Four seasons (and five tests) in one day

If the winter wasn’t enough, this last week, with volcanoes and whatnot, has been another reminder of how much we are at the mercy of nature.

Today is another test day in Ullapool and I have five pupils taking their test. Andy had the 8.40am test, but he was taking it in his own car. Michael had the 9.37am test and wanted an hour’s lesson beforehand, so that meant a 5.30am alarm call for me. Although we have had temperatures up to 22C recently, it is still too early to rule out more snow and ice. So I felt a huge wave of disappointment last night when I received a text from Michael saying “Will you be able to make it up here alright tomorrow? It’s snowing pretty heavy.” Ullapool pupils have already had December and January tests wiped out due to snow. Surely it couldn’t happen in late April? Here is my usual 'as it happens' account of the day:

As I drove over, at 6.30am, I could see a fresh cloak of snow on the hills and mountains, but, luckily, it had not been cold enough to settle on the low ground. You might think that I would be sick of the sight of snow by now, but an early morning drive to the west coast, with brilliant blue skies, pure white mountains and golden sunshine is still an exhilarating sight.

Snow panic over, Andy got the day off to a great start with a pass and only 4 minor faults. Next up was Michael. At times Michael can drive as well as anyone, so it was no surprise to have him sail through his test too. He is especially pleased because he had a £10 bet with Fionnlagh, one of my other pupils, that he would pass first (Fionn’s test is next month). If anyone deserved to pass, it was Michael. He has completely committed himself to being as good a driver as possible. He applied for, and passed, his theory as soon as he started learning to drive and was always asking for extra lessons. We had quite a wait for his test and, where most pupils of his standard often want to cut down on lessons, he has been keen to keep taking regular lessons.

Only time for a brief ‘good luck’ chat with Michael before picking my next pupil up for her second attempt. She is more nervous than she was for her first attempt, but, in the short drive before her test she (hopefully) calmed down and did nothing to make me doubt that she will pass. The trouble is, you just never know what is going to happen in those 40 minutes.

My bid for franchise freedom has been delayed. I thought I only had to give one month’s notice to terminate my franchise, but Eddie insists it is three. Not a massive blow, but it was disappointing to call the people supplying my new car to tell them that I would like to delay the delivery. On the bright side, it does give me more time to think about a name and how I am going to promote my business. Some of my pupils are disappointed, because they too were looking forward to the new car, although others are happy that they can keep driving the Fiat for a while longer.

Sadly, it was not to be a clean sweep. My next pupil did not pass. She did not have enough of a biting point on her hill start and rolled back a little too far before correcting it. Although I am confident for her to re-apply straight away, I doubt very much that she will find an available test within the next two months, so we may have to consider taking her test in Inverness, Alness, or Gairloch. Perhaps I should have insisted on her having more lessons, as she has only had a few since Christmas. Although her driving was good enough to pass a mock test and she certainly has the ability, the lack of lessons perhaps caused her lack of confidence. Another point is that, although she may have been saving money by not having so many lessons, it could prove to be a false economy if she has to pay for more tests.

Barely any time to plan her next test before I was off to pick up Connie for her test. Connie failed her first attempt back in November, had her second attempt cancelled due to snow, got her dates wrong and missed her next test date, then finally got her second shot booked for today at 1.33pm. In the hour's lesson before her test she was working herself into a bit of a state. She has been far too reliant on waiting for me and her previous instructor to tell her exactly what to do, when she knows what to do herself. I have never known anyone apologise so much as she does, whether it is because she knows she missed a mirror check, or because she had a less than perfect gear change. A couple of weeks ago she was driving beautifully and she had to deal with a crossroads, which she did faultlessly.
"Sorry." she said.
"What for?" I asked, "that was perfect."
"Oh, sorry........sorry."
I'm not going to start up the whole 'reference points' thing again, but Connie was heavily reliant on them, which caused big problems when I switched from the Corsa to the Fiat. With 15 minutes to go before her test she wanted a final practice parallel park. It was not her best.
"What am I doing wrong?"
"Talk me through what you are doing." I suggested.
She then described a method involving lining mirrors up with certain points, which may have worked in the Corsa, but we had not used any such method for months now.
"Where do you want the back of the car to go?"
"Away from the curb."
"Ok. A lot away from the curb? Or a bit away from the curb?"
It took a while, but we got there. And then it was time to get to the Test Centre.
"What happens if he asks me to do a parallel park? We haven't had time to practice reversing round a corner. What happens if he asks me to do that? Which gear should I be in on the downhill corner on the way to Ardmair? I shouldn't be taking my test. I shouldn't be taking my test."
"Connie......"
"What?"
"You'll be fine." A Zen-like calm had descended over me.

She was fine. Connie passed with 7 minor faults. She got asked to do a parallel park and a reverse round a corner and both were fine. She was asked to drive to Ardmair and was fine. She can do it. I always knew she could do it. It's just that she couldn't convince herself. Hopefully, once she gets a car, the extra hours behind the wheel will finally convince her that she really can drive.

Jayanne was already waiting at the Test Centre when Connie's test ended. We only had ten minutes before her test, so I insisted that Jayanne drove Connie home, just so that she could drive as much as possible in those precious ten minutes. No time to practice any manoeuvres, which is what cost Jayanne her last test, but if I had any concern, it was that she sometimes over-compensated for the sensitive clutch by slightly over-revving.
By the time she finished my test, it was warm enough to sit outside in a T-shirt. My minor concerns about Jayanne were groundless. The sun reflected strongly off the windscreen, so I couldn't see inside the car. But her shriek of delight gave away the result. So, quite a result; five pupils on test and four passes.
No time to rest on my laurels though as, after thanking Jayanne for her invaluable help in introducing so many new pupils to me, I was straight off to meet a new pupil, Chantelle. Very much out with the old and in with the new.
I have shopped for cheese, crackers, chorizo, tomatoes and Haggis & cracked pepper crisps for my supper, but first I am off for a celebratory and deserved pint.