Saturday Variety

 Low Batteries

Maybe you are more disciplined than fbb, but the old bloke finds it very frustrating when he needs to use his phone, not for making calls, but for blog preparation. As soon as he starts "work" he notices that battery reserves are low and he has forgotten to plug in the charger! This now becomes double trouble as the same happens with the new tablet, generous birthday gift from two loving sons.

Anyway, the fbb internal batteries ran low yesterday contributing to an attack of the Rangoon Nadgers; not serious but potentially needing close proximity to a certain "facility". In order to preserve energy for the fbb's two Fellowship meetings, some slight reductions to the next few blogs have been made.

Simply, there is less "variety"!

Northstar But Not Polaris?

Now there's a bit of nostalgia.  Remember when teach told us how to find the Pole Star by using the pointers at the end of the Plough a k a Great Bear a k a Big Dipper? It never looked like a bear, but plough might just fit and if you understand that a dipper is American for a ladle, then again you might cope.

Apart from the appealing name, Northstar is none of these; it is a new bus company based in Sunderland ...

... with one bus. Well you have to start somewhere and said bus is all over social media, so that must be good. Here's what the interwebnet has to say.

Ex GoAhead Daniel Graham, the Managing Director and owner of the Tyne and Wear-based business, is bidding for bus tenders in the area. He also hopes to gain home-to-school contracts from September onwards, which would allow him to offer private hires for schools during the day.

Its first branded bus was unveiled on Friday 29 March and used on a Metro replacement service.

The Sunderland-born businessman says the operation will be underpinned by four key values: people, performance, partnership, proactive.

These noble words are typical corporste-speak - which ought to describe any bus operation!

He adds: “With such bold ambitions to lead the way, we need our buses to win the hearts and minds of the local people here in the North East.

“I’m exceptionally proud to have worked with Best Impressions to create a smart, clean and contemporary brand, which helps to communicate Northstar’s visions and values.”

The bus is ex Stagecoach in Scotland but has been re-regustered with a company appropriate set of letters (see above) ...

... and the former owner has fitted an ungraded Euro 5 engine whatever that might be.

Mr Graham says: “Northstar is a ‘people moving people’ company, and we want to keep the customer at the heart of everything we do.

“I’m looking forward to operating buses in our region’s fantastic towns and cities – I am proud to be giving back to the people and communities that we will serve.”

Giving? You'll not make a profit that way!

Best wishes, young sir! Running a successful bus company was never easy and nowadays there are even more traps in which to fall. fbb knows; he has done that and got a very sweaty t-shirt in the process!  So be careful!

The Eagle Has Landed

This is a big bin lorry, a Dennis Eagle and it's electric. Ana this is the same vehicle branded for Biffa.

Below is an OO scale (1:76) model of the Biffa Beauty.

It is exquisite! Another picture shows the model in a diorama setting.

The model does cost £32 which is a lot of dosh for a toy lorry. But it is not a "toy" in the conventional sense of the wotd. We are unlikely to see these being bashed around on the floor of a kids playroom - not at £32. Like model railways, these magnificent reproductions will grace the display cabinets of well-off collectors. Maybe a few will find their way into model railway scenic corners, but not many.

Below is a Dinky "streamlined" fire engine from the 1940s. 

Etsy has one on sale for ...

£32

... but you can pay up to £100 for one in an original box! Back in the 1940s it would be a very much loved toy for a young lad - but it would soon be "bashed".

Going Pedestrian Govan to Partick (1)

If you wished to nip smartly between these two well known Glasgow communities, you might well take the Subway, the "official" name (sometimes?) for Glasgow's quaint little underground line.

This forms two more crossings omitted from the recent mainly bridges blog. The eastern tunnel runs from St Enoch station ...

... to Bridge Street; whilst at the western end of the circle we have Govan to Merkland Street ...

... and on to Partck Cross. Back in the day, an alternative might have been a ferry. Indeed the ferry service happened long before the Subway was ever thought of.

Way, way back, there was a lot less of Govan and a lot less of Partick!

fbb is not at all sure that the ferry terminal at Partick IS in Partick, whose boundary must surely be the River Kelvin. 

There is still a road called Ferry Road ...

... but it comes to a abrupt end at a railway bridge.

On the Govan side, Water Row is still there ...

... but with no signs to a ferry,

So, as part of tomorrow's variety blog, we will briefly explore the Govan to Partick crossing by water, not Underground.

Back even in fbb's youth, the stations at ...

Govan

Merkland Street

Partick Cross

... were hardly inviting!

Part 2 tomorrow.

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The travellers on the road to Emmaus had not RECOGNISED Jesus when he joined them. But as their journey continued, they realised that their companion seemed certain of what had happened.

They later reported that, as Jesus conversed with them reminding them of his promised revival, it was like ...

... inside them. Jesus joined them for a meal and broke bread with them (as a guest would) and that was the action that clinched it.

No posh jar for tea or ashes!

Tomorrow this series on the REAL Easter concludes with a video; revealing someone who refused to believe it had happened.

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 Next Variety blog : Sunday 7th April