Brrrrrrrr !

About 2 months ago, we spent a small fortune on a new combi boiler for our house, as the old one was not working properly. I mistakenly thought that this would give us several years of warmth and hot water, but no - that was far too optimistic, as today it decided to stop working.

We are now sat here in the cold, so hopefully the engineer will be able to sort it out tomorrow !

A Confession !

My name is Jim, and I am a gambling addict.....

.....but only on the 2p machines in the arcade at Dawlish Warren !

We have spent the last week there on a family holiday (in Dawlish Warren, not actually in the arcade!), and although Robbie was ill, and there was not a lot to do, and some of the people were very strange, we still managed to have a good time!

We went for a walk on the beach, played crazy golf, had a day in Exeter taking some pictures of buses (me and Rob), and played games and watched "Family Guy" dvds in the evenings.

In between doing that, we posted lots of 2p coins into the machine in the arcade which eats most of them, and very occassionally drops some 2p coins out. We did eventually end up with over 1000 token points, which we exchanged for some toys for the kids, and some other crap we didn't really need.

I will definately go to Dawlish again, hopefully when I am about 85, and I can sit on the seafront with my tartan blanket over my knees, complaining about the weather to anyone passing by!

Stroud Half Marathon, Hockey, and a Wasted Journey

After waving goodbye to Liz and the 3 children, who are off on holiday (I am joining them tomorrow), I continue with preparations for the Stroud Half Marathon, which is taking place tomorrow. I am not running in it (obviously !) and for the first time in living memory I am not the Duty Officer for St John Ambulance - this "honour" falls to Dan, who is taking on his second "big duty".

I set off down to HQ to meet Michael and Dave, to sort out the bikes, and pick up the response car. Michael had beaten me down there, and had already got both bikes out, and was going through the kit, so I start sorting out the response car, including replacing the defibrillator (the "Stand clear- Shocking" machine), which was complaining of low battery. Time for coffee and a cigarette next, while I have a chat with Coral, who has arrived to pick up an ambulance for a PTS job (Patient Transport Service) in Dursley.

Everything sorted here, so I head for home, via my parents house, where I pop in for a coffee and a chat, then off to St Peters School, to play hockey against a team from Stroud. As I get out of the car, the rain stops, and it loooks like we are going to be lucky with the weather.

We comfortably win the game 4 -0, and after a cheese salad baguette for tea, I head for home, planning to start the task of looking for my camera bits and pieces to take away with me tomorrow, but this is thrown into disarray by a phone call asking me to return the response car, as it is needed this evening. After a bit of internal swearing about piss - ups and brewerys, I headed back to HQ to drop it off, but what do I see when I arrive there, the crew member driving out through the gates in an ambulance. "Don't worry about the car Jim, I will go out in this" he said, and disapeared down the road. Cue a bit more swearing about having wasted half an hour returning a car that did not need returning.

Back home for some well earned rest- clocks go back tonight, which should cause some confusion tomorrow!

Now where is the camera tripod......

Heritage buses on normal services.

On Saturday 12th September, Stagecoach West celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Cheltenham District Traction Company, and the launch of "Stagecoach Gold"- 12 new luxury buses running on the 94 route between Gloucester and Cheltenham.

After finding out about this event by chance at lunchtime on the Saturday, we decided to walk into Gloucester town centre, to view the new buses, and also the vintage buses which were running alternate services on the 94, and the whole service for the day on routes 97 and 98.

I made sure I had plenty of battery life left in my camera, and some money for coffee (and ice cream /milkshakes /crisps, as we were taking the kids !), and we set off for town. We saw the first vintage bus as we got to London Road - 969 EHW, a Bristol Lodekka, and I diced with death by standing on a traffic island to get a few shots as it drove past!

Thirty seconds later, we saw the first of the new Stagecoach Gold buses- VX09 NBK coming up the hill. The 12 new buses are all Scania Enviro 400s, with the main selling points being: full height hand-stitched Italian leather seats, helpful uniformed drivers, and a greener engine to save the planet! (the seats do look very comfortable though).

When we arrived at the bus station, Liz, Lucy and Michael went off to the shops, and myself and Joseph found a good vantage point near the entrance, with a few fellow photographers. Within minutes, we had seen another "Gold" bus, a Bristol RE, and a Bristol VR.

We spent the next two hours taking photos of the various buses in and around the bus station, apart from the time spent queuing for a coffee and a milkshake in the bus station cafe, and when the others joined us, we decided to catch the 97 home.

We got onto the Bristol RELL (KHW 306E) and for the first time in my life, had to pay a conductor rather than the driver! Joseph was particularly interested in the vintage ticket machine with winding handle, and has kept the ticket for his scrapbook. After witnessing a brief argument between two Stagecoach drivers about who should drive; possession being nine tenths of the law, the chap in the driving seat won and we were off towards Longlevens.

I'm not sure that Stagecoach did enough publicity about the vintage buses running on normal services with the launch of Stagecoach Gold, as on the way back I overheard one elderly lady telling her friend that this bus looked older than the normal buses, "and it's not even painted gold" !

Frampton Country Fair

On Sunday, Stroud Division covered the annual Country Fair at Frampton on Severn.

There were 9 of us on duty, as well as Severnside Cadet Division, who were doing a PR and recruitment stand.

We arrived on site at 8am, and proceeded to erect the tent, in the same place as in previous years. We had just finished putting it up, when one of the organisers came running across the field to tell us we were in the wrong place. I went and assessed the access and egress routes, while the rest of the team moved the tent !

As I was going to be crewing the ambulance, Dan was going to be Duty Officer for the first time, so I stood back and let him organise the setting up of the first aid post, and deliver the pre-duty briefing. We had some response teams out and about in the crowd, but the ambulance crew were based at the first aid post, so I made myself comfy in a chair, with a good view of the main ring.

During the morning, we had some casualties turn up to the first aid post, all for minor injuries - blisters, small cuts, and a twisted ankle, and they were dealt with by the team. We then had an emergency call from the ambulance service, asking us to attend a 999 call in the nearby village. Myself and Dave got into the ambulance, and made our way (very slowly) through the crowd and out onto the main road. We arrived at the incident in 4 minutes, and then dealt with the football player who had injured her leg. An ambulance service paramedic turned up not long after us, shortly followed by another ambulance, so we all worked together to move her from the ground into the ambulance.

We returned to site, and the rest of the day was fairly uneventful, although one of our response teams did witness a fight, where a group of drunken youths were trying to drive away on some mobility scooters from one of the trade stands !

At 6pm we packed up, and somehow avoided all of the traffic queues that had been around the site all day, and managed to get back to Stroud in only 10 minutes - unlike the poor people stuck in the car parks, who took 1 1/2 hours to get to the road !

PCV Test

After a few months of bus lessons with Mike from Cotswold Green, the time had come for my 1 1/2 days of "official" training, followed by the test on the second afternoon.

I arrived at the training centre near Stroud at 8am and met my instructor, Will, who explained that unfortunately the coach was in Cirencester, so we had to drive over there to start with. We got there and found the coach we would be using, and found the next problem: no "L" plates ! A quick trip to the local garage sorted that out, and eventually we were ready to go.

Will explained the controls particular to this coach, and we set off towards Gloucester, where the majority of the training would take place. The lessons spent with Mike paid off, as I was fairly confident with using the gears, and also with the size of the vehicle, and we headed through Cirencester and out onto the A419 to Gloucester.

When we arrived in Gloucester, we started going round areas likely to be travelled on the test, with Will telling me how specific things had to be done in order to win the approval of the examiner. After about 2 1/2 hours, we stopped at a food wagon, and had a cup of tea and a break from driving, then it was off back to the training centre at Stroud, for maneuvering practice in the yard.

After reversing the coach around the yard between cones, and stopping in a small yellow box several times, we were back out for more normal road training around Gloucester. At the end of the day, we went back to Cirencester to drop the coach off, and then I went back to the Cotswold Green yard, but I was too tired to do any shunting, so I went home !

The next day started well, with a good drive from Cirencester to Gloucester, and then off around some more test routes. we then went back for more maneuvering practice, and a few tries at emergency stops. After lunch we headed over to the test centre, and as we got closer, I got more and more nervous! We met up with Mike at the centre, as he was very keen to see what happened at the final hurdle !

The examiner kept me waiting for about 5 minutes, but I thought it prudent not to complain ! When he arrived we went out to the coach and he explained how the test would go. First up was the "S" shaped reverse into a marked bay, which went fine until I drove into a shadow and lost sight of my marker on the wheel arch - luckily I managed to lean out the window and regain my bearings, and completed the task successfully.

Next up was the emergency stop, where I had to accelerate up to 20mph and then stop in one coach length. This went without incident and we then went out onto the road where we ended up behind several Gypsy caravans being pulled by horses. This held us up for about 10 minutes, but once we had got round them, the rest of the tent went very well, and I was incredibly relieved when we got back to the centre and the examiner told me that I had passed !

Mike and Will came over to join me, and after a quick chat with the examiner, the "L" plates were removed from the coach, and I drove back to Cirencester, with my two trainers as my first passengers I had carried as a qualified driver !

Back to the Cotswold Green depot then, to pass on the good news to Rob and the others. After a coffee and a chat, I headed for home, where my lovely wife had baked me a celebratory cake !

School Bus !

From Monday to Wednesday this week, one of the Cotswold Green buses has been turned into a classroom for nine employees to study towards an NVQ. This is all to do with the Government insisting that all bus drivers (as well as taxi, lorry and coach drivers) have to now hold a CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence).

The first day got off to a bad start, as the training company had made a mistake and did not turn up at the depot! After a few cups of coffee and several phone calls, the training was abandoned, so we went home early, with instructions to be back at 9 in the morning.

We reconvened the next morning, and straight away found the next stumbling block: the internet was not working, so some of the essential testing material could not be downloaded. Luckily I had my mobile internet dongle in my car, so we managed to get online, and I earned myself the promise of a cake!

Then came the paperwork ! Form after form after form to fill in, sign, initial, read, and file into the portfolio, and this was just the induction for the NVQ. For the rest of the afternoon, and the following day we talked about customer service and diversity, and took it in turns to take an online exam, which was one of the modules towards the CPC.

All of us passed our exams, so Rob was pleased with the progress made. I have another appointment to see the NVQ assessor on Monday, when I have to take along my homework- a copy of my CV, and a learner statement about when I have provided good customer service.

This evening I have been left in charge of the children, as Liz has gone on a girls night out to watch the new Harry Pottter film, so I have taken the opportunity to work on some more fare charts for the new Cotswold Green website which will be launched in August.