satisfaction from driving a 10-15 year old vehicle that has had some use in its life (and therefore has some personality). I know, I'm very strange!!

Fiat Punto was my daughters first car just watch those Italian electrics they're pretty flakey

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Fiat Punto was my daughters first car just watch those Italian electrics they're pretty flakey

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC mobile app

Oh I will! Before I was born my mother had a Panda and it went on fire as she drove down the road. Hence we she has never owned another Fiat since! I'll give it a go though, especially for the price.

Do Fiat still lack fuseboxes, in the conventional sense?

They have fuses but not centrally placed in a fusebox. With Fiat, at least as my Spider went, in-line fuses were scattered all over the car, with no logical or sense behind their placement . Another thing, was the lack of continuity on wiring colours, a wire may start out, say black with a white trace and for no apparent reason, it was spliced into a blue with orange trace wire!

Do Fiat still lack fuseboxes, in the conventional sense?

They have fuses but not centrally placed in a fusebox. With Fiat, at least as my Spider went, in-line fuses were scattered all over the car, with no logical or sense behind their placement . Another thing, was the lack of continuity on wiring colours, a wire may start out, say black with a white trace and for no apparent reason, it was spliced into a blue with orange trace wire!

I have no idea to be honest, but I'll certainly be looking into that when I gain possession of the vehicle!

I do like finding a good deal on the B&Q website.

Bosch multi tool, usually £125, on offer for £97, use online code if you spend over £100 (so I bought some wallpaper paste lol) = got the lot for £87! Bargain!

Soo tempting...

Fiat Punto was my daughters first car just watch those Italian electrics they're pretty flakey

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC mobile app

They can be lol

Usually dodgy earths!!

Do Fiat still lack fuseboxes, in the conventional sense?

They have fuses but not centrally placed in a fusebox. With Fiat, at least as my Spider went, in-line fuses were scattered all over the car, with no logical or sense behind their placement . Another thing, was the lack of continuity on wiring colours, a wire may start out, say black with a white trace and for no apparent reason, it was spliced into a blue with orange trace wire!

Not quite so bad these days lol

I do like finding a good deal on the B&Q website.

Bosch multi tool, usually £125, on offer for £97, use online code if you spend over £100 (so I bought some wallpaper paste lol) = got the lot for £87! Bargain!

Actually, never mind - it's back to full price :(

I do like finding out the problem with my Hoover fan-heater was just a blown fuse. I need that thing working as it is far too expensive to run the storage heating compared to using the fan-heater as and when required.

I also like a bacon and egg roll, despite the fact it makes me feel very ill (eating anything before 12:00 makes me nauseous). I know that it'll stop me feeling so hungry come dinner time though, so it'll be worth it in the long run.

I also like a bacon and egg roll, despite the fact it makes me feel very ill (eating anything before 12:00 makes me nauseous). I know that it'll stop me feeling so hungry come dinner time though, so it'll be worth it in the long run.

I used to/sometimes still do, have that problem (eating in the mornings). I found that a liquid breakfast works for me - pint of milk, frozen strawberries (lidl do big bags every now and again and I stock up) tea spoon of honey all chucked into a blender...I also throw in a scoop of oats and some whey powder too, but everyone says that my milkshakes taste gritty and disgusting.... So meh.. But I can stomach that as a liquid when really it's "food"...

I like my 2nd breakfast, 4 slices of brown bread with Countrylife butter. My 1st breakfast at 4am was 3 weetabix, hot milk and a massive dollop of syrup, supplemented with a strong coffee. Still didn't wake me up though.

I like my 2nd breakfast, 4 slices of brown bread with Countrylife butter. My 1st breakfast at 4am was 3 weetabix, hot milk and a massive dollop of syrup, supplemented with a strong coffee. Still didn't wake me up though.

Hot straight from the cow?

They actually say milk makes us sluggish as it's hard for us to digest, so it's actually not the best thing for breakfast...

Hot straight from the cow?

They actually say milk makes us sluggish as it's hard for us to digest, so it's actually not the best thing for breakfast...

Noooo, we're not allowed it out the tank.... Boss doesn't want to risk anything, which is fair enough(used to at the last farm and at home before we packed up) Hot straight from the Microwave lol. Apparently 28-44% of people either can't digest it, or struggle to digest it(I think those figures are right)

Noooo, we're not allowed it out the tank.... Boss doesn't want to risk anything, which is fair enough(used to at the last farm and at home before we packed up) Hot straight from the Microwave lol. Apparently 28-44% of people either can't digest it, or struggle to digest it(I think those figures are right)

It's the T5 (as it's called) marker you need in your DNA, to be able to digest milk proteins properly.

In human evolutionary terms, it's not the default state to be able to digest milk proteins as an adult. To do do, you need to have the T5 mutation/sport within your genome. In addition to being able to digest milk proteins, T5 also introduced blue/grey iris colour and is partially responsible for blonde body hair

If you saw that program where Eddie Izzard used his mitochondrial DNA to trace back where his ancestors (and everyone else's, for that matter) had journeyed to, after leaving Africa. They said the T5 mutation first appeared in what is modern day Turkey

when I was working used to have in winter a mug of warm milk with a spoon of sugar in it .and cycle to work

My breakfast is a king size and a Dolce Gusto Latte macchiato. :d

It's the T5 (as it's called) marker you need in your DNA, to be able to digest milk proteins properly.

In human evolutionary terms, it's not the default state to be able to digest milk proteins as an adult. To do do, you need to have the T5 mutation/sport within your genome. In addition to being able to digest milk proteins, T5 also introduced blue/grey iris colour and is partially responsible for blonde body hair

If you saw that program where Eddie Izzard used his mitochondrial DNA to trace back where his ancestors (and everyone else's, for that matter) had journeyed to, after leaving Africa. They said the T5 mutation first appeared in what is modern day Turkey

Interesting, I've gotta say, I do tend to feel quite sleepy after a pint of milk, but I'm after the calcium and fats in it, so would rather not substitute, although the wifey has used almond milk a lot and she loves that...gotta say, I don't taste a difference, so if it's 'better' then I'd vote for it...

Im definitely not lactose intolerant but perhaps I'm in those percentages. Have blue eyes though lol!

Similarly gluten isn't 100% wonderful with me... Or me with it..