There was a notice to say that the Open Day at the Abbey Buildings had been postponed as Covid restrictions have not been lifted yet.
In Abbey Close there was an old London bus, parked there for a wedding. Some wedding rules have recently changed. Covid regulations have only allowed up to 30 people for some time. Now the headcount depends on how many people the venue can safely accommodate.
The bus brings back memories of holding on to a handrail on the open platform, waiting to get off. There would be the ding ding of the bell as the conductor let the driver know they could set off. Then the conductor would make the rounds to find the people who had just got on calling ‘Tickets Please’. The conductor would sell you a ticket off a rack and punch it; and if they did not get round to you, on a short ride on a busy day, it meant a free ride whether you wanted it or not.
Fond memories! I remember as a kid seeing how soon you could jump off the bus before it came to a halt without toppling over!
You could also chase the bus as it drew away and hop on.
re above…that is..I used to do that – not my wife Carol!
That bus is parked just where the Church Hall discussed yesterday was!!
The wedding reception rules are a nightmare – apparently they still require all drinking to be done while seated at tables, even if it is out of doors. People planning an informal afternoon/evening event find that very hard to comply with.
Ever the pedant – ‘Tickets please’ was on trains as you had bought one at the booking office; ‘Fares please’ was on the bus as you bought it after you had got on, alternative version for a final check was ‘Any-more-fez-please!’. The bus is a Routemaster, probably the best one ever designed, in 1950, by London Transport and retired ones are all over the world – I saw one in the Falklands. ‘Fares Please’ is the title of at least five books about buses in London and in other cities by the way.