I am DRIVING!

I wrote a guest post on the blog "Pond Parleys" this week. The topic we discussed was manners, so go check it out here!

This week I had my first two driving lessons. I did amazingly well, my driving instructor Tony is really impressed with my driving and the progress I have made in just two lessons. It is such a huge weight off my shoulders to realize that I can do this, that I can do this well, and I don't need to be afraid of driving in this country. Well, maybe a little bit. A woman veered into my lane and then cut me off yesterday.

With each lesson as I am getting more comfortable with carrying out all of the steps of operating the vehicle little bits of my experience are settling back in. I am once again keeping my speed steady, staying aware of what is around me and steering smoothly. Instead of feeling like I am learning all over again (which is how it felt at first) I feel like I am really just supplementing my knowledge.

However, this learning experience still packs a lot of surprises. Even though I am used to the roads here in England and know the layout of the town very well the flow of traffic is so different here and the steps I have to take in operating the vehicle to deal with these situations are completely new to me. There are very few stop signs and stop lights and lots of situations where I have to make the choice between stopping and continuing forward fairly quickly. I can't just stop until I feel safe, this is a great way to get rear ended.

In just two lessons I have achieved shifting gears and taking off and stopping up to the test level. However, now the things I need to learn are the nuances of driving on English roads which is a whole different beast altogether. The good thing is that learning all of these little things is much easier now that I am comfortable and confident with operating the vehicle.

I think it is actually going to take me longer to take care of the red tape end of things like getting my provisional license and booking me theory and practical test than it will actually take me to master driving. I am confident that by the time I actually take my practical driving test I will be well settled into driving.

This Week's British TV Review:

Ross Kemp

Ross Kemp is a former soap opera star who turned his talent and recognition to investigative journalism. He goes far deeper than "imbedded" reporters and puts himself in some of the most dangerous places and situations to reveal the truth through his documentaries.

In 2006 Ross Kemp released a documentary series where he investigated the inner workings of gangs. More recently, in the series Ross Kemp in Afghanistan he followed the 1st Battalion of the British Army's Royal Anglian Regiment. He traveled alongside them during a 6 month deployment in the Helmand Province and his investigative reporting went deeper and closer than most journalists would dare to go.

In his latest documentary Ross Kemp In Search of Pirates he traveled to Africa and South East Asia to get to the root of the piracy problem in countries like Somalia and Nigeria. Ross Kemp puts his life in danger to deliver these fascinating documentaries and they are all well worth watching.

His documentaries are on Sky 1 so they are only available for free to Sky subscribers. Some of his documentaries have been released on DVD and they can also be found on bit torrent sites (but I didn't tell you that).