Hitchhiking...

Siobhan's hitchhiking story reminded me of the only time I've ever picked up a hitcher. I had an old Hillman Avenger (I think it avenged the fact that I bought the damn thing), with a bigger engine, same transmission and a busted radiator. Somewhere along the way someone had "upgraded" the engine to a staggering 1300cc, from the original 1100cc... Suffice to say, it accelerated like a demon, but ran out of steam more rapidly than a Citroen 2CV. It also used gas at a fairly prodigious rate - about 20 to the gallon. Which is average for the averaqe SUV, but not for a 4-pot/4-door saloon/sedan. Even of that vintage.

The radiator required fixing, but I didn't have the money, or the inclination. My goal was simply to get home. Being in Birmingham, with home a considerable distance away, I needed all the luck I could get. And a dozen eggs.

On the trip home I think I passed one gas station. I stopped at the rest. At every other gas station I'd pull to side and pour one egg white into the radiator. As you can imagine, this required a considerable amount of time. Each time I had to let the engine cool just enough that I wouldn't be drenched in hot, horrible water; and then be damn careful about releasing the pressure.

So, one stop I forgot the egg. It was a motorway service station, and a hitchhiker was standing at the ramp; thumb out, "Edinburgh" on his sign. I stopped to put the egg into the radiator, and the guy came running up. "Okay?" He asked. "I'm only going about 80 miles up" says I, getting out with an egg. He looked at me a bit funny, so I said "Radiator leaks." As if that explained everything... I tipped the egg in, tossed the shell and yolk away (you thought I was going to keep it?) and started the the engine. And then I explained the whole egg thing. Amazingly, he still got in.

I had a decent sound system, so I popped on some Black Sabbath and we went up the M1. In silence. Because it was a really good system. (It got stolen, and I think I know who stole it). The last I saw of the lad he was hoping for a ride up by the A57.

Carolyn Ann