The time is 1967 or thereabouts, and I'm going to school on the bus. Something low and yellow streaks past and the bus leans dangerously as about 50 kids try to look through the side window. Wossat ? no one knows but it looked "fab" - remember this was the 60s.
When we arrived at school part of the playground was guarded by a couple of teachers and behind them we could see this yellow car. Wossat sir ?
Well, from my vague memories it was someone who was visiting the school and they had one of the very first Europas. Of course the nearest I got was 50 yards away as it was patrolled at break time by the teachers, but the seed was sown.
Exams taken and amazingly passed, it is now 1969. I’m at Liverpool University and like most students I'm struggling to afford the beer, let alone a car. Plus the minor point that I can't drive. And then someone gets a lime green S2 Europa for tootling between Halls of Residence and lectures. I pass it as we walk in every day.
Someone's trying to tell me something.
So I start off my final year at Liverpool by looking for insurance quotes for a Europa, getting some driving lessons, looking for a job and doing the odd spot of revision for finals, roughly in that order.
My tutors thought it highly amusing when they saw me reading quotes of "only £150" insurance, and even more when they realised I didn't actually have a driving license.
To get the insurance quotes in perspective, my prospective annual salary would be £1400-£1500 and I’d be taking home under £100 a month.
And so I took my driving test - and failed. The world as I knew it collapsed, I spent a few years fiddling with motorbikes until I re-took the test, passed, but somehow didn't get the Europa.
Nope, it wasn't maturity or common sense, I just bought a Marcos 1800 instead (less than a month after getting the licence)
