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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Quest for the Elusive Royal English Drivers License!

Our transportation in England!

Reading Train Station

Morden Tube Station

January is at an end and life continues on here in England. The days are getting longer, the Angel Moroni Statue is shining brightly in the occasional sunlight, and life is good. After the initial shock when we arrived here in England on Janurary 9, 2008, we had to come to grips with the fact that we would not be driving our own car for as long as we lived in London. We thought that meant that for the next 18 months, we would be chasing down trains, running for buses, looking for the nearest tram stop, stampeding down stairs to catch the next tube along with 1000 other people, and even riding in an occasional black London taxi. We did all of those things and became very good at riding the buses, trains, taxis, trams, and tubes. Then, out of the blue came the call to move to the London Temple Site and be the Visitors' Centre directors. The first thing we were told after we received the call was that we would have to get drivers' licenses.
While we were still in Morden, we went to the Drivers' License Office in Wimbledon and applied for our provisional licenses. That cost us 50 pounds each, which at the time was $100 each. After that we got smart and realized that only one of us needed to get a license, because the rule here in England is that you can drive for 1 year on your American license legally. Only after that do you need to get an English Drivers License. A person with a provisional license can also drive as long as one of the people in the car has an English Driver's License. So the test was to decide who we thought could pass the series of tests best. The first two tests are a written test on the computer and a hazard perception test, also on the computer. Those of you who know Kenneth well will know that the computer is not his best friend! After trying the tests on the computer a couple of times it was obvious that it was me who was going to have to pass the tests and not Kenneth. The written test and the hazard perception tests were scheduled and I passed with flying colors. We were feeling great that I would have my license by January 9, 2009 on the day that I had to have it. We then read the statistics: Only 42% of the people who take the driving test pass and most people take at least 45 lessons from a driving instructor before passing. Each of those lessons cost 30 pounds so you can see that this is a very expensive proposition. Now the hardest part of driving here is not the fact that they drive on the left side of the road, but the fact that the roads are very narrow and everyone parks their cars out in the middle of the roads so driving in a lot of places is like driving in an obstacle course. What a challenge! I signed up for and took four lessons from a lady here in the ward at East Grinstead and then I signed up to take the driving practical test at a cost of 86 pounds on January 6. I went with lots of confidence, but when I finished driving the course of 45 minutes, the instructor told me that I had not looked in my mirrors enough and so I did not pass. I was panicked then because I could just picture us having to beg people to take us grocery shopping, etc. out here because there is no public transportation available here at the temple. I quickly scheduled another test for January 21, had Kenneth give me a blessing, put my name in the temple, and had everyone in the family praying for me. I showed up at the test center with trepidation, but after a 45 minute driving test, the instructor calmly told me that I had passed. I was so excited that I did the American thing and started cheering and clapping my hands. I think I about scared the instructor to death, but he still passed me and now I am the proud owner of an English Driver's License which is good for the next 9 years. Kenneth says he hasn't seen me so excited about anything since our wedding, the birth of our children, and getting my Master's degree. I thought he was a little presumptuous to think that our wedding was that exciting! (Just kidding) Anyway, now we are legal and can escort anyone around that dares to come to England while we are here for the next 5 months. Time is flying by. We miss you all and hope that you are well and happy.

2 comments:

Coop said...
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Coop said...
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