Wednesday, 3 May 2023

Short Notice Infill Blog

But First

At 1500 yesterday Evri has managed to "got" the parcel, presumably "not got" on Monday, when it was handed over, due to the proliferation of Public Holidays in May. The sender is based in Haywards Heath, so the sender's "local depot" might well be in Birmingham! But it is happening and fbb is looking forward to "gotting" it in Seaton sometime today.

Possibly!

So a hurriedly composed mini blog in the hope that Leicester stuff will arrive in time for tomorrow's exciting posting. It's like Christmas is coming early.

P.S. Change of plan : Derbyshire tomorrow; Leicester to follow.

Snippet
Astute readers may remember fbb referring to the cunning plan to make Aldwych (London) two way and pedestrianise a chunk of the Strand between Waterloo Bridge and Melbourne Place.
The bit past the PW (St Mary le Strand) ...
... is really for access to bits of Bush House etc on India Place, so hardly a busy thoroughfare.

It does seem unnatural to meet buses coming towards you on Aldwych ...
... but, back in the good old days it would have been two way all round.
As far as fbb can remember it has always been a massive D shaped roundabout.
A twittered picture from roughly the same point as above shows the peace and quiet that obtains today.
Definitely a chocolate peanut for Westminster City Council. The junction with Waterloo Bridge is also much improved.

A Challenging Journey
Alan (from Northampton) is a braver man than fbb.

The Original King Alfred Running Day is on 1st May when all available King Alfred vehicles will be in use, plus visiting vehicles as offered by their owners.  It is planned to feature 1929 Leyland Lion RU 8678 on its return to Hampshire from Scotland.  As usual, the event will be centred on Winchester Broadway between approx. 09:00 and 16:30.  Parking is available at St Catherine's Park & Ride with buses every 15 minutes to the Broadway.

So, to enjoy the full delights, Alan decided to go, using public transport, on Sunday 30th April and stay overnight. Thus he had to cope with a typical Bank Holiday weekend of disruption on the railways.

He explained his schedule to fbb in an email sent yesterday after successfully getting home on Monday evening.

OUTBOUND

HOME-BOUND
Well done Alan. fbb will be running out of chocolate peanuts!

And RU 8678?
Thanks to a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, Friends of King Alfred Buses (FoKAB) has taken ownership of a fully restored Leyland Lion single deck bus built in 1929. This vehicle, registered RU 8678, was B268 in the fleet of Hants & Dorset Motor Services (H&D) from 1929 until 1948 and is believed to be the only operational pre-war H&D bus still in existence.

Since 2003 it has been based at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum (SVBM) where its previous owners, the late Douglas Scoular and his son Ross, had rebuilt the vehicle. It is now to return to its original home in Hampshire.

The bus is being repainted into the green and ivory livery of King Alfred Motor Services, but the long-term plan is to restore it to its original H&D condition, in time for its centenary in 2029.


A PR line up of FoKAB vehicles.

 Next Delights of Derbyshire Data blog : Thursday 5th May 

1 comment:

  1. Aldwych may be better as a pedestrian experience (and that's debatable) but it's another disaster for bus services. If the 59 had still been running the whole route, your mate Alan would have had to allowed 10 minutes more for the transfer from Euston to Waterloo.

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