Wild is the wind

………. Not the best start to the day. I am staying for three nights in Ullapool and I woke this morning with an annoying headache - I don’t get headaches…. It must have been caused by Gillian McKeith’s constant whining on ‘I’m a celebrity….’ last night. Not only that, but the cold, bright, crystalline weather has been replaced by a howling gale that intensifies by the minute, I managed to spill boiling water on my leg whilst making tea and, worst of all, they forgot to put any biscuits in my hotel room…. I shall have to have strong words with the management.

Right…. Another three more pupils taking their tests today and all of them are first-timers. Cue lots of pep talks from me, explaining that it is ‘just like another lesson’. They are not stupid, they know it is NOT ‘just another lesson’, but they sometimes forget that it is not a matter of life or death either. Apart from a minor dent to their pride, and their wallet, it is no big deal if they fail, after all, most people DON’T pass first time (nationally).

I have just popped back to the hotel for a cup of tea and an update. It is a very wild day out there; the trees, even the palm trees (conned by the gulf stream into growing here), are swaying from side to side and I have twice had to stop to move wheelie bins that had blown into the road. So far so good. Jorg passed with three minor faults and my next pupil, Jonathan, is currently out on test as I write. If he drives the way he usually does not only will he pass his test easily, but the DSA will be asking him to star in instructional videos, I have rarely met a pupil who is so textbook in his driving, - all mirror checks, indicators, positions, brakes and gears are perfectly timed - let’s hope it stays that way.

Delighted to report that Jonathan also passed, again with three minor faults, and wasted no time in going off to pick up his car to go out for a drive (just like I did when I passed). So far, all my pupils have been quite happy for me not to be in the car with them during their test, and, with Ullapool not having a cosy test centre for me to wait in, I am grateful that I only have a short walk back to my hotel while they are out on test. I say ‘short walk’, it depends on the wind direction. Amazingly, the wind seems to be getting stronger, so walking towards the hotel I stagger at an average speed of 0.01mph, but walking back to the car park I simply open out my coat to catch the wind and fly at 30mph (20mph when the school lights are flashing). On the bright side, the hurricane has blown my headache away (and messed my hair up).
Still no clean sweep in Ullapool because, sadly, my third pupil did not pass. Only a few minor faults, but their steering wasn‘t accurate enough. That’s easy enough to fix; it has never been an issue before, so perhaps they just felt a bit rushed on the day.

It is now Thursday morning and STILL no let up with the wind. Another day full of lessons in Ullapool, taking me right through to 8pm tonight. But I do have a couple of hours off this morning and, for the third time this week I am going to clean my car. The combination of melted frost and grit makes a bit of a mess of the black paintwork and sometimes it feels pointless cleaning the car because I know it will look dirty again in a few hours time. But another pupil’s test in Inverness tomorrow means I would like my car looking at least semi-respectable, so another wash it has to be. Speaking of which…. While Jorg and I were having a lesson yesterday morning before his test, someone else who was also taking their test in Ullapool stopped me and asked where they meet the examiner. As I gave her the information I could see that the back seat of her car was full of CDs, clothes and disposable coffee cups. I just hope she did not get asked to do an emergency stop on her test, otherwise someone else would have a headache.