A gleaming chrome grille, a sea of wood across the dash and the slight smell of damp coming from the footwell. Jump into Bill’s first car: a 1962 Riley Elf Mark I.

Our second episode journeying down memory lane takes us from Gateshead to Halifax. 19-year-old Bill spends £50 on a motor to get him to his first job as a trainee reporter on the Halifax Evening Courier. He’s converted by the local delicacy of pork pie with mushy peas smothered in mint sauce.

From oddly named landladies hiding coffee jars from pesky lodgers to pop royalty giving up time to speak to a budding young journalist in the dressing room of the Sunderland Empire – this is a nostalgia-packed edition reliving 1975 and 1976.

The car – a badge-engineered Mini – doesn’t last very long, with every wet Yorkshire day resulting in soggy carpets. But enterprising Bill spots an opportunity to make his money back thanks to an eye-catching number plate.

Thanks to Linda McCague for the genuine sound of a 1966 Riley Elf used in this episode.

Opening music: Merseyside by Kensington Studios, used under licence from Premium Beat.

Code: LQECK4G4WVQEX2KM

Riley Elf library photo: Shutterstock. Facilities: Brown Bear Studios, Brighton. Series cover artwork: RJW Creative Design.

The Drive of My Life Podcast: Episode 2

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