Bud's Old Banger

Another in an occasional series of reminiscences from my past.

Many years ago, when I was in my twenties, I had a friend called Bud - a nickname derived not from his love of beer but from his surname. Bud drove a very distinctive car - a 1963 Hillman Minx. It was the only one around, probably on account of it's being so old, and he was well-known for it. One day I was out in my car and came across Bud driving in front of me. I beeped my horn and flashed my lights but received no acknowledgement from him. Therefore I beeped the horn and flashed the lights again, still with no response. Being young and extremely foolish I decided that he needed waking up, so I drove right up to his rear bumper and gave him a gentle nudge with my car. He still didn't look round so I bumped him again, this time a little harder. It was only then that I realised that it wasn't actually Bud driving - a silver-haired old granny looked in her rear-view mirror at me with an expression of absolute terror on her face, and her equally silver-haired companion turned round and did the same. That was the moment I found out that Bud was NOT the only person with an old Hillman Minx! Now I know that I should have stopped, apologised and checked that they were OK, but I have to tell you that I just completey panicked, took the next left turn and roared away at high speed before they could recover their presence of mind and take down my car registration number. About the only positive thing that I can say about this sorry affair is that I learned from my mistake and never again bumped someone's car without first checking that I knew the occupant!