I was booked on the 4×4 Off-Road driving course. Its taken me a while from booking the course to actually being able to attend – it was cancelled due to the bad snow the last time I was supposed to go, but when I found out how bad it really was, I didn’t relish the thought of trying to get there.

So yesterday rolled around and it was time to go. I had to be there at 9:15 for a 9:30 start. This meant being out the door at 8:00, and out of my bed at 7:00. On a Sunday. Hmph! Thankfully I didn’t have to do the driving. Jen got that pleasure. An hour and 7 minutes later (according to TomTom), and we arrived. It was cold. We were something like 800-85o feet above sea level though.

I was greeted by instructors Bill and Eric, and a long with the other people on the course, we got our safety briefing and instructions on how to operate the cars – Jeep Cherokees to be specific:

I was with Eric. Eric seemed to be a bit more easy-going than Bill, but still mindful of our safety. I was right. We got talking about all sorts of things: cars, how girlfriends and wives spend all your money, the bad snow, to name but a few. Not only were we getting a top 4×4 training course, we were getting to shoot the breeze with the instructor too! This course could have easily been a very dry one, with nothing other than “foot off the gas”, “careful on this turn”, but thanks to Eric the whole experience was great.

We all got 2 goes around the course. The first time around, you do the ‘easy’ part which gets you used to the car and how to control it. The second time around, you get to do the ‘hard’ bits. When I say hard, I mean hard. Going down steep hills where you can’t see the bottom from the top, going up steep hills with loose rocks which create wheel spin and driving through a river. Not across the river, through it.

The whole experience takes around 2 hours, and when you’re done, you get a certificate to say you’re a great 4×4 driver. I thought I was going to be terrified the entire way around the course, but with Eric next to me giving me all the tips I needed, I was fine. I highly recommend this particular driving experience as a fun day out. Head on over to the Knockhill site and book it!

So, tomorrow is my birthday. Yes, 28. I’m not completely sure what I’m getting this year, but some cash wouldn’t go amiss.. I’ve still got a wedding to pay for! If you’d like to donate some cash, just leave a comment, and I’ll be round to collect..

I still haven’t been on the Off-Road driving experience which Jen got me for my last birthday. I am, however, going next weekend. I can’t wait! You don’t get the opportunity to wreck a Land Rover too often. I’ve got my neck brace on order, just in case!

Who fancies going out for a drink in Glasgow to celebrate my birthday then? Come on… it’ll be fun!

It seems, however, that everyone knew but me. That’s not strictly true, but it certainly felt like that last night. Yesterday was also her birthday, and a group of her friends and I were summoned by Robert to be at a restaurant for a surprise party. When I say ‘surprise’, I really just mean it as a figure of speech – again, there was some amount of hinting during the weeks in the run-up to this meal.

Anyway, I digress. We had a lovely meal, and when the meal and birthday cake were dispensed with, Robert stood up and started to make a speech. I thought it was odd that he would be making a speech at my sister’s birthday meal, and then it clicked. It wasn’t long before the ring box came out, and he’d dropped to one knee. She naturally said yes, there was much applause and serving of champagne, followed by a few people asking me if I knew this would be happening. I did not. It turns out though, that a few of her friends did.

Why not me? Well, family wasn’t to know. My mum didn’t know, but this was also true of my dad. Oops. He doesn’t look that bothered, but I think he might have liked to have been asked beforehand. It turns out Robert’s dad knew though, so I guess I’m feeling bad for my dad at this stage.

It wasn’t quite like this video though..