Wondering And Wandering At Whitby 1

But Before That ...

Yesterday, Royal Mail delivered a parcel to fbb. It was huge. Upon opening it revealed some bubble wrap ...

... within which was something wrapped in bubble wrap ...

... inside which was more bubble wrap in a tasteful shade of duck egg blue with an aura of pastel.

Or, it might be teal for real, rare deal!

Inside that was a truly exciting Bachmann Branch Line model railway box ...

... which was, undeniably, very well packed.

Sam (Sam's Trains) Turner is always "very excited when he unboxes his latest review locomotive, but fbb had more reasons for excitement than just a new toy. In fact the box was not "new" but it was No 479 in a special edition of 500.

What Does Whitby Mean To You?

Well, there's him! He does need a bit of dental treatment. Amd there is the Abbey ...

... which is not in the best condition, yet ideal for spooky pictures! Also just a bit weird for today's taste is Whitby Jet "precious" stone ...

... somewhat tainted by its popularity in Victorian times as Mourning Jewelry.

It was where Elizabeth ran. She is/was a steam powered bus ...

... only it wasn't. It was a steam powered lorry on to which a bus body has been added, just a few years ago, for tourist purposes. It left Whitby and joined the fleet of the resurrected Crosville, based in Weston super Mud.

fbb is not sure who owns it now, as Crosville sort of collapsed.

But the highlight of any visit to Whitby has to be its very fresh Fish and Chips.

fbb has indulged; and offers a strong recommendation ... an ideal reviver after a tough day riding around on buses.

The meal is best consumed on the sea front in the teeth of a gale!

Unwanted guests add to the fun!

Over the next few days, we will take a good look at old and present public transport in Whitby, but, before that, a nostalgic look at Elizabeth on video.

Just as a tease, one of our Whitby examples of public transport runs vertically!

FYI re domestic catering - Meleagris is the posh name for a Turkey and the fbbs enjoyed (?) the last of el chubbo's failed Turkey'n'Mash pie for lunch yesterday. It was just about edible.

Sadly there a far too many people in the world who have less than that for a week, so it would be utterly immoral to throw it away.

Martijn's Moves

News breaks that Martijn Gilbert is to become GM of Arriva Bus in the UK. He first shot to fame at Reading Buses (but not for long) ...

... from where he moved on to Go Ahead. 

But not for long!

In a surprise move he pops up as boss of First’s Lumo train division. But not for long.

And now to Arriva. But for how long?

The general feeling in directors' chairs nationally is that it will be good to have someone at Arriva who knows about buses! That, they opine, will be a nice change.

Other comments wonder whether Martijn has moved around a bit too much. But that is very much today's style of management.

Whether it should be is, at best, debatable; what price consistency?

 Next Whitby plus Variety blog : Sat 26 July