Today's tune is 'Lazy Line Painter Jane' by Belle and Sebastian. A slow, throbbing intro builds to a double climax that epitomises the term 'wall of sound'. http://www.last.fm/music/Belle+and+Sebastian/Lazy+Line+Painter+Jane.
I was listening to that while driving to pick up Stephanie from Cawdor. A breathtaking day here, in the Highlands, with big, loopy, sausage-like clouds sitting high above the Cairngorms and clear, blue skies affording views far across the Moray Firth to distant mountains way beyond Ben Wyvis and sea-cliffs that stretch all the way up to Helmsdale and further north. Cawdor is where some of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' was set. Indeed Macbeth, himself, was the Thane of Cawdor. Locally, it is pronounced 'Cawdr' or even 'Coddr'. I remember setting a quiz at a pub and asking “Which of Shakespeare's titular characters was The Thane of Coddr?” The team of English Lit' students immediately cried out “Corr - dorr.... it's Corr – dorr!” Stupid English peasants... just shows you how much they know.
You may have read my post, earlier this week, about 'Harry' (not his real name) being in a rush to take his test and me not thinking he would be ready within the next few weeks. Well, I was disappointed to receive a text from 'Harry', yesterday. He said that he had managed to find a cancellation and had brought his test forward to this Tuesday – 3 days time! Zut Alors! Sapristi! I would have got straight on the phone to tell him to move the test back, rather than forward, but the DSA will not allow you to change a test if it is in the next 5 working days – So, it's too late to change it now. As I have previously said, I will not allow one of my pupils to take their test in my car if I do not think they are ready. 'Harry' had a lesson today, so I was bracing myself to tell him that I would not let him use my car for the test.
I pulled up at his house;
“Good morning. So you've changed your test day?”
“My dad did. He wants me to pass as soon as possible, so he's been looking for cancellations and found one for this Tuesday.”
Hmmm... I'm not too sure I believe this 'Dad' story.
I told him that I would not be taking him for his test, it was too short notice.
“Aye, I told my Dad that. Can I use my own car?”
“Of course, or you could hire a dual-control Corsa, like this.”
He seemed quite happy about the situation, although I think the main reason for being upbeat was because he assumes he is going to pass.
“OK, well we had better get cracking with today's lesson then” I suggested.
To be fair to him, he really concentrated and did very well. It is a bit of a strange one; often I spend a lot of time trying to slow my pupils down, to give themselves more time to react to situations. With 'Harry', however, my main problem is getting him to put his foot down and get going when the road ahead is clear – he is too careful – he doesn't fully appreciate that he will cause problems for following traffic if he doesn't look to get up to speed when appropriate.
To give him further credit, he has asked me to give him an extra lesson on Monday and he does think about his driving. The problem is that he is having to think too much. I believe that, by the time you are ready for your test, a lot of your driving should be almost instinctive. I can visualise the examiner sitting there, thinking 'You're not really ready for this'.
Obviously, I dearly wish that 'Harry' does pass on Tuesday. I would like him to prove me wrong. My fear is that, if he gets a nice, clear run and he does pass, he is not yet good enough to deal with the road when problems occur. Not yet.
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