Saturday Variety

 More Open Toppers

Hastings : famous with visitors since 1066**

Basically every hour with a lunch break, running weekends until high summer. Nicely decorated bus, although fbb was disappointed with the sea front of Hastings. Rather "tired".

There never was a battle of Hastings. Nor was there a battle of Battle (now a nearby community). The punch up probably took place on Senlac Hill - but no one rally knows for certain. And Henry almost certainly didn't get an arrow in the eye. Blame the Bayeux stitchers for stitching us up with that one!

Seeing Bill At Portland

First Wessex is running its traditional 501 on a two hourly frequency ...

... to be enhanced to hourly for high summer. A good, breezy ride with splendid views of Chesil Beach and, maybe less spectacular, plenty of industrial heritage where the famous Portland stone was quarried.

Coming To A Castle Near You?

The Castle in question is Pendennis at Falmouth ...

... soon to be served by yet another tourist bus from First Kernow.

fbb can foresee a new competition amongst bus enthusiasts, similar to visiting every British Rail station. What is the shortest time that you could take travelling on every Kernow or Buses of Somerset tourist route AND travelling between them by bus.

The full collection of routes will be starting soon.

Publicity Matters

Ir is good to see SOME companies making a valliant attempt to encourage passengers back onto their services with good printed publicity. Here is a rack in Leeds bus station with Transdev and Go Ahead leaflets appear in colourful profusion.

Then there is the Information office in Warrington ...

... complete with network map ...

... and well-stocked leaflet rack.

Blog readers are invited to send pictures of their local information displays. Pictures to:-

fbb@xephos.com

fbb wonders whether there will be any from South Yorkshire?

Coming Soon

In an interesting move, Lancashire County Council has tendered a block of improved "secondary" services in the Burnley area.

A batch of branded midi buses has been purchased new by Trandev and this mini netwoprk launches this weekend. A fuller report will appear early next week.

Going To IoW To Sample New Trains?

Don't book your holidays there yet-a-while. The new track was supposed to be in  operation in April, then this month - and is now further delayed. But it doesn't matter a whit because ...

... the new trains don't work properly either.

The recently coined word "omnishambles" comes to mind!

And most of the old ones have gone for scrap.

Mystery Solved Courtesy of Twitter

For the eternally confused by modern class numbers, the 755s are units operated by Anglia Railways.

They have a large compartment in the middle full of lots of clever technical stuff ...

... which includes a scary walk-through corridor.

Puzzle Pictures

Pedantically known as the Welland Viaduct on what used to be the alternative route between Nottingham and Kettering ...

... but more usually known as Harringworth Viaduct. (Well, known as such by fbb, anyway!)

It is bigger than that other viaduct on the Settle and Carlisle line - but is, sadly, less well known. Possibly because it is harder to "cop".

An where is this?

This one should be very easy!

Answers tomorrow.

The Wonders of Technology

The fbbs have become fans of Hermes. Weigh at home, pack at home, book and pay on line, print a label at home - then take the parcel along the road to the Co-op and two days later it arrives at its destination. 

Seemples!

No 3 son has a birthday next week, so Mrs fbb baked a scrummy gingerbread loaf. Securely packed in bubble wrap, a polythene box with lid, thick cardboard, double thickness brown paper and copious amounts of sticky tape, all was going spiffingly well until ...

"Your printer is off-line."

No it isn't you stupid computer: the lights were on, everything looked just normal but there was, apparently, no one at home! Computer - working OK; printer - working OK; modem/router - working OK.

For reasons beyond the wit of fbb the three bits of technology were having a major sulk and not talking to each other,

Could the Co-op help? Answer, no; because the fbb's had already paid on-line! Should the fbb's start again and pay again at the Co-op?

Then, for no obvious reason, and after over two hours of brain curdling frustration, there was a clunk, a whirr and, joy of glorious joys, a label emerged from the throat of the printer.

If today's blog lacks the furious fervour favoured by fbb - well you know why!

Isn't technology wonderful?

In myth, Hermes functioned as the emissary and messenger of the gods, and was often presented as the son of Zeus and Maia, the Pleiad. In Roman mythology, Hermes was known as Mercury, a name derived from the Latin merx, meaning "merchandise," and the origin of the words "merchant" and "commerce."

He is regarded as "the divine trickster."

Ah? That explains it!

 More Variety blog : Sunday 2nd May