I was sitting in the staffroom at work today during my tea break and two young fellows were at my table discussing their cars and how they could not lead normal lives without them. I used to think the same way some years back in Australia until circumstances forced me into becoming a pedestrian – the car died and we could not afford to replace it. I cannot tell you how much adjusting it took over the first few weeks because you don’t realise how much you rely on four wheels until you don’t have them. After a few weeks I was an inveterate walker/commuter, much fitter, and the only thing I noticed I was missing was the worry about how to afford to fill the tank each week. I had money spare instead!

The downside was I was a freelance violinist at the time and was frequently travelling to and around Sydney for gigs. There were places I needed to go that the bus or train couldn’t take me and were too far to walk to; I decided I needed wheels on these occasions so I had to look around for cheap Car Rentals and this worked out well as I basically needed a car over a weekend. The company I used started giving me discounts and upgrades after I became a regular customer which worked out well for me. Since then I have become an inveterate car hirer as we have travelled around and really when you are on holiday you cannot do without a car if you want to branch out and see as much of a place as you can – in some cases it pays you better to leave your own car in the garage and hire one instead. But listening to those two young guys talking about their cars today – I remember I was like that once but I learned that it is amazing what situations you can adapt to when you have to.