Simon Armitage: 'My first car was a Lada - but I upgraded after winning a poetry competition'
The poet laureate has a one-word response to the quality of his first car, a Lada, which was far from complimentary.
It was given to Simon Armitage by his father.
“It wasn’t great,” said Simon who grew up in Marsden near Huddersfield. “The heater didn’t work, it didn’t have power steering so you needed good biceps to steer it, and it was very awkward to work on mechanically.
“I didn’t like it but it did help me to be mobile.”
Simon, who studied at Manchester University and worked as a probation officer, won £4,000 in a poetry competition and upgraded to a Ford Fiesta which he much preferred.
It was an Eric Gregory Award made by the Society of Authors to encourage writers under 30.
“It was a big help to me,” said Simon. “It kept me on the road and allowed me to travel to events.
“I had it for quite a few years and it was a good car for me.”
He later had a Vauxhall Nova sports version which he enjoyed – “a sort of hot-hatch” – and now he has moved on to a Honda C-RV hybrid which he loves.
“I travel a lot,” he said. “I go by train for longer journeys such as London but I do enjoy driving and have written a lot of poetry about motoring.
“The Honda is such a comfortable car. I came back from Cornwall recently and it was a six-hour journey but I still felt fresh at the end of it because it was so comfortable.
“It is a hybrid and I know it won’t save the planet on its own but I feel I am doing a little to help. It’s certainly better than a purely petrol car. It feels like I am doing the right thing.”