Until we began working at
the petrol pumps at Munro’s, National Garage, Oxgangs Road North, our
familiarity with the garage was playing in the line of wrecked cars at the rear end. It was a bit of a junk-yard and I suspect they were used for
handy spares for repairs.
We used to climb and then
clamber over a ten foot high wall from a disused and overgrown patch of ground
to the side of the Store. On the garage side, the wall was only three feet high
in contrast to the drop of ten feet on the other side.
We would open the car doors
of the old cars very quietly and play in the drivers’ seats kidding on we were
racing one another as we wrenched the steering wheels wildly from side to side.
There was always a distinctive smell inside these old cars from the sun beating
down on the old leather seats.
Eventually we would be spotted, usually by one of the young mechanics - Derrick Nicol was the scariest - it was quite thrilling trying to escape from them. The only real escape route was to throw ourselves over the three foot wall with the ten foot drop. No one would chase us that way - it was rather like Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid - would you jump off there?
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