One of my granddaughters turned seventeen this week and her mam and dad bought her a cheap runaround from her auntie for £250 (great little motor) to learn to drive in.

It made me think what I paid for my first, my first motorbike was a Francis Barnett 197cc which cost me £3.10s when I was 15 and my first car was a Ford Popular sit up and beg for £30 when I was 16 quickly followed by a Ford Anglia 100e which cost me £50 and the seller who I knew included a good running Lambretta scooter in the deal.

Over the next few years a few more cars came my way and a lot of bikes, one bike I remember buying with a mate (we paid half each) was a BSA A10 with a double adult side car complete with a spare engine for £14, we cleaned it up and decided we would share it one week each at a time, he had it for the first week and on day one wrapped it round a lamppost, we scrapped it after that.

Those were the days :)