Your Convey

After experiencing the joys of most of the driving schools uk has to offer (all right, I'm exaggerating, but only slightly) I decided it was time to buy my first car. I looked at the motor trade advertisements. I knew I wanted something cheap, and safe, but I really wasn't sure how to tell if a car was either.

I consulted my mother. She thought she knew someone in the motor trade, but it turned out he was actually a railway repairman. (I don't understand how the connections in her brain work either.)

So I ventured out, all alone, into the wilds of the motor trade. The first salesman I spoke to wanted to show me his entire line of new cars. I kept repeating that all I wanted was a cheap, safe automobile, but he didn't listen at all. Finally I walked away from the dealership. He trailed for a while, calling out further enticements and possible rebates, but I had had enough.

My next stop was a small used car dealer. I outlined what I wanted, a safe, cheap automobile. I didn't need anything fancy, or big. Just something to get me to work safely in the morning and back home at night. I looked over his selection of cars, and nothing seemed just right. The one I liked best was a bit too expensive for me, and none of the others suited me as well.

During the course of my trip through the car lot, though, the owner introduced me to his pet collie and hopefully asked if I would like to have a look at her puppies. He was giving them away to good homes, he said, because he didn't have any idea who the father was.

The puppies were frisky and playful, and downright adorable. One of them was a bit smaller and shyer than the others, but when I held out my hand for her to sniff, she came up to me and snuggled against my hand.

"Yes, I'd really like this one," I said. "But I don't have any way to take her home."

"Well, let's have one more look. Maybe we can come to some agreement."

To make a long story short (I know, too late) I ended up with the car I wanted and a new puppy to ride home in it with me.

I named her Ginger. The puppy, not the car.