Tuesday 2 September 2008
Wheels
I must have put up about 425 pictures this weekend. Well not really but you know, with walls made of about 5 different materials from thick 3ft stone to sandstone to dry wall, it was all I seemed to do, oh and run my thumb under the cold water periodically after I whacked it.
Anyway you needed to know that. After 5 years of doing my teeny bit for the planet in Chicago by not owning any wheels, we have succumbed here. The ferry and the bus are okay but without transport, Bermuda can seem pretty isolate even on a 21-square mile island. Therefore I have probably bought not only the most expensive car ever but also the smallest and whitest! It is probably making it's way through the Panama Canal now on a big ship. We have also bought a Vespa. I will likely only ride it around the garden, but other-half is excited and we get that later this week.
This is not the place for car buffs. Only one car is allowed per household, and only then if the property qualifies. The cost is twice of what they are in the UK due to a hideous duty tax (about 150%) and the choice, limited by width, length and engine capacity is not big. Never did I think that I would purr over a hairdressers car, but with a speed limit of 21mph cutting my hair whilst driving could actually be a pastime (only joking).
They also corrode quickly due to the salt-air but with the government trying to eliminate second-hand cars over a certain age, they remarkably hold their value, so after long consideration we went new which also included a lengthy warranty and an anti-corrosion service.
With more than 2,300 vehicles per square mile it is no surprise that one of the biggest moans here is the traffic. Who'd have thought a 5-mile commute can cause such consternation at the coffee machine in the morning?
And one other thing, I've got to do another bloody driving test. My third. How many driving tests does a man have to do? And you'll like this. A Bermuda driving licence is valid anywhere in the world, but an American one or a European one is not accepted here in the land of 21mph speed limits and 35 miles of single lane roadways. Gotta love 'em. ¶ 16:51
I must have put up about 425 pictures this weekend. Well not really but you know, with walls made of about 5 different materials from thick 3ft stone to sandstone to dry wall, it was all I seemed to do, oh and run my thumb under the cold water periodically after I whacked it.Anyway you needed to know that. After 5 years of doing my teeny bit for the planet in Chicago by not owning any wheels, we have succumbed here. The ferry and the bus are okay but without transport, Bermuda can seem pretty isolate even on a 21-square mile island. Therefore I have probably bought not only the most expensive car ever but also the smallest and whitest! It is probably making it's way through the Panama Canal now on a big ship. We have also bought a Vespa. I will likely only ride it around the garden, but other-half is excited and we get that later this week.
This is not the place for car buffs. Only one car is allowed per household, and only then if the property qualifies. The cost is twice of what they are in the UK due to a hideous duty tax (about 150%) and the choice, limited by width, length and engine capacity is not big. Never did I think that I would purr over a hairdressers car, but with a speed limit of 21mph cutting my hair whilst driving could actually be a pastime (only joking).
They also corrode quickly due to the salt-air but with the government trying to eliminate second-hand cars over a certain age, they remarkably hold their value, so after long consideration we went new which also included a lengthy warranty and an anti-corrosion service.
With more than 2,300 vehicles per square mile it is no surprise that one of the biggest moans here is the traffic. Who'd have thought a 5-mile commute can cause such consternation at the coffee machine in the morning?
And one other thing, I've got to do another bloody driving test. My third. How many driving tests does a man have to do? And you'll like this. A Bermuda driving licence is valid anywhere in the world, but an American one or a European one is not accepted here in the land of 21mph speed limits and 35 miles of single lane roadways. Gotta love 'em. ¶ 16:51
