The Summer of '93

Chase me, chase me!

I was asked to visit the Castle Street office and complete some further training at Edinburgh Council. When Ali next phoned, I advised him of the dates.  It was Summer time in Edinburgh and August was Tattoo month. It brought a volume of tourists into the city and revenue too. He was soon joining the musicians to play.
"Magic", he said, "I'm back from Berlin then!"
His Family lived through in the West of Scotland and Edinburgh was a train ride, picking up the train at Motherwell.
"What time do you finish work?" he asked.
"Fiveish normally."
"Sound, there's a pub called 'The Shakespeare' just around the corner from your office, on Lothian Road. I can meet you there at five."
"Great, I am on expenses so I can take you for a meal if you like."
Ali asked, "Are you still staying at the Herald House Hotel?"
"Yes that's right!" I answered.
"oky peroky perjoky!" I had mixed feelings about it all. It was resignation that I was on the path to possible dating again. I would enjoy a bit of entertainment whilst I was in Edinburgh. He was fun and a very different character to Dionisis and that's just what I needed. I wouldn't take it so seriously this time and I would take it for what it was. Between the two of them, talk about going from one extreme to another. The only thing they both shared was residing in Germany. How coincidental!

The Lord Mayor's parade was an annual event that takes place in the centre of Leeds it's supposed to bring in the number of people. The result is that the whole city centre is totally disrupted in terms of traffic and the floats and parade that mean road closures, just makes it impossible to navigate. My Mum liked it and having to go to work on my Saturday meant that I hit town precisely when it was starting, as I had started to head home.

I was destined to collide with the event and was held back in traffic. Trucks carried the floats and so the police scurried to close the road. It would be guaranteed that the Tetley brewery dray would be the centre of the disruption and I was about to turn onto Briggate.

The traffic had come to a prolific standstill. The police dissended upon the street like an army of purposeful ants. They were ushering us out of the road because the road was about to close. I moved my gear stick into first as the queue cleared in front of me, to turn right. I depressed the clutch pedal and it was completely soft. I tried to put the car into gear and it made a grinding noise. I repeated this several times and couldn't move. This car was a liability. I was resigned that it wasn't driver error. In an instant I had an officer gesticulating for me to wind down the window. "You need to clear the road."

'Patronising arse,' I thought. I felt like I was a burden and he shamed me into inadequacy. "The car won't go into gear, I've been trying but it won't shift!" I replied, exasperated. It was so frustrating.

It was clear from the policeman's expression and his eyes that his brain was ridiculing my inadequacy to drive. He signalled for me to vacate it and replaced me in the driver's seat. The policeman repeated my steps several times and exclaimed "your clutch has gone."

I remembered this has happened to our mini in the middle of York and I looked in my mind's eye and remembered we had to wait for the AA.

I saw the policeman talk into his radio, his face looked grim. I stood on helpless. The policeman looked at up me determined, "I have to move this car!"

Watching on physically flinched as I heard the gears grind in pain. I hadn't the authorisation or experience to make that move. If I did damage to the car I knew there would be a catalogue of serious reprocussions with my Company. I was relieved the shoulder of blame was now in the policeman's hands. I realised at this point what a fear I had of putting a step wrong at work. The policeman drove a squealing Yugo to the side of the road and handed me the keys. "Let's get it towed. Where to?" His cutting tone had now completely softened.

Quick thinking, I offered, "to the Yugo garage please!" with relief and gratitude.

"Ok, stay with your vehicle, they'll be here shortly." I nodded in agreement. He smiled, and walked away, talking into the radio as he moved on to signal the traffic on.

I watched a section of the parade and headed home by bus. That car was a liability and had to go.

So finally the Company Yugo Sana gave up the ghost; for some time it had proved impossible as for the Director's brother in-law couldn't get parts for them. In fact I had been advised that the dealership was being handed back and so the fleet of Rovers and Astras were being loaned out.  I was to get a new Astra allocated to me. This signalled to me that I was a permanent fixture at the Software House and they had started to treat me as an equal to the other trainers. I was relieved. I was given a brochure, a Vauxhall Astra brochure. I was given the choice of the colour of my new car. Even though I knew the company car was not mine per se, it was an exciting moment to be offered one. I looked at the different colours and deliberated between two blue hues; a purplish blue and a royal blue. They had names like toilet paper. It's never just white, it's 'snowdrop rain', but the decision was made and it was ordered and there was a lead time. It felt like it was ordered was just for me! But no one ever said to me, 'you saved our reputation at Carmarthen County Council, and turned it around, good job.' So I said it to myself.

For my journey I got my hands on a lovely Rover, with its highly polished walnut dashboard, comfortable seats and a much more powerful 1.4 litre engine. After having the Yugo my standards were understandably low!