My First Car

I don’t think anyone ever forgets their first car. Mine was a maroon Hillman Avenger similar to the one in the picture. I bought it in 1982. It was about 6 years old. It had only done 17,000 miles. It was won by an old lady in a competition and was only driven on short journeys. I thought I would be buying a reliable form of transportation. How wrong was I. We went to Bristol from Hull once in the car.  It broke down at Brough, just outside Hull, the first time. Instead of deciding to turn around we continued. It broke down about 5 times on the way down. Each time the AA thought they had fixed it.  As soon as the engine warmed up it came to a shuddering halt. 12 hours later, we finally arrived in Bristol. However I still loved this car.  It gave me freedom for the first time to explore and have my first knocks. I eventually caved in and sold it and bought a green MG Metro. 

This poem expresses how I thought abought my first car:

My First Car

I remember my very first car

A Hillman Avenger painted in maroon

It was my pride and joy 

My most important possession by far

But back in those days

Cars were not what they are today

Crossing fingers when turning the ignition

So unique in so many ways

Paintwork so vulnerable to rust

Accelerated when exposed to rain

Hard certainly to explain

Why parts of the vehicle turned to dust. 

To distract from the growing decay

I adorned the car with fluffy trinkets

Collected from the occasional breakdown free trips

Playing music on AM radio the only way

To drown the drone of the puny petrol engine

Which gave up hope at the merest chance of moisture

Leaving us stranded and abandoned

Too many incidents to mention.  

But back in those days cars were part of the family

Unconditional love bestowed upon them daily

Forgiving all faults and frailties 

Up and down with the bonnet happily 

Tinkering with spark plugs, points and under seal 

Forever filling with oil and sorting the tracking

It really hard to see the appeal

But I loved my Hillman Avenger

It was not simply a modern appliance

Starting with boring regularity

Until that day I finally did surrender

And bought a Mini Metro!