Driving at dawn

I was just putting the finishing touches to a tuna sandwich at 0610 this morning when a car lurched past our kitchen window. This in itself is not so unusual - there is a sort of street there - but this car was being driven by a petrified learner driver, shoulders in a frozen hunch, hands gripping the wheel for dear life. Now I know people like to get an early start in Germany, but surely this is taking the biscuit? What a horrible way to commence your day. Maybe I am just biased as I (a) hate getting up in the morning and (b) still have recurring nightmares about my driving instructor, way back in the days when you had to wind your car up with a handle to get it started. Her name was Mrs Arrowsmith and I was terrified of her. She may have been of Teutonic extraction, come to think of it, as she possessed absolutely no sense of humour, but she looked like a middle-aged British housewife who hated teenagers, particularly those who had the misfortune to end up in the driving seat of her silly little green car with the big L on the roof. I can still hear her croaky voice, berating me at some tricky junction - 'creep and peep, creep and peep'! Boy, was I glad to pass that test and wave goodbye to Mrs A forever. It's got to be said though, I did pass first time. The thought of having to go back to her for another six lessons must have been too much.