BLOGS by Penny Stretton

WHY I'M SICK OF NOT BEING ABLE TO DRIVE...

Friday February 19,2010

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By Penny Stretton

Why I'm sick of not being able to drive...

Penny is learning to drive - at last

BEING in my late twenties and a non-driver is embarrassing for me. Being taxied around by your dad, or even younger sister, in my book, is not a good look.

My independence is sometimes compromised when it comes to going back to my home town and I suddenly have to rely on people again.

When I’m there, I can’t see everyone I would like to see, go to the places I want to go to, or most importantly, escape when I remember the reasons I moved a couple of hundred miles away.

I’m used to making my own decisions and not being able to drive threatens to turn me back into a stroppy teen. Been there, done that, not interested in going back. So, I’m finally determined to get behind the wheel.

Some might say that in the 21st century, amid environmental concerns and congested roads, being a motorist isn’t all that clever, I have to say, on my first lesson, I felt the same at times.

When other drivers glared at me as if I’d just murdered a puppy then sped to overtake me (clearly heading to emergencies on the scale of world collapse.) I wavered over taking to the road for good.

But driving is imp

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IT TURNS OUT DRIVING ISN’T AS EASY AS IT LOOKS

Wednesday January 27,2010

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By Penny Stretton

It turns out driving isn’t as easy as it looks

Driving is not as easy as it looks

THIS driving malarkey is tricky isn’t it?

I’ve spent hours gliding around as a passenger, watching friends and family expertly (*Ahem*) maneuver their motors around, thinking ‘pah…there’s nothing to this’

In fact, one of the motivations behind why I’ve finally decided to get behind the wheel is my love of pootling around in a car.

Yep, well, taking control is just not the same as being driven around is it? It’s hard work.

I am shattered after a two-hour lesson. My legs ache too, is that normal?

My smug ‘passed my test years ago’ mates look at me like I’m mental when I say I feel like I’ve been to the gym following a lesson.

I don’t think I’m a candidate for ‘world’s deadliest learner driver’ but there have been a few ‘cold sweat’ moments, I can tell you.

I’m sure my neighbours have started parking their cars on different streets just in case it’s their beloved bit of metal I have to pull out from behind.

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STUDENT BLOG: STOP BLASTING STUDENTS AND TRY CONGRATULATING

Friday August 21,2009

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By Penny Stretton

Student blog: Stop blasting students and try congratulating

Lulu Lower celebrates her A Level exam results with her mother Gilly

SO, A levels are at a record high once again.

I say well done to all the teenagers out there, who got off their butts in the morning, went to school and actually cared about making the grade.

I’m fed up of this country knocking the ones who try hard and then sit back to moan about the ones who don’t.

A-levels are difficult.

Okay, so there may be plenty of young people who find them easy - those who are bright and try hard. And thank goodness we have them – they are our future.

But for the majority of teens, A levels are a tough slog and take two years worth of preparation.

These kids put their heads down, do very well and then walk out of school to a chorus of ‘Oh well, they’re too easy anyway.’

And no doubt most of that wailing comes from lazy loafers who are too old to have ever even sat an A level and consider themselves a genius because they can whip through the morning crossword with ease.

I certainly remember my A levels being tough – harder than university actually and while that was (ahem) a few years back I’m quite sur

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WHY WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM OUR HEROIC ARMED FORCES

Tuesday August 4,2009

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By Penny Stretton

Why we can all learn from our heroic armed forces

TRAGIC: Warrant Officer Sean Upton

I HAVE spent many hours writing about troop fatalities in Afghanistan, watching as bodies are flown home amid scenes of tears and stoic pride.

Last week when the MoD revealed the deaths of two more soldiers, my blood ran cold when I heard a name I knew well.

Warrant Officer Class 2, Sean Upton, served in the 5th Regiment Royal Artillery and grew up in a house across the road from mine.

He was killed on Monday July 27 in an explosion in Sangin, Helmand Province.

His was a face I saw almost daily as a kid and I have never forgotten his smile.

He was a man who was dedicated to the Army and had served for 19 years - in the end making the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

Sean was older than me, so I always had a quiet respect for him in the way that children do for the ‘big kids’.

But I would have been simply awe struck had I have known back then, that this gangly smiler would turn out to have the heart and courage of lion.

I would have been then - as I am now - extremely proud to have known someone who was born with the capacity to face fatal uncertainty every day and yet manage to smile and keep on loving,

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