Panda
And if you were expecting a real life black and white panda: sorry!
When I moved to England in 1992, I didn't move to a big town or even a small town. I moved to a small village, with about 150 inhabitants. That in itself wasn't so bad, the bad thing was, there was no way to get out of the village. There was a school bus and I could take that, but it had the stupid habit of not driving during school holidays. There was also a postal van that had some room to take one or two passengers, but only going into town. Then there were the taxis and of course I could try and get a ride of of one of my colleagues. After about a year, I was fed up with that and decided to take driving lessons. It really was third time lucky when I finally got my license. However, having a license didn't really do me much good, since I didn't have a car to use it on. Fortunately I had a fantastic colleague who helped me buy my very first car: a Fiat Panda!
It gave me freedom to go whenever and wherever I wanted. I took trips to Salisbury and Oxford, I showed the Lake District to my parents, I got lost in London trying to take my sister back to her hostel and I moved all my possessions back to my parents' place when I decided I wanted to be in Holland and not in England. I loved that little red car.
After a few years however, the brakes weren't as good as they used to be, the heating had completely stopped working and it consisted mostly of rust. I had to get another car, but my first car still holds a special place in my heart.
For more P words, please check out ABC Wednesday
PS: for more freedom, check out yesterday's post as well, since it was Liberation Day in the Netherlands!
Panda - thought just as many others of an animal at first, Good chioce for the P word
ReplyDeleteFirst car was a panda does sound funny...but what great memories are in it...and it is a good P...
ReplyDeleteOne's first car always holds a place in one's heart. Otto and I didn't get one until we were expecting our second child. We bought a Nash, a brand that doesn't even exist any more.
ReplyDeleteFirst cars have a way of wrapping themselves around our hearts, don't they?
ReplyDeleteI never heard of a Panda before but its a perfect choice for the letter P.
Great idea for "P" day! Have to admit that I never thought of a Panda and one's first car, but this is great!
ReplyDeleteYour Panda reminds me of a Ford Pinto, but being a Fiat, I'm sure it was a much better car! We never forget those first cars.
ReplyDeleteI did read your post on Liberation Day. What a fascinating story! You're so lucky to have gotten this story from your grandmother; such family history is priceless.
I had several Fiat cars : Fiat 1200, FIAT UNO... the fiability wasn't high but they were nice cars anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful first car story! Reading this made me grin this morning!
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in the Fiat, since, of course, they're joining with Chrysler to see if they can save it.
ReplyDeleteGood story! Thank you for sharing! All first things are important and never to be forgotten: first job, first house...I don't drive but I remember the first car I was driven in by my husband, when we were first married. It was a Goggomobile, a very small one.
ReplyDeleteThat first car is a great thing, isn't it? My first one was a '69 Volkswagon, powder blue. My sister drove it until the early 90's, and we were both sad to see it die.
ReplyDeleteGood memories of your Panda. First cars always seem to have a personality. Mine was a blue Renault 5 which I loved but the day came when the repairs were costing more than the car.
ReplyDeleteNice choice for your "P" post. I don't think I've ever before seen a Panda car. Interesting story.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a Fiat, but I've seen plenty of Pandas! Our first car was a little yellow Morris Minor. We took it around the Lake District on three cylinders and it survived. They don't make cars like that anymore!
ReplyDeleteSounds like that Panda was a good friend! It was a great first car!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Reminds me a VW Rabbit that I used to own.
ReplyDeleteSo you have Fiat Panda(kind of animal)for car model.That's sound interesting as for in my country very own made car we have Produa Kancil(deer)& Produa Rusa(also kind of deer).Funny isn't it..but it's a good budget compact car for Malaysian.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day & Thanks for the visit.
Aww, what a great post! You're exactly right about first cars holding a special place in our hearts - I think I tend to remember all the good things about mine and none of the bad ones ;) It's also interesting to hear what prompted you to learn to drive, seeing as that's what you do for a living now!
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