Car
October 17, 2012 17 Comments
On a personal note, I got a ‘new’ car today. It’s a Chev Spark. These are the dealer’s pics of it:
A 2011 model with only 24 000 km on the clock, I’m very excited and can see myself darting all over Cape Town doing the Lord’s work in it! I think it’ll be light on petrol, which has become so (far too) expensive here in South Africa. The amount of driving I do doing Church / EMS Chaplaincy work has become simply too much for my old 1997 Nissan Sentra to handle:
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Now with over 230 000 km on the clock, she’s been oh so faithful, but sadly has seen far better days (and also become a bit of a petrol guzzler of late). Time to go…
About Fr Stephen Smuts
Nice!
Of course guys my age at least, even us Brit’s, many, are old car guys and car lovers! In the US, you can drive what you can afford, size wise, gas etc. Let’s just say I have a few cars, even here! And a British motorcycle. Rock On!
We call motorcycle riders here ‘organ donors’. They just get mowed down daily… Some crazy drivers on the roads. I got the car at a fantastic price (well under market value) because of an ad misprint. I’ll save in petrol in the long run…
PS what’s with all this ‘gas’ talk Fr?! It’s petrol (ala Brits)… Gas is something in the air
That’s all Americans are talk’in about, “gas” here, and its still only about 4 1/2 bucks a gallon. But I too have got spoiled on petrol here, still cheaper than in the UK!
And note, its “Gallons” here!
‘Gallons’? Piffle…
If it helps 100 litres of 95 Regular Unleaded at my local BP station tonight cost £139.90 which I think coverts to US$8.49 per US Gallon
And yes, Irishanglan’s English usage does seem to have gone a bit funny – like his theology. It’s probably catching if one lives in the US South too long. I still have to make use of the translations in the” Illustrated Dictionary of he Texas Language” but last time I visited, even that excellent vademecum didn’t prepare me for the sign on the entry to my hosts’ “lovely home” which read “solicitors will be shot” – quite worrying for someone in my erswhile profession.
PS I understand that in Louisiana motorcycles are known as “soft shell automobiles”.
Yeah/aye my little brother is now an American citzen, and he was an American Marine. And yes, I am pick’in up the American slang somewhat. But we would like to get to (live) maybe in Canada sometime in the future? We were thinking about Down-Under, but it would be too radical below the equator for my wife’s health we feel. We made a long vacation there some years back.
Btw, actually there’s a lot of theological difference here in Southern California (the OC, Orange County as they call it), but Catholicism is still abundant, but there are many cultures therein. I like the idea of more theological difference too, lots of Evangelicals here for sure, even some so-called “Evangelical” Catholics. And I like both many of the conservative Lutherans, and too some of the Presbyterians (the Federal Vision types). But also many “emergents” sadly here also. But ECUSA is absolutely a mess, and for the most part simply apostate. There are some individual so-called Episcopal Churches that are Evangelical, and some that more High Church type. So God has and knows HIS people!
I don’t ride my motorcycle here too much, the drivers here really are rather crazy “blokes”!
@Irishanglican: one of my relatives is a lawyer who works on film (movie) and TV co-production deals in California. He makes it a rule to read an extract from Fowler’s Modern English Usage every week and to do other exercises to maintain his English accent because he says it’s worth an extra 10% on his hourly billing rates. But certainly in SoCal you will find no end of variety of Churches – puts the Heinz 57+ varieties to shame. Perhaps it’s an English thing transplanted and thriving – Escoffier once said that England was the land of 101 religions but only two sauces: gravy and custard.
@ Mourad: I thought the quote was from French minister Talleyrand, and it was “France has 3 religions and 300 sorts of cheese, England has 3 cheese and 300 sorts of religion”.
@Mourad: Funny but in SoCal, as they call it, almost every American claims some Irish heritage! But, not many know what is an Anglo-Irish.
Indeed, and sadly, the term “English” is getting less and less, even in the UK.
Btw, it is a good thing somewhat to have some real diversity in our Christian and “catholic” faith! Unity is not necesarily “uniformity”!
It looks nice and above all practical for town driving and parking in short slots. You’re a bit short of space for back-seat passengers and baggage space, though you can have a towbar installed to tow a small trailer.
May the Lord be with you on the road and protect you from accidents!
Thank you Father. Yes, a towbar is a great idea!
Wishing you many safe kilometers Stephen.
The faithful Sentra sure has stories to tell – even about robberies in Johannesburg!!!!
Michael and Dalene
Yes, and finding the keys in the sink after was a blessing… But then, my gain was the Bishops loss (that was a great Merc). But watch out for me when I next come (God willing sometime soon…) to Jo’burg. It’ll be in my CA pocket rocket
Looking forward to that!!! We shall watch out for the pocket rocket.
We’ll still be in our biblical (diesel) vehicles … following the star.
Amen!
Nice little car for city drivers but the mileage isn’t that great for Highway. Don’t know about city though. Steering wheel on the wrong side in South Africa? I thought it was only in the U.K.?
What color is your new vehicle?