I know some people will find it hard to believe, but I wasn’t always a cantankerous old fart. There was a time when I was actually young and carefree.

Granted, it was a long time ago, and way before there was such a thing as an e-scooter, but back in those days I had something even better.

I had an amazing go-kart that my father built for me. It looked impressive. It was basically a timber box that sat on two axles and four pram wheels, but to me it was a wooden Ferrari.

It even had a brake attached to one of the back wheels, but in reality, that only worked when you were almost stopped, and I found that out the hard way.

I nearly got killed on it. I came down a steep hill too fast near my place and crashed into a milk truck that happened to be doing a three-point turn in the middle of the road.

I survived with a few cuts and grazes, which was down to luck and no thanks whatsoever to my useless handbrake.

They were all the rage in those days; go-karts, I mean, not milk trucks. Pram wheels were much sought after, and it wouldn’t be long before any abandoned pram would be stripped clean.

Mothers had to be careful where they left their babies sleeping or they could find their prams resting on four concrete blocks when they returned.

When a kid managed to get his hands on a set of wheels, the news spread like wildfire, and........

© Evening Echo