Bus Driving around Cirencester

I had another bus driving lesson today, my third so far, this time in the biggest vehicle in the fleet, a Scania N113CRB (about 38 foot long).

After arriving at Cotswold Green HQ, I set off on an observation exercise with Mike, to do a school run. After putting on my new official Cotswold Green uniform polo shirt, we went and picked up the students from the school in Stroud, and went on a route through Minchinhampton and out to Tetbury, with Mike teaching me tips about driving on a school run. As soon as the last students left the bus, we stuck the "L" plates on, and set off again with me behind the wheel.

This bus was very different to the Dennis Darts I had driven on my previous lessons, it was longer, and much more powerful. We went into Cirencester and around the very narrow and winding one way system, and as I mounted the pavement twice, we went round again - this time I corrected my errors, and Mike almost looked pleased !

When we got to Stroud, we did the traditional trip around the one way system, and I managed to get round the tight corner, for the first time without running over George Holloway's toes !

I drove for about 2 1/2 hours this time, and when we got back to the depot, Mike got me to do a reverse into a gateway, and then get the bus into the right space in the yard. It was just gone 7pm so it was time to get across to Stroud, ready for the weekly St John meeting.

Sidecar Racing, Strawberry Bon-Bons, and a Red Flagged Race

I was out on the course at May Hill on the ambulance today with Helen, so we left HQ first this morning. When we arrived on station, the first bit of good news was that the marshals had brought sweets ! After a few strawberry bon-bons, we had the bad news: racing had been delayed by 30 minutes with a start time of 11.15, due to rain elsewhere on the course.

After ½ hour we had another radio message that racing had been delayed for a further ½ hour due to hailstones on the course! Myself and Helen went down the road to post my postcards (which I had been carrying around in my bag for 2 days) and while we were there we had another message, that racing would now start at 12.45. We also went down to Ramsey Hospital to re-familiarise ourselves with the helicopter landing pad, in case we had to take a casualty there from the track.

At 12.30 the next message came that we would be now starting at 13.45. By this time I had done 3 crosswords and eaten the rest of the sweets, and we were getting a bit fed up with all the delays.

Racing eventually started at 14.00 and the race passed by without incident. We then had ½ hour before the electric bikes came round, so we went into Ramsey and bought an ice cream each- my second ever Manx ice cream!

In the sidecar race, there was a serious incident at Ballacobb, and the race was red flagged, as a sidecar had crashed and caught fire. The driver and passenger were both airlifted to hospital, along with a marshall. This put a dampener on the day, and the race and planned practice were abandoned, so we were stood down.

Day off tomorrow, and we are off in the minibus to visit some places around the island.

Racing, Electric Bikes, and a Veggie Chilli

We all managed to get a bit of a lie in this morning, as the roads were not closing until 11.30, ready for the first race at 12.15. I was stationed at Ballaspur for the day, with Simon (from Merseyside) and Andy (from Kent), so we got a lift in the back of the Ballacraine ambulance, and walked the last few hundred yards up the track to our post.

The marshall point at Ballaspur is a scaffold tower from the field next to the track, so we had a really good view of the racing as they passed, really fast, only a few feet away from us. The marshals there are very friendly, so we passed the time chatting to them, while we were waiting for the first race to start.
The first race started on time, and less than four minutes later the first of the 600cc bikes came past us. The race passed without incident for us, so after the last Travelling Marshall went through our location, we climbed into the field behind our post, and sat in the sunshine to eat our lunch.

Next up was the sidecar practice laps, and apart from a few bikes getting very close to the boarding, there was nothing notable at our location. Once the sidecars had left the track, we waited to watch a first for the Isle of Man: the first battery powered bikes doing a lap of the mountain circuit. These bikes are powered by big batterys and motors in place of the tank, and they can reach speeds of over 100mph- but quietly ! Because of this, if the bikes are going through a yellow flagged incident, they must sound their horns, to give us some warning that they are coming, and a chance to get out of the way! The electric bikes came through at quite a respectable speed, although a few of them did seem to struggle with the hill, and one of the marshals mentioned that he had seen a sign in a shop in Douglas: “Extension Leads For Sale, 37 ¾ Miles Long” !!

After the electric bikes had completed their lap, the crossing points were opened, and we walked back down to Ballacraine for a break, where we bought Andy (who has a well known fondness for chocolate) a “TT Special”, which was a chocolate muffin, with a mars bar shoved in the top.

We then returned to our station ready for the next race, and at that time the midges decended on us, so we were trying to watch out for bikes, and also avoid getting bitten to death by the midges. The first bikes came found the corner, only a couple of seconds apart, and from then on were really going for it, with several coming close to crashing into the airbags on the way out of the corner. One bike went over so far, his footpeg went into the tarmac, back wheel lifted, and for couple of seconds all of the marshals and medics were sure he was going to come off. Somehow he recovered, and we spent the rest of the race on the edge of our seats !

When we got back to HQ, the Commissioner had cooked us all dinner, as we had had a long day with no chance to get anything from the shop. The veggie chilli was delicious- and very spicy! Racing again tomorrow, and roads close at 10.30, so I will have to leave HQ at about 9 to get up May Hill on time.

On a private plane with a celebrity !

After a morning at work, Liz took me to Staverton airport to catch the plane to the Isle of Man for the TT Races. When I got on the plane I had two surprises: one was how small the plane was- the pilot gave the safety briefing kneeling down! - the second was that I was sitting next to John Sergeant (recently of Strictly Come Dancing fame). He was not very entertaining though, as he spent the whole (45 minute) flight listening to his mp3 player.

The first part of the flight was not too bad, but when we started the descent towards the IOM it became very bumpy, and the landing was very rough!

Geoff picked me up from the airport in the hired minibus, and 1/2 hour later I was at HQ getting into my uniform ready for the evening practice races. I went to the Grandstand and signed on as a marshall, and covered the finish line until roads opened at 21.30- by that time I was freezing cold, as I had forgotten to take my bomber jacket.

Back to HQ for some toast, followed by Jammy Dodgers with a cup of tea, then off to bed now, ready for an early start for race day tomorrow- weather dependent!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling....

Fame at last ! I was on duty at the Cheese Rolling on bank holiday monday, and I was interviewed by a German TV crew for a documentary.

The Cheese Rolling is an annual tradition in Gloucestershire, where a group of mad people run off the side of a hill (cliff) chasing a cheese. First to the bottom wins the cheese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVSJujKLSKk

You can see me at about 1.47 minutes in, as I drive in with the ambulance.

We had a busy day, with 55 casualties, 11 of these needing transport to hospital.