Anoraks on Saturday ... The Weekend Starts Here but may require a hefty set of jump leads! ....PART ONE of a brand new story!.. Back On The Bristols... I have a picture of a nice pair of them later! .. Dont ask me why, but I seem to have more memories of the bus services which operated from Cheltenham down into the beautiful Stroud Valleys than anywhere else!. . Following the ticket machine saga at Forest Green, I managed to knock over some milk churns at Avening. .I was reversing into May Lane (the terminus) with an RE (unusual at the time) and forgot the six foot overhang at the rear .. mind you, the conductor was standing up at the rear of the bus, supposedly seeing me back! .. First there was a hollow clunk then the conductor hit the bell and shouted Whoa kid! .. I pulled forwards and as I did so, the was an almighty crash and three of these cows nests came rolling and clattering along the side of the vehicle! . Fortunately, it was time to leave, so I popped the semi-automatic into gear and bravely drove away! .. It was like a skating rink down there for months afterwards! .. . I used to chat with many of the regular passengers on all the country routes, but one lady who always stands out in my mind lived somewhere near Cranham Corner, where the main gates of Prinknash Abbey are situated! .. After the #564 service went one-man operated this lady, a famous actress, would always stand at the front of the bus and chat with me on her journey down to Painswick, where she did some shopping and collected her children from school. .This was on the 1320 service to Avening. .. I dont give a tinkers cuss for any so-called, celebrities, but she was a charming and extremely nice person and I used to look forward to seeing her bright red anorak up ahead signifying she was waiting at the bus stop. .The actress, would always be waiting at Painswick (church) for my return working to Cheltenham, some hour or more later.. She gave me a small trinket on one occasion which Ive always kept! .. A lovely person and much better looking than she appeared to be on the screen! ... There were some country bus services operating from Cheltenhams Royal Well Bus Station, we at St Marks depot had no dealings with! .. One was the #550 to Gloucester via Brockworth, which was totally manned by Gloucester depot, the #561/562 Swindon service, completely a Swindon road and the #563 Stroud/Cheltenham service which up until the early 70s was only a Stroud road! .. There was a shift change in around 1972/73 which gave St Marks the early #563 journey to Stroud each morning. . Within a few weeks, my turn was approaching on the duty roster, so I was given a few hours leave (with pay) to ride on the #563 service to learn the route. . On about the third day of my week on the #563 route, I did a short works trip to either Smiths, Dowty or Dowty Rotol, grabbed a quick cuppa somewhere and was on the stand just in time for the departure to Stroud, which, I think was about 0740. .As with Stroud depot, the Cheltenham working of the #563 route was a bloody MW (single deck) Saloon (Spaceship) allocation, so it was a cold, cold journey with steering so heavy around the county lanes, youd need arm muscles the size of a kangaroos bollocks to turn the wheel with ease! .. It was a bitterly cold, grey morning, a Wednesday, I think, as I trundled out of Royal Well with the three regular passengers on board. .On country services like that, Id have a look about if one of the regulars was missing, in case they were a bit on the drag and running down the road!. . Away we went long Bath Road, up Leckhampton Road, then from the foot of the hill #590/91 bus terminus, the road increased in steepness and rose like the side of a house up past Daisybank and Tramway Lane, by which time crawler had hopefully been engaged, the bus was still going forwards and the punters had resumed breathing! .. The greatest fear I had was having to stop for a passenger on that stretch of road. . I dont think Id have ever got going again! .. Those MWs were evil mothers and I once was scalded when one of them boiled over halfway up Cleeve Hill on a baking hot day. . The overflow pipe terminated just below the drivers side window, and if open which it was, the driver was sprayed with thick, brown scalding water right in the face! ..Bloody things! .. As the bus reluctantly laboured and groaned on up the incline, passing by Saltley Grange, the surrounding landscape was beginning to show tinges of white .. a light dusting of snow had fallen on the higher ground which made the world seem a prettier, brighter place, but as I climbed up towards Ullenwood, it began to come down in huge dancing flakes... By the time I turned right onto the main road just short of Crickley Hill and the Air Balloon public house, it was a total winter wonderland and I joined the slow moving motorists carving a path through the freshly fallen mass which was already almost wheel high on the cars. .Fortunately for me, the vast majority of traffic was turning right at the pub roundabout and descending Crickley Hill towards Brockworth and Gloucester. . Onwards and upwards we journeyed until reaching Birdlip, where I shed two of my three passengers. . One man was a chef in the hotel there, the George I think? .. From then on it was plain sailing, out through the beautiful Cranham Woods, the trees draped in their icy coatings and the fresh snow crunching beneath the wheels of the bus! .. Left at the fork and on past the Fostons Ash pub and in a few minutes I was driving around the Miserden Village circuit. ..I lost my last passenger at the Carpenters Arms, but gained two more regulars and then it was off out of the village, back to the turning and straight ahead down Wishanger Hill, through the dense woodlands, then across Camp Crossroads and Box Crossroads, prior to descending the very steep, narrow, wooded little lane which ran down into the attractive tiny hamlet of Sheepscombe, where I picked up some more regulars on their way to work and school etc.. The snow continued to fall heavily as we climbed away from Sheepscombe towards Bulls Cross .. turning right there, it was all downhill into Stroud, picking up a couple of dozen punters at Slad Memorial and the Woolpack Inn, where a year or two later I purchased my treasured autographed copy of Laurie Lees, Cider With Rosie. ..With traffic so sparse on that valley road, we were soon dropping down into Stroud, after picking up passengers at the Vatch and a couple of other stops along the Slad Road. . Mind you, on journeys like the #563, I and most other drivers would pick up and set down passengers wherever they pleased!. . On the final approach into Stroud, entering the built up area on the north side of the town, was the loveliest little local Co-Op store Ive ever seen. . It had a narrow doorway facing towards incoming vehicles and widened from there, because it was built on a fork in the road. . It was a red brick affair, .. pretty bog standard, but ever so appealing! ... I swung the old Bristol MW onto the forecourt of Strouds Merrywalks Bus Station and onto the stand .. keeping an eye out for Inspector Herr Blick, who always made a B line in my direction whenever he laid his beady Nazi eyes on me! .. Despite the snow which was still falling with gusto, I was only a few minutes late and as soon as my passengers had said goodbye as they left the bus (yes, people spoke to us in those days!) a surging mass of grey school uniforms came screaming and crashing up the steps, waving money and travel passes in the air! .. This was a St Trinians run to a local girls school at Beards Lane, close to Cainscross and on the way to Stonehouse. . Within 15 minutes Id be back at Stroud Bus Station, with time for one of their lovely full English breakfasts and a good half an hour in which to enjoy it! ... All this talk of breakfast has made me come over all Hank Marvin, so Ill finish up now and write the second part of this nonsense tomorrow morning!.. .. Coming tomorrow .. How White Was My Valley featuring the strange goings on between a certain Cheltenham bus inspector and a certain conductress at Stroud .. and any other dirt I can remember, twist and dramatize! .. and look out for a special cameo appearance by the dreaded Inspector Herr Blick .. EEK! .. .. In todays picture is one of those frightfully awful, Bristol MW Saloons commonly referred to as Spaceships. .The photograph was taken at Malmesbury. . MW #2504 is seen on the #470 route to Stroud and Gloucester. ...Ive searched quite extensively but Ive been unable to find any pictures of an MW Saloon on the #563 route. . I have one of an RE, but Ill keep that until tomorrow! ... By the way, MW stands for middle weight. . I guess that didnt include the bloody steering! .. RE stands for rear engine. I remember two of them catching fire at Cheltenham in the RE! ..but thats another story! . .... .. Enjoy your Saturday! ..... Photograph: RF Mack
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 10:08:57 +0000
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