Here we GOOOOOOOOOO00000000000ooooooooooooooooo.........

Well..... I'm still here. So, either I chickened out of doing the bungee jump, or it all went successfully.
As the day approached I kept expecting the nerves to kick in. I didn't help myself by watching videos on YouTube of other people doing bungee jumps - not a good way to reassure myself.
On some of the videos of Killiecrankie Bungee it shows people making their way along the platform beneath the bridge. Just watching that was enough to stir the butterflies.
The jump was booked at 11:00am. So Jane and set off around 8am, picking up my grandson, Jordan, and his friend Joab, on the way. Beautiful blue skies and not a breath of wind, so I was beginning to think I should perhaps have worn shorts, rather than jeans. As we drove south, the clouds appeared, the temperature dropped and, by the time we reached the Cairngorms, there was more snow than I have seen all winter.
We arrived at Killicrankie around 10am and, when I went to the reception, I was told that they may be able to fit me in early. 'No rush' was my first thought!
I was weighed and was told that I would be joining a group of three friends who were doing a jump as a birthday present. Then, the next thing I know, we are being ushered into a minibus and driven to the bridge.
My daughters, Rachel and Anna, plus their partners and children, had all followed us down to add their support (or perhaps to laugh at me). They were just arriving as I was being whisked away, so they jumped back in their cars and followed the minibus.
At the bridge, the three other jumpers and I were introduced to the Highland Fling Bungee instructors, who were all excellent. They managed to strike a careful balance between being professional, but also enthusiastic, relaxed and light-hearted. They ensued that we were always clipped on even climbing up short ladders.  I'm not sure how they decided who was going to go first, but the other man was to go first, then the woman in his group, then me, then the young girl, whose birthday it was.
We had to walk along a platform just beneath the bridge, which took us to the jump platform. We were all harnessed and individually talked through what would happen. I then had to sit and wait while I watched the two before me.
The man was clearly very anxious, to say the least. He was led to the edge of the platform and encouraged to spread his arms out wide and, on the count of three, leap forward. But he kept backing up and leaning back on the instructor. On two occasions the instructor counted down, but he didn't jump.
Finally, on the third count, his knees buckled slightly, and he fell forward towards the River Garry. If anything, that stopped me from getting nervous. I had kept expecting the nerves to hit, but, when I saw his jump I just thought 'I'm up here now, so I either fall or I dive.' The instructor then came and had a few words, which emphasised what I had just decided, explaining that I would get more out of the jump if I tried to dive out away from the bridge.
By now, the man was being winched back up. His faced had changed completely and he was beaming. It was now time for the eldest girl to go, and she threw herself off the platform very confidently, with a loud WHOOP! My turn next.....

"Any words for the camera?" He asked...
"Erm..." What do you say? "Help"? I mumbled a slightly unconvincing "Let's go for it".
My ankles were bound together, so I had to waddle forward onto the platform.

"Keep going. Your toes need to be over the edge" said the instructor. As you can see, he had hold of my harness, but it still felt very uncomfortable, inching forward like this.
I'm now standing, with my toes over the edge, looking down at the drop. He decides that now would be a good time to smile for the camera. Actually, I can smile. A huge surge of adrenaline floods any fears and I can't wait.
"Right. Arms out wide. I'm going to count down from three, then I want you to go big."
For half a nanosecond there is a doubt. This is NOT a natural thing to do - jump 132' down towards a very shallow river (too shallow to make any difference). Too late.
"3... 2... 1..." and I launched myself as far away from the platform as I could......

My view changed slowly from the sky, down down down towards the water. Then, just as it felt like I was heading straight towards the river, a gentle pull began to increase as the bungee chord did its job.
Jane had earlier suggested that the worst part might be when you bounce back up again, then are left dangling, but I barely noticed that bit. I tried to quickly get my bearings so that I could find where the family were and wave to them. Then they lowered a cable which I had to clip to a loop on my waist, before they hoisted me back up to the terra firma of the platform. More words required for the camera.... "Fantastic. Amazing." Hardly original, but what else can you say?
"Would I recommend it?" Without doubt..
It may have been something that tempted me when I was a teenager. But, after freefall parachuting, I lost any inclination  to do a bungee jump. If you only do one, I would say do a parachute jump. But I would certainly do another bungee. And I cannot recommend the staff at Highland Fling highly enough.

Go on..... You know you want to!

Click here to see all the gory detail on YouTube

.

Phew!

A friend (Joan) sent me an email the other day about this accident near Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
In the picture above, the pick-up had been travelling from right to left, at about 75mph, when it lost control and crashed through the guardrail (where the people in the photo are standing).

It flipped end-over-end, bouncing off and across the culvert, miraculously landing upright, facing in completely the opposite direction.

The 22 year-old driver and his 18 year-old passenger were unhurt, except for some minor cuts and bruises.

Now, so far, this doesn't seem too exceptional. They lost control and got lucky with where they landed. But, if you scroll down and look at the bigger picture, you will see just how amazingly lucky they were!

One small step for man

Sometimes, during lessons, it is nice to just relax and chat about non-driving stuff. The trouble is, you don't know where that could lead.

Towards the end of last year, one of my pupils,Sophie, was telling me about the weekend she had planned. It was her boyfriend's birthday and she was treating him to an adventure weekend in the Cairngorms. She had done a bungee jump and they were hoping to do some white-water rafting and cliff jumping. We swapped tales of our adrenaline-junkie pursuits, but I must have mentioned that I had never done a bungee jump.

Then, a month or two ago, Sophie, having passed her test, was chatting to me about doing the Pass Plus course. She then casually mentioned that there was going to be a sponsored bungee jump at Killiecrankie, Perthshire, in aid of Yorkhill Children's Hospital. She also casually mentioned that she had put my name forward! I used to be all action, no talk. Now I'm the opposite.

"Erm... Right. So what happens now?" I asked.

She explained that I could apply for an application form on Facebook, then they would send me all the details. "Right, I'll do that." I lied.

But, after a while, I did apply. The information was promptly received and, a week later, I was booked in to jump off the 132' bridge at Killiecrankie at 11.00am on Saturday 22nd March. Eek and double Eek!

You can find out more about the fantastic work done by Yorkhill at the Royal Hopsital for Sick Children by going to www.yorkhill.org. And you can sponsor me directly by clicking on www.justgiving.com/MartinRutter-FarleDrivingSchool

Meanwhile, my daughters are having a field day. They think the whole thing is hilarious. Their main concern is what I am to wear. A onesie is the favoured choice. That ain't gonna happen. Ever! They can't wait for next Saturday. I think they just want to hear how loud I scream. 

The other day I was talking to a friend of my wife. She asked me about the bungee jump and then asked me "Have you done any practice?"  !!!! 

Erm.... not really sure how I am supposed to practice? Buy some industrial strength knicker elastic and jump off the Kessock Bridge? Perhaps I should start off small. Maybe tie my shoelaces together and jump off the bed? I can't see that ending well.

Procrastinate now. Don't put it off.

Crikey! It's nearly February already. Time flies by when you're the driver of a train.....( as people who remember Chigley will know.)

An unbelievable amount of stuff has already happened in 2014 and I haven't even recapped last year yet.

So... 2013. A pretty good year. I didn't win the lottery, but I didn't have anything disastrous happen either. No major ups and downs, just a gentle swell:
As far as driving lessons were concerned, it was probably my busiest year yet. Certainly, I have never had so many pupils. But, much more so than ever before, there were a lot of people who already had a full licence, but were wanting some refresher/improvement lessons. Meanwhile, I decided to cut down the area I cover. With Inverness becoming increasingly busy for me, and Ullapool nice and steady, I decided to stop instructing in Elgin (and the surrounding area). Typically, the very week I made that decision, I had three enquiries about lessons in that area. But I stuck to my guns and recommended other instructors in Elgin/Forres. Earlier in the year I had gone further in the other direction, right up to Kinlochbervie, close to the far North West tip of Scotland. Although the driving was a bit limited, I really enjoyed my weeks up there, but, one by one, they passed their tests, and it no longer made economic sense to continue teaching there for a handful of pupils.
Congratulations to Adam, Aisha, Alasdair, Alison, Amanda, Arran, Audrius, Beccy, Beth, Cameron, Cat, Christopher, Ciara, Clare, Clarke, Daniel, Danny, Darren, Dylan, Eachann, Eilidh, Eireann, Elaine, Elisabeth, Emily, Emma, Erin, Euan, George, Georgina, Graham, Hamish, Hughie, Iain, Ian, Isobel, Jack, Jacqueline, Jade, Jake, James, Jamie, Jessie, Jo, Joanna, Jodie M, Jodie S, Joe, Jonathan, Josh, Joshua, Katie, Kelera, Kelly, Kirsty, Kyle, Lachlan, Lewis, Louis, Matt, Matthew, Melissa, Michaela, Niall, Niki, Peter, Rachel S, Rachel T, Ruaraidh, Ryan, Sabeel, Sarah, Scott D, Scott P, Shona, Shopan, Sophie, Stephanie and Tom on passing their driving tests this year - three more than last year, perhaps we'll break eighty next year. It's nice for me to look back at all these names. Some of them passed very quickly, but, perhaps because I spent more time with them, I get more satisfaction thinking about the ones that took longer to pass. There are a few people there who took over fifty hours of lessons, but I think their achievements are no less than the ones who took less than twenty.
A few weeks ago, one of my pupils asked me if I ever 'drop' any pupils. I struggled to think of any. There had been maybe two or three people over the years that I have 'dropped' because they continually messed me around by cancelling lessons. But he was asking because he has a relative who is a driving instructor, and he, apparently, has dropped pupils because he told them 'they would never be able to drive'. I thought it was the job of an instructor to teach people how to drive?! Looking through that list, there are a couple of people who, in the early stages, I thought 'this will take some time', but both of them passed first time, so it just goes to show that everyone can drive. It just takes a bit of effort from them and me.
The other significant news, as far as driving was concerned, was getting my new tuition car when the lease on my Fiesta ended. I haven't written much about it, but I am very pleased with my Alfa Romeo and my pupils all seem to like it. Not only is it a very comfortable and rewarding car for me to drive and spend so much time in, but the positive steering and the power and flexibility of the engine seem to make it a very sure-footed and secure car for my pupils. In addition, they really like the stop/start system (they simply press the clutch down to start the engine if they stall) and I really like the heated leather seats on frosty mornings. One day, I promise I will get around to writing a bit more about it: just like I promise that I will write more (hopefully) helpful stuff on various Inverness roundabouts (which is what seems to draw most people to these pages).

I had intended to write a lengthy, poetic appraisal of a variety of aspects of 2013. But that is all behind us now. Time to get on with 2014 (maybe with the odd 2013 flashback).

Get orff my land!

Imagine you are out driving and you are looking for somewhere to park. The roads are full of cars but, eventually, you spot a gap. Great. You pull up alongside the car ahead and are just about to reverse into the gap when the owner of the car comes out of their house and says 'Can you move on and find somewhere else to park'.
I was with a new pupil this morning. She has had lessons with another instructor, but wasn't confident reversing, so we did a turn in the road (fine), then a reverse into a side road (a bit hesitant, but fine). Time to look at parking. I picked a really quiet side road, with nothing to worry about and asked my pupil to pull up alongside the car ahead and try to complete a parallel park within two car lengths. She made sure it was safe to move off, positioned herself perfectly alongside the car (a white Range Rover), just under a metre away, checked all around, reversed back until her back wheels had gone beyond the Range Rover, then turned toward the curb. Nice control of her speed and regular checks around the car - excellent. Just as we were almost finished she paused. She had seen a pedestrian nearing the back of the car and was waiting for him to continue on, away from the back of the car. But he didn't move, he ducked down, looked into our car and gestured for me to wind the window down.
"Can you not use my car as an obstacle. "
It's not worth me doing anything than acquiescing and driving on, even if I did think he was an arse.
"Yes, of course..... " I began to reply, but he continued, "I know you have to practice, but not here."
I politely asked "So you would like us to practice with someone else's car? " but he didn't really answer.
I have dual controls, so there is absolutely no danger of us going near his car. In my lessons, if we are practicing reversing maneouvres, I don't like to spend too long in the same place (or use the same car) - twice maximum. Simply because, if it was my car, I would get a bit anxious if someone was endlessly practicing, using my car. I guess he had every right to politely ask us not to use his car, but it was his manner that rubbed me up the wrong way. We were inches away from completing the maneouvre and he could see we were away from his car.
I was reminded of a news story a few years ago when the inhabitants of an estate in England got up a petition against driving schools using their estate to practice. All the driving schools obliged, which made the locals happy until they tried to book driving lessons for their children, because all the instructors has got together and agreed never to drive in that estate.
I wonder what Range Rover man would do if he has children that want to learn to drive.

Wheelie bins and wondrous calculations

Yes, I'm still here and, no, you haven't really missed anything. Actually, you have, but don't worry, it was nothing life-changing.
It's six in the morning on a cold November day and I've got to crank my mind and body up for a busy day of driving tests and lessons. Five lessons, plus no less than TEN driving tests! Surely this must be a world record with driving tests? Has anyone (at least in Britain) had ten of their pupils (nine of them having their first attempt) taking their tests in the same day?
This has all come about because two examiners are coming to Ullapool today. The reasons are too long-winded to explain. Usually we get one examiner, conducting six tests on one day in each month. This is always a Wednesday. For some unknown reason, this month and next are on Tuesdays though.
I was with a pupil last week and we were practising turning the car around in the road (three point turn). I pointed out that, being a Wednesday, the wheelie bins were out in the road, ready for collection.
"Remind me of your test date" I asked him.
"January 29th."
"OK, so that's a Wednesday," I replied. I knew it was simply because it is only November and December that have tests on a Tuesday, "so, the wheelie bins will be something to consider on the day of your test."
He looked at me with a stunned expression.
"How did you work that out so quickly?"
Perhaps I should have given him some BS about calendars, leap years and perhaps some quadratic equations, but I boringly told him the truth.
He looked very disappointed. "So no hidden talents then?"
"No," I sighed, "no hidden talents."

Matthew's big day

Matthew's test was scheduled at 9.37am; a nice time, I think, after rush hour, but before Inverness' traffic really gets going. So we could afford to have a relaxed start to the day, with tea, bacon sandwiches and (not so relaxed) The William Tell Overture (The theme from The Lone Ranger) to liven us up.
There have been all sorts of roadworks and changes to the road system in the area around Inverness test centre recently, so we wanted a relaxed drive around the area before the test. With fifteen minutes to go it was time to turn the car round in the road and head towards the test centre. Matt seemed fine, but I was the one getting nervous, and this wasn't helped by the amount of traffic delaying his turn in the road.
"What time is my test?" asked Matthew, at 9.30am, as we approached the test centre.
"We've got plenty of time." I reassured, but anxiously aware that we only had a few minutes to spare. 

With every test I always get a little...... not nervous, but concerned. I only bring a pupil to test if I am confident that they are fine driving on their own. They don't have to be perfect (like Sarah last month), but they have to make me feel relaxed and confident in their ability. Matthew certainly drove like that. I had no doubts at all about his ability to drive but...... It is a test. And you never know what someone will do in test conditions.

For those of you who might not know, I'll explain the procedure: Matthew meets the examiner, who checks both parts of his licence and asks Matthew to sign a declaration that the car is insured and that he has lived in the UK for 6 out of the previous 12 months. The examiner then asks Matthew if he would like me to sit in on the test (he did). We walk out to the car park and the examiner checks his eyesight by asking him to read a number plate from 25 - 30m (the requirement is 20m). Then we approach the car and the examiner asks him two 'show me/tell me' questions. An incorrect answer incurs a 'driving fault' (Matthew answered both of his correctly). You will pass your test if you make 15 or fewer driving faults and no serious (or dangerous) faults. A dangerous fault is one that involves actual danger to anyone (including you and the examiner) or to any property. A serious fault is one that could potentially have been dangerous. A driving fault is one that, at the time, was not considered potentially dangerous, but making the same driving fault throughout your test could become a serious fault. Once we are all sat in the car, the examiner explains that the test will last approximately 45 minutes and that he is to follow the road ahead unless road markings or signs indicate otherwise. If the examiner wants you to turn left or right he will ask you in good time. For me, sitting in the back, I have to keep quiet and can have no influence. Sometimes the examiner might include me in the conversation, but, as a rule, I have to sit tight and shut up.

The examiner decided to get the reversing manoeuvre out the way and asked Matthew to pull out to the left or the right, straighten up, then reverse back into a bay. He is looking for control, accuracy and effective observation. This had been Matthew's least favourite manoeuvre, but he executed it perfectly.

He drove off and I began to relax. Really nice driving. Good approach to junctions and hazards. Over halfway through the test and absolutely nothing he could be faulted for; slightly over-cautious in a couple of meeting situations, but I would far rather he was cautious than take chances. We then came to a reasonably straight 30mph road with a bin lorry emptying the bins up ahead. Just beyond was a parked van on the other side of the road. If he acted quickly, he could comfortably overtake the bin lorry and safely return to his side of the road before the van became a problem. He hesitated and held back, just a fraction. The opportunity was then lost as the bin lorry neared the van and we had to wait until another gap appeared when the bin lorry had passed the white van. Hmmm. The examiner did not register anything on his sheet, but he might wait until later. It was certainly nothing serious though. 

Matthew continued to drive very nicely, dealing with some tough situations. The examiner asked him to pull over, then explained that the next section would be when he wanted Matthew to drive independently. For this part, they can either ask you to follow road signs (for example, 'follow road signs to Fort William'), or they can give you a series of directions (as opposed to step by step directions). He gave Matthew a combination of both. "I would like you to turn right at the end of the road, turn left at the next two roundabouts, then follow signs to Aberdeen." He then asked Matthew to repeat the instruction. There was a few minutes between the two roundabouts and, approaching the second, I thought his indicator was a touch early. Although there was no road between us and the roundabout, indicate too early and it could look as though you are parking. For the first time, I noticed the examiner put something on his marking sheet. Even though I thought the signal was only slightly early, I still worried that the examiner might have viewed it as serious. Ridiculous, because I knew it wasn't potentially dangerous, but I still worried.

I guess it was partly because there was definitely slightly more pressure on Matthew and me than usual. There is pressure on every test, if only because no-one wants to spend another £62 on a second attempt, but failing your test is NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. You have waited at least 17 years to get your licence. so it really is no big deal if you have to wait another few weeks (Ten working days is the minimum, but, in practice, it can be a lot more before you get another attempt). With Matthew, he was flying back to England the next day and, although his driving was easily good enough to pass wherever he chose to take his test, we really had been building up to this moment. And I know that his parents (my brother, Chris, and his wife, Sondra) would not have given it a thought if he doesn't pass but.......... I guess that, whenever someone doesn't pass, I always wonder if I have missed something in their instruction.

So now we were following signs to Aberdeen, through the busy Raigmore Interchange, and heading east on the A96. The examiner then asked him to follow signs to Culloden and Balloch. This took him right on a roundabout and into a slightly unusual road. Unusual in that it had regular streetlights, but was in fact a 60mph road. As he came off the roundabout he seemed to be slow getting the car going. With slight alarm I realised that he presumed that the street lighting mean that it was a 30mph speed limit. I could do nothing. I sat there, siliently urging him to look ahead where, in the distance, I knew there would be a reminder speed sign. fortunately he saw it, checked his mirrors to make sure that no-one was about to overtake, and put his foot down to get it up towards the speed limit. Eek. How would the examiner view that? Any vehicle behind would have expected him to accelerate towards 60mph after the roundabout, and may have been tempted to overtake when he was slow to do so. But, he had seen the first reminder sign and, importantly, had checked his mirrors before accelerating. I thought it could be viewed as a driving fault, but surely nothing serious?

Not far from the test centre now, but the bin lorry and the failure to see the national speed limit sign were heavy on my mind. As far as I was concerned, they were not serious, but I was not the one examining Matthew. Back at the test centre, he pulled carefully into a bay and the examiner asked him to switch off the engine. He looked down at his sheet and said "I'm pleased to tell you, Matthew, that you have passed." After the formalities of handing over the provisional licence and the paperwork, he quickly explained that he had recorded just two driving faults; one for hesitation at the bin lorry, and the other for indicating too early for the roundabout. He was obviously happy with the way Matthew realised that he was initially too slow, and corrected it, after the Culloden roundabout.

Matthew was delighted. It had been a very competent drive and to pass, first time, with just two driver errors is an excellent result. But it was well deserved. He had driven in every area I cover, from Elgin in the east, right up to Ullapool in the north-west, all of which provided different challenges. Jane rewarded him by taking him to sunny Findhorn for a walk on the beach and lunch outside the pub, overlooking Findhorn Bay, while I continued with quest to bring all my pupils to Matthew's standard.