MY FIRST CAR
BROADCASTER Sally Simpson remembers her first car with fondness. “It was a Ford Fiesta and it had a choke,” said the Calendar journalist.
“My dad bought it for me and I felt very lucky to have a car and to be mobile. It was a great feeling.
“I’ll always remember it had a choke. Cars don’t have chokes these days.
“I remember the car was older than I was at the time but I’m not sure now what year it was. But it was reliable. I don’t remember too many problems with it.
"I really appreciated having a car and being independent. It was fantastic to be able to come and go as I pleased rather than having to rely on other people.
“I used it to go to journalism college in Darlington and I did a lot of miles in it. It was a good car and I loved having it.”
Sally, who is now a roving reporter and a television presenter, is a former Bradford Girls Grammar School pupil and worked on the Huddersfield Examiner and The Yorkshire Post in Bradford and Leeds before joining Calendar. “I do enjoy driving which is lucky because I do a lot of it,” she said. “It’s easier these days with sat nav so I don’t mind driving any distance if I have to. I put music on and I’m away.
"I don’t mind distances. I do a lot of driving and it’s no problem at all.”
Sally, who was raised in Birkenshaw near Bradford, now lives in Selby, says she needs a bigger car than a Fiesta these days.
“I am a camera carrying journalist so I have a lot of kit with me,” she said.
“I now have a Hyundai Tucson which I love. It’s a big vehicle but I love driving it.
“I think I must cover 20,000 miles or so a year which is quite a lot.
"It’s big, well-equipped and good to drive. I like the high driving position, too. It is good to be so high up.”