Eco-terrorism

Yep, i’ve joined the ranks of you other eco-terrorists out there. I have a car.
Albeitly it was given to me, taxed and MOT’d (thanks Mr C’s mam and dad!) but I have been using it. I do cycle to work everyday but have started to use the car to get between my two jobs, do supermarket runs or visit friends.

My whole student life I have used other means of transport- getting to and from college would take 8hrs on a train and then 2.5hrs on a bus. This meant I didn’t have much with me I could carry, which in the end was a blessing as my first year room was at the top of 8 flights of stairs. However, it was a bit sad when other students would turn up with their parents in a ram-packed car and set their room up with nice pictures, notice boards, TV, video, stereo, kettle, toaster, duvet etc etc. My room was pretty big- double bed (not that I ever used it except to have girly sleepovers in 1st year: come on, 8 flights of stairs?), walk-in wardrobe, en-suite bathroom, sofa, huge desk, phone. But it always seemed a bit like a hotel room. I bought a few things, Che Guevara and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid posters, a kettle, a tinny, tiny CD player with radio, a bowl and plate, a bath mat. Man, it was empty though. I was pretty depressed when I arrived at college, my whole first year I would cry on the train back down South I hated it so much. I almost left at one point and went through a pretty mental phase of sleeping 14 hrs a day and not feeling hungry, never eating and just crying loads and loads. On matriculation day I wondered what the point was as I wouldn’t be staying much longer. I just found people so different from what I was used to: I don’t know if the culture clash was Scottish/ English, North/South or Village/ Town but I found it really difficult. And I felt like an idiot. It’s probably the most insecure I’ve been, and that’s saying a lot. I just felt like i didn’t fit in at all and wondered why I was even there- had they made a mistake? With the help of some lovely people I got over it though- I remember the day I felt better. I went round to my friend Rob’s room and he made me some peanut butter on toast and just held me. Those small acts of kindness made me come out of myself- when you’re that depressed you don’t have room for anyone else, you can’t see outside yourself; what the world is like. You’re just in a dark part of your head, and when you come out of it, you realise what you were missing. At least that’s how I felt.

But where was I, talking about transport before getting distracted by stories of college. While at college I had 3 bikes stolen, one while it was even locked to a lampost. Those bike thieves are at it 24hrs a day. But bike was always my chosen mode of transport: quicker than walking, more versatile than buses and a whole lot cheaper. I even moved house while a student with a bike and a taxi ride (that was another culture clash I found with people helping each other… but that’s another story).

So it feels a bit strange to have a car. I can’t believe I once carried 8 litres of water from the local supermarket to my room, up 8 flights of stairs. I can’t believe I bought a bookcase and carted it on my hip all the way to my student house. I can’t believe I thought nothing of ladening up my bike- 3 carrier bags on each handle, 2 in the basket, a rucksack on my back. How much easier it is to go shopping with a car, to visit people more than 10 minutes away, to move furniture? How much easier is it to drive than organise bus-train-train-bus? However, I like biking and will carry on doing it as much as possible. I like the fresh air, I like being outside, I even like the rain. It gives you much more freedom than a car and being Scottish, it’s free. The good ol’ red feather is going strong, never had a puncture and served me well.