I just organised a loan and bought a car. I wanted to buy something that would be a good investment and not a complete rust bucket. By all accounts the Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Estate is fuel-efficient and it certainly has enough boot-size for whatever art-projects I decide I need to tour.

It drives quite low to the ground and is a lot more powerful than the Yaris was in spite of only having a slightly bigger engine. On my test drive I referred to it as ‘a beast.’ It will take a while to get used to having ordinary gauges and not the digital display I’m used to; also to get used to the new driving position.

Returning my Motability-scheme car to the dealership network marks the end of an era for me. When I organised the Yaris via Motability just over 2 years ago I was barely able to walk 100 yards and I had to be careful about not taking painkillers at the same time as driving. It was essential for my car to be easy to drive and for the seating position to be high enough for me to get in and out without bending much. When I got the Yaris Verso it was enormously empowering. There was – and still is – a thrill for me at the mobility that a car can grant and I found the Motability scheme excellent in this regard. On an emotional level, the Motability experience I had with Jemca Toyota in Croydon epitomises what choosing products with a disability ought to be like. Friendly, unpatronising and respectful, the Motability representative I dealt with made me feel empowered and positive about the car. He really knew his stuff and was great at helping me to identify the features I would need in a potential vehicle rather than trying to sell me something I didn’t want.

The Anti-TNF drug manages my condition so well now that I am disinclined to renew my Motability agreement, but living entirely without a car would be taking things a step too far. I’m due an operation on my foot this year and the flare-up before Christmas frightened me into remembering there is no ‘cure’ for arthritis. Bearing this in mind, a car is essential for reducing the overall body-burden. While a long walk home from the train station in cold weather would be inconvenient and unpleasant for most people, for me it could be just downright stupid or hazardous.

All of this from a previous environmentalist who was never going to own a car. I have written a lot today about the uneasy relationship between environmentalism and disability-politics, but I’ll spare you those musings for today to draw attention to another change-of-direction related topic.

Whilst knitting with the yarn that Rachael spun from my old tape, I managed to somehow mess up the direction of the work and knit unevenly around the circle, apparently changing direction on a whim. This always happens to me as I have some strange foible where I just can’t keep track of knitting when I am knitting in the round. I have therefore designed for myself, today, a knitting-in-the-round aid to prevent future attacks of this craziness. It is a set of 5 stitch-markers*, including a spare for when I inevitably lose one. The orange one marks the beginning of a round, and the others shall be placed around the work to remind me of which direction I am supposed to be knitting in. I hope this time it will work, saving me the irritation of having to rip back everything again.

*jump rings to be attached at a later stage…