CARS , FAMILY and FAMILY-CARS

When I was growing up in Rathgar in 1940's cars were not very much in evidence . Public transport was convenient and frequent . The first cars I can remember were large , heavy machines a few generations up from the 'Tin Lizzie .The crossroads of Rathgar Ave. and Garville Ave. were notorious for crashes . These were the days before shatterproof windscreens and the aftermath of collisions were often horrific to see , particularly for youngsters .
Eventually what was eventually to be dubbed ' a winking willie ' was installed at that dangerous crossroads and the situation improved .
Near one of the areas , where we played football , there were lock-up garages , at the rere of large houses on Terenure Road . One of these was a double garage belonging to two elderly brothers who owned a local business . This garage housed two shiney new MG's. A two-seater , open topped , red sports car and a green saloon . Spoked wheels , wooden dash- boards , large headlamps ...etc . We , back-lane- footballers used to stand open-mouthed as the gentlemen , usually wearing soft hats reversed the cars out . Beautiful cars , we had no sense of envy , just awe , besides we has our own Dinky version of these very machines .
One of our neighbours ' daughters once dated an American who sometimes called for her in a huge Chevvy or Buick , I can't remember which , and of course this was a great talking point .
Because of its large , chrome , engine grille one of my schoolfriends referred to it as ''a grinning whale ''.
My father was a tram driver and when the trams were ' discontinued ', he became a bus driver .Although at that time , in Ireland , to get a licence to drive a car all one had to do was fill in a form and, hey presto , you got your driving licence ( one person managed to get a 'valid' licience for his ventriloquist dummy ) , bus drivers had to have a test .
We didn't have a family car but a friend used to loan my father his car for family outings , occasionally , and for summer holidays .

I can still remember travelling to a country cottage , again loaned by a friend to my parents , sitting in deep leather seats , my four or five siblings around me . in what seemed like 'the President's' car , although it probably was a Morris Cowley , one of the medium -to -big cars at the time .......Sheer luxury...
These journeys reminded us of scenes in the lighthearted bio-pic of Frank Gilbreth ( one of my heros ) and his wife , who were pioneers of Time and Motion study and economies of scale in the US . The film was called '' Cheaper by the Dozen'' , and told the story of a large family growing up in the 20's.
When out on a family trip if they stopped for a 'bathroom' break the father would use the euphemism '' does anyone want to see Mrs.Murphy''.

One of my uncles had a Ford Prefect and he and my aunt used take us for Sunday drives on the country roads around Kildare , Straffan , Sallins , Celbridge ....My uncle seemed to always wear a hat and smoke a pipe and if he accidently ran over a rabbit , he seemed to feel guilty about it for miles afterward.....a gentle man . He eventually progressed to the famous Morris Minor , as did , apparently EVERY man who wore a hat and smoked a pipe , while driving .

Later someone in the immediate family got a car . My older brother , or at least he and his friend jointly bought a car . A Ford Prefect , but at this stage the old beetle -backed Prefect was way , way , past its use-by date ....but it was a car and as far as I can remember it brought my brother and his friend around Ireland , before it eventually gave up the ghost .
Another brother of mine had by this time started to work for a care -hire firm and we began to hear stories of some of the famous people he met or drove , I remember Alec Guinness was one memorable passenger . Also as the company was situated near Paddy Kavanagh's roaming patch , the poet would occasionally pop his head round the door of their funeral parlour shouting''any owl stiffs ?''......guess you had to be there.......
We got an opportunity to see many different types of car as my brother had use of a car on a daily basis .

I was introduced to the 'new' Ford Anglia , the one with the back-angled rear window , by my good friend Hensel Maggott , he also provided a first tour of the swinging city of London for my mother and her sister in 1967....

The Volkswagen Beetle came in to my life also in 1967 , it was owned by Charlie Barrett , whose daughter I had met at a (wait for it...) Parish Council meeting . The VW was Charlie's pride and joy , after his wife and three daughters of course It was a creamy white colour , constantly polished ( HE knew how to look after machines ) . He kept it in a lock-up garage and I was told that sometimes he would not take the car out if it was RAINING . Some years later , when he retired to Ireland , he of course brought the Beetle with him , in spite of all the paperwork involved at the time . Charlie was a gentleman but even his best friends would not describe him as a gentle , man. He was a Corkman . And like all Corkmen , HE WAS NEVER WRONG .
So it happened that one Monday morning as he was taking his special daughter from Hatfield to London , as he did EACH Monday morning for years , on the busy Comet Roundabout , he accidently bumped into a posh car . Now anyone not familiar with the VW beetle would not be aware that this car was built like a TANK , heavy metal bumpers and overriders , ...so any other car unluck enough to be 'bumped' by it would come off second best . Of course it wasn't Charlie's fault .....the man in the other car was prepared . swap insurances , names and addresses etc , in the event Charlie gave him 50p and drove off .....again I guess you had to be there .

Having met Charlie's daughter we eventually decided to buy a car between us , all this bussing and training around Hatfield , St. Albans , Wellyn Garden City ,etc , became a chore . So enter ....58 FXN....an off white mini , delux , with REAL chrome , etc , etc , etc , must have been the apple of Sir Alec Issigonis's eye . Unfortunatly I didn't have a full licience , so Charlie's daughter initally did ALL the driving ......I remember some Winter evening WALKING the four miles from Hatfield to St. Albans with 58FXN safely garaged ....incidently the same road that features in Charles Dicken's ''Oliver Twist '', where Bill Sykes , after murdering Nancy , was captured by the authorities , while walking in the snow.....
There is a short cut from the Hatfield Road when approaching St. Albans , called Sandpit Lane .
When walking that road late on a Winter's night , the excavator machinery shows stark against the sky and they looked EXACTLY like dinosaurs....creepy ...now where was I ?

Charlie's daughter and I married , we brought 58 with us , on the MAIL boat not the Ferry , I can still see the mini turning slowly in the wind as they crane loaded it into the hold.

Eventually , getting on in years , 58FXN had to go , I can still see my wife's tears as a stranger dragged the car , with all its memories , away to God only knows where , luckily she did not see MY tears.....

Then came our very own MG saloon , unfortunatly nothing like the green car of my youth , the only time the heater seemed to work was in the SUMMER , as they say nowadays MG should be OMG........

Then came our first almost -new car ....the Vauxhall Viva.....a great car , until an apprentice ran into the side of it in A FORK LIFT TRUCK.....and then said 'don't go too hard on me , I'm not insured and I could lose my job . I cried as well ....
The VIVA eventually became a 'play-car' for my eldest daughter and her friends . Nicknamed ''the MARY car..

My first company car was almost called after my wife , the very first Toyota , Carina , saloon , for some reason , the colour was Primrose . However on my very first business trip , a shattered windscreen , January 1980 , in the wilds of Longford , in the days before laminated windscreens .....

My next company car was also a Carina , a white , hatchback , then an 8 seater , Spacewagen , 3 rows of seats , for the growing family , then the Camry Estate , another 8 seater , one of only two in Ireland at the time , when full of family it once again reminded me of Frank Gilbreth and his family , about this time my wife acquired a tiny Kia and finally on retiring I bought the second Toyota Carina that I still drive , 12 years old and still going , thanks to the patron saint of motors , Tony King .

The next generation are starting to drive , I had whiteknuckle rides with my youngest son , in a VW of course just like Grandad , and my eldest son took me from Jersey City to Fort Worth recently in a Honda Accord , my eldest daughter 's Renault Scenic , when you can see the floor , is quite comfortable and now here comes Rosie in HER little car .


Modern cars can tell you where you are , where you are going and how to get there , but they don't seem to leave any memories , probably because we change them so often ......

I think its time to go , turn off the engine , and lock the garage doors

Goodnight...