My own personal Escort...

And it's Sunday again. Well it was when I was making up this week's post.

Happy Eastere and all that to my readers. It's not a happy easter for me. This is the first time in three years that I've been at home for Easter. For the last two years, I have spent the Easter bank holiday weekend in Snowdonia, mountaineering. This year, Ernie is sitting on the drive way, and I'm sitting at home very bored. Come back Adventure Ed friends - I miss you all.

Someone told me this week that at the age of 21, I am at the peak of my physical performance. Oh bugger. That really doesn't bode well for me does it? Last week, I couldn't even keep up with a 25 minute football match. What hope is their for me for the future? Oh well, there's always the high ammount of money that I'll get paid as a teacher... Damn.

Now, the hardcore catcouk fans out there, will remember that many, many, many months ago, I said that Ernie had developed an unfortunate fault. But because of security reasons, I couldn't tell everyone. Well, now I can. Very inconveniently, I didn't have a single functioning lock on the car. Well, they worked, but the key didn't turn the barrel. With the exception of the ignition barrel, and the fuel cap.

The driver's lock failed in March 2006, when I swapped the driver and passenger door locks over. The boot lock ceased to function sometime over the summer of 2006. And in September last year, when one of my cadets went to my car, the drivers side lock (which used to be the passenger side lock) as buggered. Ever since, I have been looking for replacement locks.

Being a bit of a tart, I wanted all of the locks to match (i.e. have a single key). You're not going to believe this, but finding a complete set if replacement locks for a 1986 Mk IV Ford Escort is not easy. But a few weeks ago, on eBay, for a mere £18 (and anyone making comments about that being more than the value of the car will be run over), I found a set. Sorry Michael, I know you were looking at them too...

Being the manly man that I am (so manly, that I had to go and grovel to my friend Michael to put my foglights on) I did all the locks myself!!! That's right, me! And most amazingly of all, and I still haven't quite got over the novelty, I now drive a car that has a complete set of working locks. I can now lock my car. Even the boot! Woohoo!

As I perused the internet the other day, and thinking about my hard work on my car's locks, I decided to see what pictures are on the internet of Ford Escort Estates. For gould's sake, don't just search for 'escort' - the wrong pictures start to appear. If you use Google's Image search, the first Mk IV Escort on the search is... ERNIE THE ESCORT. Fair enough, it's about the fourth or fifth page in, but Ernie is the first Mk IV Escort on that search. There you go, it's official - I drive the most famous Mk IV Ford Escort Estate on the planet! Hurrah!

Welcome (back) to the 1980's - is this the Escort equivalent of giving Ernie a facelift?

Having spent the entire post raving about my very famous, and well loved Ford Escort (well it has appeared on several videos on YouTube), I wish to finish with a few comments:

1. No bugger commented last week (although granted, I was late posting);

2. I don't care if you don't like cars - no one forced you to read about my classic 1986 Ford Escort Mk IV 1.4 GL Estate in Champagne Gold;

and 3. When I purchased Ernie, it wasn't really through choice. He was cheap, an estate, cheap to run, and cheap to road tax (on that front, see below). Now though, having worked for a couple of months, I could buy a new car. But I choose not to. Ernie is an amazing car, and let's be honest, you all wished you could drive a car that was this cool!

**Note below. Michael, who owns the same car as me, but his is a somewhat problematic cabriolet, asked me how much I pay for road tax. Well, for a few years, it was stuck at £110. This year, I got stung, and had to pay £115. But my dear old friend Michael pays a bit more than that. Granted his is a 1.6, but he pays... wait for it... £200! Sorry Mike.

If you don't like cars, why not leave a comment saying how much you like to walk every where. In the rain.

If you like cars, and (even if only secretly) would like to own a Ford Escort, why not leave a comment saying that you would like one. Sorry, Ernie's not for sale.

Quote of the Week: 'I probably won't see you tomorrow Mr. Clarke... You'll probably be dead' replied one pupil this week, after seeing me start my motorbike, and telling me how dangerous it is... Cheers buddy.