Bill Deedes

Of the many anecdotes about him, one of my favourites is the one about his driving test. He began driving before the mandatory test was introduced and decided on his 90th birthday that he would take the test and see how it went. Afterwards he asked the driving instructor what he thought. "I have two comments," the instructor replied. "When overtaking, it is customary to signal first, to look in the mirror and, if nothing is coming, to overtake. You, on the other hand, pull out first, then signal and then look in the mirror at the havoc which you have created. Secondly, you drive far too fast when turning left and you turn in such a way that you seem to expect a lorry to be parked around the corner." "Well," replied Deedes, "I live in Kent which used to be the garden of England but since the Channel Tunnel was built, has been the main thoroughfare for all goods travelling to and from the Continent so parked lorries are no surprise to me!"