As I dither I keep a weather eye

We've had days and nights of rain. It's brought to mind a (Year 5-6) classmate and near-ish neighbour whose mother didn't like him or his sister catching the bus in downpours. Maybe it was the dodgy roads 'round our way. Perhaps she thought he'd be drenched by the time he got into the classroom, and spend the day in wet clothes. Whatever the reason, she would drive us all to school on those heavy-rain days. Said chum's mum had a Toyota T-18, which seemed awfully sporty to me then. In my eyes, its illuminated dashboard was like that of an X-Wing Fighter or Colonial Viper (though a Google image search doesn't support that aspect of the memory). My classmate's mother would always be playing disco music on the car stereo. Since I was raised on country, plus a smattering of The Beatles, that only added to the exotic nature of the lifts.