It's a cruel summer
Following
Monday's blog post, I wanted to talk about these things to my mother... after all, she will remember just about as much as anyone else about said establishment, given that it was her choice, and she took me there and back most of the time. From Mid Craigie to just before the City Centre on the (pre-deregulation) 15/17/30 to begin with - with the old one-way system of buses up Victoria Road and Dura Street, and down Princes Street and along Cowgate, with buses then passing the Howff/Albert Square both ways if continuing. This was when the 15 went to Whitfield (and the 15X which was non-stop as far as St Saviours), 17 to Ninewells, and the 30 for part routes ending in the town. Now, look, see what you've made me do... digressing again...
So, I meant to call her last week, and I did - and didn't get through. So, I called her again. It was either Wednesday or Thursday, but we agreed to meet up on Friday. I had another task to do on the way, as well as collecting some of the new timetables (from 7th July) at the bus station. So, we agreed, I'd meet her in the bus station cafe around 1330, and we'd then head up
Stagecoach Strathtay (bus) route 57 to Newtyle, to thew home where my gran's sister and my dad are staying (
Mundamalla btw, for the person who asked. If you are on the 57 bus or the B954 road looking north towards Alyth, the home is on your left - the turn off for Kettins - just after the bus shelter and the church. So, now you know)... see, there I go again...
After the cash point at Courthouse Square, the cash machine was out of order, adding time to my trip. To save time on the way back to town, I jumped on a Travel Dundee 22 - I was sure the fare from where I got on to town would be 3 stages i.e. 75p, but the driver only asked me for 50p. So, that saved a few seconds back...
I got in in enough time, having came back around the front of Dundee Bus Station. While we had just 20 minutes or so before the bus was due to leave, I was facing the stance and knew what to look out for. After the 39 went at 1350, I had my eyes pretty much on the stance - just in case. My mum had brought a range of things for him & her, and wanted me to assist them on the bus... only problem there being the wheels on the trolley bag did not quite stay rigid enough to move! We discussed my thoughts (see above), and she suggested initally that I could try to move on from this. Once I explained that I'd been trying this for a long time, and felt that I could not, then she listened. There was no special arrangements for me, and she'd not approved or asked for any of this. Not any more than you would normally do. Which was good, because if I'd made an a*se of myself asking about it when it was her idea, think what could have happened. She had been the first person I'd spoken to about it who actually knew of the people involved - in that capacity at least. We also briefly talked about everyone else. My sister (Ruth)'s wedding is off, and she's also out of work right now too. Not really sure what happened there, but then it was time for us to go.
1400 arrived, and we had a newish Trident arrive (
18509) to take us north. Lots of passengers, lots of luggage, making it the usual Friday afternoon for Dundee Bus Station. Whilst the ALX400 Stagecoach specification bus maybe more designed for town rather than country, it made short work of the road up, especially on the A923 (out of town) and M954 where we caught up all the time at lights in the city. Only thing about that was, she's still trying to forget a journey back from Belfast to Dundee via Citylink, where the bus she got from Glasgow to Dundee had no suspension, and the driver refused to stop until the police stopped the bus... and then, the driver wanted to get her charged for taking a picture of the bus... now, think of all the members of the family that is most likely to happen to... anyway, turns out the driver was in more trouble than she was . I then explained was a PG9 was, (i.e. immediate prohibitation notice for a dangerous vehicle) and then she understood what the trouble was about. She had no idea who the sub-contractor was for that particular run either.
Dad's fine, Margaret is fine, and we got 962 on the 57 back south to Dundee at 1625, arriving in Dundee for 1700. Due to the huge downpours, water was getting in through the floor and under the wheelarches, as some localised flooding appeared along the road.
I got into town, and she'd stopped in a card shop to look for a "renewal of marriage vows" card. Shortly after being jostled by an inflatable Dora The Explorer hellium balloon, my sister recognised me as I was sort of looking towards the window. We had a look in a few more shops before she went home. I then offered my mother the chance of stopping longer in town for something to eat, and she was not sure if my brother would be home, or where my sister was. Quick shot of the mobile and no-one was at home, and my sister was on a 15/17 heading north, but she got off at the Wellgate Steps. So, we went for food & drink at the chip shop in St Andrew Street, the name of which escapes me but I'd not been there for a long time... lets not forget it was raining, and the heel end on my shoe had chosen THAT day to wear out.
Then, we both picked up a few things from Farmfoods in town, before heading our own ways. Before we were finished, I saw two Strathtay buses heading in convoy along Murraygate - pedestrianised for as long as I've been alive... one was a Solo on the 13 and headed along Panmure Street, and the other was a
Vario which turned right along Cowgate. I got to the Bus St
ation (as I said I'd pick up my stash of leaflets before going home), and the driver pointed out "there's one you'll no get again"... it turns out Commercial Street had been (very) temporaily closed, so the police sent them this way.
Day with a difference? You better believe it, but a cruel summer. This is the end of June, so can we look "forward" to rain all through July?
Two Bridges Trip
I got out in time for the 0945 X54 - or so I thought - but ended up on Stagecoach Fife MAN 22407 on the 99B from Dundee to Guardbridge, changing to 16154 on the x24 to Glenrothes. The use of an ex-London Volvo Olympian may seem odd, but there are some runs on schooldays that require this. Anyway, after that... got to Glenrothes... and a retro moment, in more ways than one. Found a selection of old Beavis & Butthead on VHS - for £1.00 each. At that price, taking the taps for a run over the Forth and back still seemed like a bargain!
From there, 52367 on the X54 to Edinburgh, then a selection of Lothian Buses took me to Lauriston Place, back to town, Morningside, back to town, then Gyle Centre, Airport, then back to Ferrytoll on Solo 47229 on Stagecoach 747. The latter journey also featured a customer survey! Anyway, then took 52361 on the X59 from Ferrytoll to Glenrothes, then 52442 on the evening 24 to Guardbridge, which connected with the last 99A of the night, 22402.
Another "just over 13 hours" trip! - which may well seem a little more straight-forward than previous trips. The routings in Fife and Edinburgh were just a little bit different too... you can see all the pictures here.
Something to think about
I got to sleep fairly well tonight... in the end... but you know when you want to get out the following day early... suddently everything whirrs around in your head. I've talked to a lot of people who've undergone bad things when they were younger, and I've always admired your abilities to carry on and try to get over things. Some of you are still trying, I know it's difficult, but there's something in my mind that feels the same way.
Let's put it another way... a long time ago, when I was at school, I was not the same confident, articulate(d) person that you see now. Where did this lack of confidence stem from? Where did the self-neglect and embarassment come from? What happened to me when I was very young?
Some of you will know I went to a private school for the first four years of "primary" school. Between 1985 & 1989, my mother paid fees to attend a private, Christian based school. This might seem mad, given the fact we were definatly working class, and had no car, or no telephone etc. There were two main teachers, teaching a wide age range i.e. P1-P7, including the children of one of the teachers. Initally, they tried to "outlaw" my interests, obviously seeing things like bible reading and scottish country dancing as more "mainstream". The point is, it was the start, and no-one really noticed. I think it was the start of being controlled by a tiny "system". Less than a dozen in total, so no-one ever questioned, or said anything wrong. Anyone who questioned anything that was done was told they were wrong.
Before we go any further, I'd like to explain that this wasn't any kind of sexual abuse, but I still feel it was wrong.
The following years saw what you can see later as victimisation, alienation, favouritisim, whatever you want to call it. Initally, one of the teachers started punishing me - physically (despite the law at the time, and of course I didn't know any better than) - as well as mentally, and verbally. Being physically punished might not seem so bad, but when you compare the abilities of a 6/7 year old with your own son who was several years older than me, then you've got something. For almost all of the time, I know I was the only one. No-one else was treated this way.It's also immoral for someone calling themselves Christian to punish in this way. Bearing in mind my parents rammed the book at me often enough (and before anyone tries to read between the lines, that was just a metaphor), I know that someone wouldn't break the law.
I've spent several years thinking about what happened. I've got over most of the other issues in life - think of it as almost in reverse order - but I've had this hanging over me for so long. It might seem like a minor thing... but it was the start of my life spiralling out of control. Over the coming years, I couldn't trust some people. I saw the bad things in people too much. I had difficulty in bonding with others. I've improved over time, and especially in the last few years, but having said all that, I cannot change the past.
I really need to see my mother about this, and other things, in time. We were speaking the last time I knew... but I'm not sure how to approach this.
I know that they are still around, because the husband of one of the teachers is a current Dundee City councillor. I'm not going to name any names or wards or parties right now, but needless to say, it's not the councillors for where I live or work. I promise to tell more when the time is right.
At work...
... and back to the "usual" hours... but away tommorrow!
Another new blog...
...from a friend of mine - Pink Pajamas - who I've been chatting to for a while, mostly about a certain "problem" we've shared over the last few years. This blog will perhaps be a little bit different, but not too kinky in explaining how her and her new husband have worked to accomodate her "problem"... In her inital welcome post, she explained about her story, and how she told her current partner of her "problems", and what caused them.
... Back to work...
So, went back to work, but to make sure that the changes had been made (I'd changed my holiday dates, but the system was wrong before I left), I called to check. Yes, I'm showing as in, 1-9. Not 1-10, but 1-9. Good, I could do with the hour... and my team coach confirmed I'd not get AWOL'd for leaving an hour early. Take it while you can get it!
At work, one noticable issue is the offering of time and a half for overtime (once you work 37.5 hrs a week) - and especially, time and a half is being offered by the new operations manager for anyone willing to lose next Friday night, to come in, to allow some others to go for a team night out! Now, maybe that team are all part-time shifts, who would not usually get something like this, so it's not grudged (not by me, maybe by others!) The way the managers get swapped about, this might be their only chance. But there again, how many people have to miss the first hour or two of team night outs because the "random shift generator" allocates them - conviently - to work it?
Anyway, I digress. Got out at 2100, and Adam mentions the newish Somerfield store that's opened at the top of Brook Street. I've not been out this way for some time, so I went with him for a wander, walked down the last few hundred yards home, and still made it in time to get use of my extra hour!
Friday's trip - One Stop Beyond!
Today's trip saw me visiting Ayrshire, for the first time in a while. I'd originally planned to use the new Fishers Tours service from Dundee to Largs, but I'd heard word from one of the regular passengers on those services (thanks Tony!) that the bus would be fully booked. Never mind, next time. So that was late last night, and I booked on Megabus to take me to Glasgow - Neoplan 50131. Upon arrival at Broxden Park & Ride, I could see 52298 (N448 XVA), which used to be a Scottish Megabus, now in Stagecoach South Wales X3 colours - it had duplicated one of the coaches from London. After arriving in Glasgow (WEP had a bit of a hangover from his night out), I got MAN coach 50044 on the X77 to Ayr (direct) - alighting at Tam's Brig (the last stop before Ayr Bus Station) before getting on Volvo/PS 20511 on the 585, to take me to Ayr proper.
The 585 - now branded as CoastLiner, without having any branded buses - is two hours from end to end, and runs every 30 minutes during the main part of the day. The history of this route is a little long for a short time, but it's noteworthy for many reasons of comeptition, including the time when the four main local operators (Stagecoach A1 Service, AA Buses - which was then Dodds of Troon, Clydeside - now Arriva who sold Greenock to GMS/McGills, and Clyde Coast, who ran on a chunk of the coast before selling out to Stagecoach too) all combined to launch a combat bus against Coastline Express - who's proprietor latterly ended up in charge of McGills... but anyway... now you see what you've got me started... the main bits of the route are Ayr, Prestwick Cross, Prestwick Airport (main road) then via the Troon by-pass to Irvine, then the Kilwinning by-pass before picking through the three towns of Stevenston, Saltcoats, and Ardrossan, where the driver changes are done on the corner of Princes Street. The bus then heads up out of Ardrossan, and passes Seamill, before doing a loop of West Kilbride, before contonuing to Largs, Wemyss Bay, then inland via IBM to Greenock. It's the kind of route you could hop on and off all day if you wanted (SPT Day Tripper ticket recommended - and you don't need to bring the kids, you can travel on your own, or have two Adults on the higher priced ticket). There are lots of other more frequent services over chunks of the route too.
The next bus has been with Stagecoach for well over 10 years, and is one of the last new buses purchased by A1 Service. Now, it just reminds me of the Strathtay B10B's/B10BLE's. Yes, it's 21051 (M151 FGB, ex M1 ABO), which took me from Irvine all the way up to coast to Greenock. Amongst the buses in Greenock which were of interest included this McGills "easy access" Dart with two steps in the way, and the new Mercedes Citaro - no doubting the accessibility on that one!
Took the train into Paisley, and just between Paisley St James and Paisley Gilmour Street, I saw former Tayside Ailsa 43 in this yard! Oddities of interest included this dual door bright yellow Iveco minibus. I then got back on the train, headed for Glasgow Central, walk to St Enoch, subway to Buchanan Street (all included in the DayTripper ticket!, but you need to get a ticket each time you want to use the subway, to let you through the gates. You get a standard Adult Single card ticket, to the value of £00.00 - i.e. at no cost. Anyway, after tea, headed back on the 1900 Megabus back to Dundee, which was Strathtay 453, now 143 CLT, and the first one with a new fleetnumber.
End-to-end, around thirteen hours. Back to work tommorrow!
It was a quiet day today...
It was a quiet day today... and that's it...
One I forgot to post... two weeks or so ago (I forget the date now, think it was 8th/9th), Mix100.5 Rochester has metamorphosed into The Drive 100.5... now, go back to the beginning of the month. It's not quite the same - it's different music, but robotic i.e. no one on the other side, as well as being initally almost deserted! If you want it, you can find it at www.mydrivefm.com - but the previous www.mixrochester.com still points to Drive, as does www.alldaveradio.com which they bought for a one day Dave Matthews special gig day. I don't quite understand ripping up several years of traidition without warning (google searches show this station goes back six/seven years) - even changing the call sign letters from WVOR to WDVI - but there again, I live on the other side of the world. If you thought things were complicated here...
In A Big CounTREE
First things first, I'd originally scripted this as an end-to-end trip i.e. to cover the Stonehaven end on the 104, as well as the other side of the Strathtay network. I didn't fancy getting up after three hours at 0400, spending for the early bus/train up to Montrose etc. - or getting on two school buses in one day! So, although this trip was long in its own right, it could have been longer!
After going into the Bus Station in the morning, got the 1125 20B with 952, on which there was an on-bus vinyl advertising the new Stagecoach/Strathtay "Tay MegaRider" which will cover all the Dundee city and surrounding areas, from 1st July, for £6.90 a week - at least to begin with.
Anyway, after getting into Forfar, took Meffan's L321 AUT on the 125 from Forfar to Newtyle. The 125 uses the stop opposite Newtyle Church i.e. towards Dundee, hence you can get photographs like the one I linked to... No time for a visit to see the relatives (this time) as I had just a few minutes before Volvo Olympian 961 took me to Blairgowrie. I then took Leopard 545 on the 60 to Aberfeldy... now you'll see why this had to be done on a schoolday which was also a Wednesday...
Upon arrival in Aberfeldy, the bus wasn't at Chapel Street, so I stayed on the 60 to Breadalbane Academy/Alma Avenue, taking the Mercedes Vario SF 54 OUX on Broons Buses School Service 895 from Aberfeldy to Kinloch Rannoch, via lots of windy roads and Tummel Bridge. I'm sure we may have passed the place where I was out camping many years ago with some sort of community group... very long time ago... anyway, upon arrival at KR, all the remainder tipped out (it was actually quite a quiet school run, and the driver was politely seeing to the rules..... like slowing down and warning sweary kids, and making sure the primary school kids had their seatbelts on...), whilst those with even further to go to got on the Sprinter SY 52 UPR on the 85 towards Rannoch Station.
SF 54 OUX went back to the garage (10 yards up the road) and the driver picked up the proprietor and wife, before returning to Kinloch Rannoch Square to operate as the 89, and we headed for Perth on the Wednesday only Service 89. This route is nearly two and a quarter hours long, but still only costs £3.00 (maximum fare on P&KC Subsidised Services) - now that's value for you! Not sure how many miles, but a lot. Kinloch Rannoch, turning at a hotel and a caravan park before heading through to Calvine, and down the A9. The proprietor left the bus at Pitlochry, as he was going to pick up a bus on loan from Yule's whilst one of his own is off the road. We had the bus very nearly full by the time we got into Perth, and the proprietor's wife was handing out survey forms to see if anyone had any ideas that they wanted to put in before the tender went in (tender closing date for the 89 and many other services around Perthshire is this Friday morning, new tenders to start in January). Apparently most popular suggestion was missing out Ballinluig and running to Morrison's Perth instead of Tesco, as the former have a cafe/tearoom which is open late.
After arriving at Perth, saw a door which is opened with a uzze? Well I knew "hen" was local slang for woman, but.. you know... look here to see what I'm on about... After that I went around to South Street, and found the Rover for the first time since mid-afternoon and boarded 227 on the 16.
End-to-end - about nine hours, lots of big trees, hence the title!
Cold and wet in the City...
Tuesday was spent around Dundee. Met Paula, the advisor from SHA today for a chat... I knew my sister was engaged, but I didn't know she was getting married... oh well, you live and learn! As I usually do with these, I guess I'd better call the family at some point soon - would be nice - but I've not heard from them in a long time...
After that, headed for the bus station - lots of stuff! So much so, I'll let you select your own favourite pics! 52249 was running in Fife yesterday I think - so it's managed to be taken off the road at Aberhill, have Strathtay fleetnames applied, and then sent over to Dundee all in a day!
As you can see, it was raining and cold. Not good! For those wondering where I've been on messenger, well Jay's been on holiday too... in Florida, believe it or not... he gets Florida and I'm "stuck" here... no justice lol He's obviously a lot closer to Florida than I am, though... so I guess the idea of coming to Scotland might also be of interest...
New (full time) job...
... I got a letter re the job I applied for... interviews will be soon...
Three ways to cross the Forth...
... at Stirling, Kincardine and the Forth Bridge! This is the first of the trips which I was hinting at. Having purchased a One-Ticket at £10.65 for the day, this would cover every bus I was about to journey on - all thirteen of them!
From Dundee, I left on Stagecoach MAN 22400 on the 99A. I'm sure this bus is following me around LOL... anyway, I took that to Guardbridge, before getting on Stagecoach Volvo/PS 20332 on the 23 (St Andrews - Stirling service) as far as Tillicoultry. The plan for this segment of the trip is to intersect Stagecoach Fife's involvement in the Clackmannanshire Council funded Wee County Boarder services, especially given that the timetable is about to be reduced from two buses to one. A passenger boarded 20332, and made some comment about she was going to Stirling, but she could get this bus... the 23 runs through, but the F66/67 she was referring to, would mean she would have to change somewhere... then, a passenger from the back yelled out "It's running today..." There's something in about reliability I presume... but remember that the service is ran from Stagecoach Dunfermline depot. Whilst I was waiting at Tillicoultry, I snapped the Stagecoach Olympian 16440 (on layover from the 31), and First 62304 on the 62 "orange line" circualr towards Alloa & Stirling.
In Stirling, it's raining and dark, but there's quite a bit to see. I then got First new Scania 65175 on the 38, and the driver stopped at Camelon Police Station (Linlithgow depot vehicle and driver, so no radio), and phoned Lw depot to advise that her front destination display was blanked... Some time around Falkirk town centre, before getting the bus back to Falkirk Bus Station. Now, I know it was cold last weekend, but has hell actually frozen over? Reason I ask is that First have reopened their travel enquiry centre at Falkirk, after closing it in 2003 to "...provide a better service..." by telephone. Well, they've taken the station controllers room and radio control, and placed them in the enquiry office (which had been repainted and refurbished in 2001/2002 anyway!), but it's good. Then, took Stagecoach 32206 on the 28 back to Blairhall... the 28 is about to be no more, as service changes next month see the 28 being withdrawn, and the 74 extended to/from Falkirk more often than the current 28. This is apparently following disquiet from some over provision from Dunfermline to Falkirk, since First's changes earlier in the year, and removal of through fares from Dunfermline to Falkirk via Kincardine.
At this point, it's time to work from one bus to the next, going between the bridges. The 28 took me from Falkirk via Skinflats, Kincardine Bridge, the new Westfield turning point, High Valleyfield, then up to Blairhall, under a low bridge. Upon arrival at Blairhall, I took Olympian 16152 on the 74. This service was increased earlier in the year to three buses an hour, as the 75 became a route on its own. 74 runs from Blairhall via Oakley to Dunfermline, but the new 75 starts at Oakley, then Saline/Steelend, via the previously unserved (for a while anyway) bits of Fife (near Lathalmond - passing the back gates!), to Wellwood, then onto Dunfermline, replacing the top bit of the 76. I got to Oakley, and waited a few minutes for 16108 to take me on the 75 back to Dunfermline via Wellwood.
Then, another chunk of the day took me on Volvo coach 52253 on the X54 across from Dunfermline to Edinburgh, before a few sights around the Capital. A variety of vehicles were snapped, including some rare or not so rare peak time workings! I then took Stagecoach Solo 47183 on the X61 from Dunfermline to Chapel Level, had a bite to eat at the nearby retail park, and then came back for a B6 on the K2 - 30673 was a bit of a surprise, as a little older than I expected (what was of Cowdenbeath's low floor B6LE's? one was on the 33/A (still with Perth fleetnames!), and one was running around light). After arriving at the partially rebuilt Kirkcaldy bus station, took Volvo/Plaxton coach 54240, then Volvo/PS 20304 on the last 42 back to Dundee.
End-to-end, it was around thirteen hours of good stuff - working out at less than £1 per hour! Tommorrow's just another day, but another mileage buster on Wednesday...
Sunday trip - well, out the door
Went out for meter cards, as well as a One-Ticket to cover tommorrows trip... saw this little lot whilst I was out. It was wet, cold, then I went home. Hoping for better weather this week... last week was so hot... when I was stuck at work...
Saturday off...
... spent it at home. Yes I know this could be a waste, but never mind, I couldn't go anywhere else! But, keep watching...
Quiet-ish Friday
Quiet Friday - apart from the aforementioned... and then home. Went well enough. Think I covered everything....
Thursday then away
If Wednesday was the warm-up, here it is - from 2200 this evening, I am off work until Saturday 24th (if all goes to plan) or Wednesday 28th (if not) - I handed back two days of holiday so I could take them in July. I'm too broke to do that much holiday! lol
Tommorrow is my first "mystery shop", but when I got home to print off the paperwork, I had a look under the select system, and there was another job - in Dundee City Centre - up for grabs tommorrow! Two gigs in one day... I could live with that... maybe not live OFF it, but it's fun and all practice none the less. I've got a couple of trips planned away - some with shopping planned into it, and some clearly not. Keep watching!
Wacky Wednesdays - again
Back to work today... I got on my phone... signed in... first call was from another BT desk. "You sound cheerful for one o' clock on a Wednesday afternoon..." then explained that I have one more day (tommorrow) to go, before being off for the week. That, and I've just started, so I should burn out by about half-past. By 1314, I was gone...
Work & more
I've had a quiet day in the house today... but those will be drawing to a close soon. Firstly, I've got my application in for another full time job - something similar to the last one, but a bit more full time. The person doing the recruiting is back this week, so I hope to hear soon. In the meantime, I've been hearing a lot of things about "mystery shopping" from friends and contacts, mostly as a good, flexibile-to-a-point way of some extra hours and income. I've been researching, and found a few good "tips", and I've signed with one already. So, although I can't say where I'm going (except that I will probably be exempt from "mystery shopping" any other broadband or transport services), but I've got some planned for the end of this week, with more new jobs coming up all the time. This does look like a good way to make some use of some of my days out - stop and shop once or twice along the way, and it's paid you to travel around!
Sunday rambling
I had a go around town today, but not long after I left the house, I could see some diversions. Traffic was being sent in both directions via the usually one-way Barrack Street! You can also marvel at my picture of Friarfield House - once the base of Dundee Corporation and then Tayside Regional Council city bus unit. The small door on the right hand side of the picture used to be the parcel office, but ended as the lost property office. This building ceased to have any public transport function shortly before deregulation in 1986, when TRC moved to Parker Street (about to become flats for the Uni of Abertay), and lost property of what was then TRC, then became Tayside Buses, moved to Commercial Street. Anyway, at the junction of Barrack Street and Bank Street/Willison Street, you can see why it was made one way upon the Overgate car park opening!
There were lots of "private hire" coaches floating around Dundee - any ideas why? I got to Discovery Point, and saw one of the Wisharts Mercedes on a private hire. The bagpipes were played as they arrived at the visitor centre, although this was later than you'd normally get a coach party.
Then there was this... now, it's against the light... but it's Travel Greyhound TC26 (USU 662) on the 973 Citylink from Oban - well, blanked blinds, but a 973 hand-written card in the window - or was it 9A? The bus was packed all the way back to Dundee. This was R92 GTM when I was in London, for CCS, and then used as an Airbus/National Express Airport vehicle.
Went to Tesco, then home!
More funky bus infrastructure, and remembering my past
Today, I went out on my breaks (and took a look on the way past after work) at the new Link Road. Created to allow bus priority for Services 13/14, it's not quite open to the buses just yet, but you can see pictures here. There is one other stop on Tom McDonald Avenue, but it was dark by that point...
So, went back to Menzieshill, where I used to live, passing the site of the old (before my time, and before Ninewells Hospital was built) Menzieshill terminus. This was the location of the last old style bus shelter in Dundee that I was aware that still had an original "Banksey On Tour" piece of etching... in the mid 90's, I was at school with him, and he had a lot of these at one point! Anyway, more nostaliga as I tried the chinese take-away at the end of Spey Drive, also between two of my former haunts. The first deep-fried pizza I've had in a long time...
And then home!
On This Day
This new (well, new to me) section of the BBC site lets you go back to a particular day in history, and see news stories, including video and audio where availbile. Some of the stuff is freaking awesome... well, to me anyway...
... except for viewers in Scotland...
I didn't leave the house (didn't have anything to spend, it's all already claimed!) today, just had a quiet day before going back to work tommorrow. But, the weather wasn't as hot as it seemed to have planned, and it was a bit foggy, with rain in some parts... glad I stayed in...
Forthcoming attractions - next week at work, and then a week off. Inbetween times, a lot could potentially happen... keep watching!
Thursday - a repeat of Wednesday?
Well, it was hotter... that's for sure... and it's to be warmer tommorrow and all weekend? hottest of the year so far?There is now have a bus stop on the new hard standing area opposite Luna Place, to match yesterday's stop at Luna Place. This will improve safety of those alighting the bus here, as at the moment, hail & ride previously dropped you on a thin strip of pavement. No picture yet, as I left the camera at home.Following on from all the stories earlier in the week about the number of the beast, and the Daily Record digging up the Freddie series about a knife attack in Dundee's Elm Street under the headline of "NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET"... I was still surprised to see the person who is trying to get Wayne Rooney's foot better (apparently there's a football game on or something) is someone from this neck of the woods, called WILLIAM WALLACE... I kid you not. If you want to try helping Wayne with your mouse, you could always click here...I got home via the Bus Station once more - the money has gone from the journey planner! For now...As I've got broadband, I started the real audio stream from Mix100.5 in the background... there's a song tI've heard a lot in the last few weeks, that they sometimes stick on inbetween adverts (they can't stream the adverts for various reasons), and this one I'd only ever heard on Mix - as far as I could recall. They have a "What song was that?" form, so I filled it in, and got a reply from Joe Bonacci, who is "Assistant Program Director/Music Director" as well as being on-air at that time (Rochester is five hours before my time), and within the hour! Turns out it was the Go-Go's, and Our Lips Are Sealed. A quick google search revealed it was the first track from their first UK album, released in the early 80's. So, now I know.
Do these things pay out?
Unbelievable as it sounds... it's true! I passed back through Dundee Bus Station on the way home tonight, and there was a pile of copper coins in the printer chute of the JourneyPlanner kiosk....
Longest wait for a bus stop?
On the way to work today, spotted that there is now - finally - a bus stop at
Explorer Road/Luna Place junction, Dundee Technology Park. Buses have been coming this way since 16th January 1995, but it's only been today that the bus stop got installed, with another one due on the other side of the road. Funding came as part of the Cross-City Direct award, which includes a few other extra stops along the way of the 13/14 route.
Hair & mare
Went out late afternoon for an appointment to have my hair done... nothing spectacular, just get it out of my eyes (it's becoming a health & safety thing when it not just gets in your eyes, but goes past the other side as well...) Ever-so-slight change to the way it looks too... and all for a price which even I could afford. After this, came back home via the bus station, just in time to see an East London coaches Volvo on Megabus...
Back to the grind
Back to work, with a few new silly ideas like "clear desk" policy, managers watching us, etc. It's all happened before. So what's new now? All the jobs up in the air, including the better paid position of operations manager, is one thing...
Back to Dundee
I had a quiet few days away, but it's now time to go north.
The taxi was booked for 1000, and guess who turned up... that's right, the taxi driver (Keith) from Tuesday... who remembered me from Sunday, saying he wasn't working Tuesday... anyway, it was straight down the Wakefield Road (with no extra loops this time!) before dropping me adjacent to Barnsley Interchange.
After picturing one of a few Metrobuses left in YTC service, got another Class 140 through to Sheffield. There were two ways of doing this - train to Meadowhall (£2.60), then get a tram/bus Stagecoach Sheffield DayRider ticket for £2.70, or through train to Sheffield (£2.80) and get a single (£1.70) for the tram on the way back. I did the latter... (LATER I found that I could have had an all-Yorkshire day ticket for train and tram etc. for £3.95... so having thought I had a bargain, realised I didn't... but of course, if I had one of those, there would be a slight problem getting me back to Meadowhall in time for the bus north at 1255...)
I got to Sheffield (main railway) Station, which is being rebuilt, and made it to Sheffield Interchange (bus & coach station), now I was going to take my bags with me, (there are lockers at Meadowhall), but there were also lockers here, which was good - £1 upwards for 24 hours. So, left the bags there (including those leaflets already picked up) to give me some time around the streets of Sheffield, and sights logged included former Bluebird 621 still in NatEx livery but running out of Stagecoach Warwickshire, Stagecoach Chesterfield Northern Counties bodied Volvo single deckers, an "old livery" Stagecoach Supertram (neither of the repaints were seen), a former Yorkshire Terrier bus with Stagecoach lettering (one of several), a First M29 with no destination (don't worry I hadn't zoomed back into Glasgow)...
I then got to the "Castle Gate zone", where big yellow plastic sheets were stuck over the stops, and on the glass of the shelters, to alter people to the fact it was closed. I was going to snap the glass, but it looks like someone was standing, waiting for a bus... not quite sure what the works were...
After that lot, I was surprised to see an ex-Fife bus going past as I left Wilkinsons... it's former Fife 658! I then snapped some others, including an ex-First Glasgow Dart, a once HAD Coaches Solo, and a former First Edinburgh Scania, before heading for my bags, and back out for tram 108 to take me to Meadowhall. Upon arrival, the toilets taps were still as they were, but the display screens had been fixed...
MAN coach 50053 left bang on time to take us north, and we stopped at High Brough filling station to refuel. By comparison to the southbound, the northbound journey arrived very early into Edinburgh - I think we had more than half an hour before filling up. We got to Broxen where Olympian 13624 took us onto Dundee... and started swaying heavily (despite an experienced driver) on the streteches of road after the "40mph average speed" cameras section. So much so that some who had paid to Aberdeen got off at Dundee and went for a train instead...
I got home, and was pleased to have had a good time away. Opened the post that I'd had waiting for me to come home to, including a letter re the job I'd been for last Friday... and I was unsuccessful. I will tell you now what it was, so it makes sense - it was a part-time service monitor for Stagecoach (Fife Scottish). The part-time was three hour shifts in Dundee, or one of three locations in north-east Fife, all within easy reach of Dundee. The only issue with my application was (and he did say this in the interview) was that I would be unavailbile for monitoring the evening peaks on four nights a week i.e. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, when I work. The idea behind this was "extra" hours, as although part-time work would suit me well (with what is likely to happen in 2007-2008), I've tried it before (last time was not choice) and it didn't work, or did it? things were different then. Maybe one day. I do have some further ideas in planning though, so do keep watching.
For now, just a quiet relax, and back to work on Saturday.
