Behind the wheel with the latest version of the driver from ‘L’

This week brought a momentous occasion at Wobschall Towers - son and heir's very first driving lesson.

- Kate Wobschall

He's waited for months to get on the books of his preferred instructor, who has taught most of his classmates and who has an enviable success rate.

The admirable patience he has displayed in waiting for a lesson will come in handy when he's stuck in traffic because some roadworks have sprung up without warning.

Or indeed waiting for a test date when he's deemed ready to have a go. Recent figures from the DVLA show learners face a huge backlog to take a driving test, with 603,000 future tests booked as of the end of April, a rise from 521,000 a year ago.

It's a far cry from when I was learning - and no, not when wheels were square and you had to pedal the cars in the style of the Flintstones, thank you very much.