I had a little chortle today as I remembered when Mum and I went on holiday to her mobile home on Domaine de la Bergerie in the South of France. Mum had hired a car from a lady on the site. These were before the days of internet and seeing a photo of the car before we arrived was not then possible. When we arrived the "hire" car was sat on the hard standing at the front of the home. The lady who owned it had left a note saying sometimes the battery was a bit sluggish but there was a starter handle in the boot if that happened. We spent much of the holiday cranking that starter handle at the front of the car, or pushing the car down the hills (easier by far!) to get it started. And when it was running we had the added complication of a gear stick on the steering wheel. Ma never did really get the hang of it, so there was much grinding of gears, jerking and some colourful language with every journey out. And if that wasn't enough, when Mum did get the car up to full speed and we were motoring along, I would occasionally have to remind her that "They drive on the right hand side of the road here Mum!!" Brilliant stuff. 

I must add, as a footnote to this tale that Mum's driving got so much better over the years that she would eventually take to driving her own car all the way down to the south of France for holidays. Way to go Mum! xx