Page 39 - Demo

37linkage also had a propensity to jam, the cause being a dodgy bush under the bonnet. However, a brief conversation with a mechanic at the good Mr Chell%u2019s Motoring Emporium for the Down at Heel in Cranwell Village elicited the information that this condition could be cured by a swift tap on the offending junction with a hammer; I therefore carried one in the side pocket of the car, for this specific purpose. It was also fortunate that the linkage always stuck in 2nd gear.Although blessed with a mere 1703cc engine, it had quite a respectable performance and, since the box was only 3-speed, with judicious slippage of the clutch (for which I claimed a bye from the attentions of the ruler), the car would comfortably go from a standing start to about 40-50mph%u2013 quite sufficient to get out of trouble. As luck (or Sod%u2019s Law) would have it, this happened to me on my driving test. Of course, I had meant to get the thing fixed properly, but there were always so many competing calls on my limited budget.Anyway, Sod, in his wisdom, struck on a slight incline at traffic lights.Unperturbed (probably because I had forgotten the examiner was there), I pulled away with much clutch slippage, found a place to park, released the bonnet, grabbed the hammer, nipped out, opened up, thwacked the offending mechanism with the hammer, got back in and continued. I passed, not least because the examiner seemed to be quite impressed with my resourcefulness, if not with my 3-point turn or parallel parking.The following day, I was wandering the corridors of Block 80, looking for a co-pilot for a trip into Sleaford, when I realised that I didn%u2019t need one! The rehabilitation of my left knee could now begin in earnest%u2026Dim Jones