Men and their Motors

At the risk of alienating most of my small number of followers I am writing from observations and from my perception of the significance of the motor car.

A bit of a wordy start but as a male I believe I have some insights into the male obsession with cars. For men in general they are not merely a form of transportation from one place to another. It is about the style you do it in.

Ever since leaving school I took great pride in the various cars I owned and the independence it gave me. Also had a stint on a 350 Honda motorbike that almost had me killed a number of times.

After spending over 3 years in America and London I returned with an XJS Jaguar purchased from my hard work in London. Sadly I had to sell it due to a cash flow crisis.



Nowadays I haven't got such lofty ambitions but I still dream regularly about my Jaguar XJS Reg. No YKN506S that is imprinted in my memory. Although I know owning another Jaguar has great appeal there is only sparse spare money around. These days I realise there is better value in my trips to London and Europe every few years

Our current cars are a small Honda Logo

Family Car

and a Toyota Camry.

My car

The rest of the family like the smaller car to drive but obviously as one of the male species I wouldn't be seen dead driving the Honda. In al seriousness the small car worries me due to the minimal protection it will give if things go wrong. It would only take an inattentive driver to cause what could be a fatal accident.

Have you had any close calls or serious car accidents?

What are your experiences of cars and safety issues?

I wasn't always a teacher [Part 1]

How I became a teacher was more luck than good management. More details at a later date.

On leaving school I trained to be a Catholic Priest for 2 years in Christchurch. However at the tender age of 19 realised that there was so much I hadn't experienced of life and decided I needed to do some exploring. Without giving my life story I'd like to mention about my early work history and some light hearted moments.

Having left the Seminary I looked after delinquent boys under the guidance of a Brother who couldn't believe I could sleep so much. It was a rundown house we lived in and at night the mice came out to play. I remember my feelings of horror when the lounge would come alive with up to 15 mice. Frankly I was quite relieved after 6 months when the Brother suggested I look for other employment.

I stayed in Christchurch for the next 2 years working for Ballantynes Department Store [famous for their fire in the 1930's] in their office in Cashel St. It seems hard to believe that I worked in an area that recently was devastated by the disastrous eathquake of February 2011.

Now in my early 20's I thought I would go back to my home town of Dunedin. I moved in with mum and dad and was fortunate to get a job with Cadburys. I started out as a Storeman to my dad's disappointment. He felt 5 years of College was wasted doing labouring work. Some interesting characters! One I worked with took great pleasure daily winding me up with comments such as 'you're lucky you weren't born a dwarf' [reference to my small stature] and regularly referred to me as a Temporary New Zealander [due to my owning a motorbike]. After a year in the store I moved into the Cadbury Office to the delight of my dad. I delivered mail around the factory and was able to sample some of the wares as I proceeded on my rounds. In those days I was extremely popular with my running buddies who purchased chocolate bars at about 10 cents each.

In my mid 20's I knew there was a big world out there and pursued my dreams to travel America and Britain.

Due to the length of this blog and the reality that I had far too many exciting and interesting times on my 3 year O.E to include here I will sign off. I will reflect on some of the most memorable experiences in preparation for my next entry.