One of my favourite things in the whole world is my car.
I bought it last year; as I’d been with my husband since the age of 18 we’d always bought cars together, rx and when we first split in 2013 my parents loaned me the money to buy a new (to me) one. This was to be my first solo car purchase and I was excited.
Saving up the cash to make that purchase last year and spending a while researching which car would suit my needs was a big deal, click a huge vote of independence, of ‘look how far I’ve come!’. My car isn’t hugely sexy – it’s a 2012 black Ford Focus (I really pushed the boat out, my last car was a 2008 black Ford Focus ;) – but I love it to bits.
Because I grew up in the rural countryside, driving was always a huge thing. If you couldn’t drive you were reliant on your parents to run you into Cheltenham, a 20 minute car journey away, or you could always take the two hour bus trip (no thanks). This desperation to see the world outside of my little village is how I managed to pass my driving test 6 weeks after my seventeenth birthday. I had the maximum amount of minor faults allowed before failing mind you, but I like to think I’ve improved my driving skills in the 13 years since.
I guess ATS Euromaster must have heard of my love of four wheels and the open road because they recently got in touch asking if I’d give them a hand judging their #AWintersDrivingTale competition.
Winter is a time we all spend more time in the car than usual, and they’d like to hear what you get up to when you’re trekking up the M1 to visit family or traversing the North Circular on a shopping trip.
Sometimes I find it difficult driving long distances with my two. In the winter driving requires mega concentration, especially if it’s wet and dark, and I’m always having to remind them that punching/kicking/pinching does not help mummy navigate an unfamiliar roundabout in the pouring rain.
My most hilarious winter driving tale happened this Christmas just gone. We’d spent the morning opening presents at home and were about to set off to my Auntie and Uncle’s house in Rutland, an hour away. The children had both received a selection box for Christmas as is our tradition and Hux insisted on taking his with him, not letting it out of his sweaty clutches.
In a huge lapse of judgement I let him (“It’s Christmas!” I thought) and so we piled in the car with hampers of food and our overnight bags.
Enjoying the peaceful drive to the soundtrack of Christmas songs and with the children snoozing in the back seat after an early morning I thought nothing of the suspicious silence. Until half an hour into the journey I clocked Hux in the rear view mirror, a chocolate-covered face, asleep with a Fudge bar stuck to his cheek.
The talented little chocolate fiend had managed to eat a WHOLE selection box with the kind of stealth I’ve never witnessed before. If I’ve taught him nothing in the last three years, at least he’s learned to eat chocolate in complete silence (serves me right all those times I’ve hidden in the under-the-stairs cupboard to eat biscuits). It was a major car seat clean-up operation – how do they always end up SITTING on the chocolate?! – but at least he ate all of his turkey later.
ATS Euromaster would like you to share your winter driving tales over on their Facebook page, and one lucky person will win a full set of tyres for their car, up to the value of £200.
Maybe your three year old has also spent a car journey scoffing an entire selection box? Or maybe your heating system failed so you had to drive from Glasgow to Plymouth wearing ski suits and bobble hats? We want to know!
To enter just pop over to this Facebook post and leave your story as a comment with the hashtag #AWintersDrivingTale. I look forward to reading them all!
For Ts & Cs please visit this page. Competition closes at 23:59 on 4th February 2016.
