Thursday and Friday

When I came back to work on Tuesday after the New Year I had a very quiet day. Good, thinks me, a few easy days is just what the Doc ordered. Wednesday was a bit busier but still OK. Then on Thursday road works started in Newton. At lunch time I was just working my way through the temp traffic lights when the radio crackled into life and a driver reported an accident at the Arch, half way between Newton and Torquay; just where I was heading. He also said the road was partly block but traffic was getting through slowly. A mile up the road and long enough for the police to have arrived at the scene, and all I could see for a mile in front of me was standing traffic. So, I decided to spread the bad news around and let Paignton Control know that I hadn't moved for 5 mins. Paignton Control were indifferent to my plight. Forty mins later I reported to control that I had reached the scene of the accident but should actually be in Paignton changing drivers. Paignton was still 45 mins drive away. Also the number 12 in front of me had managed to get past the crash site before the police had arrived and had only been delayed about 10 mins. Me, I ended up 50 mins late so there was a big gap in front of me. By the time I got to Paignton I was due to go out on the second half of my shift in 23 mins. But I have to have a 30 min break by law. As there were no spare drivers left by this time I just went out 10 mins late and spent the rest of the shift fending off questions like, "Why are you late?", "Where are all the buses." Which by the time you have answered them you are even later still.



That was Thursday, on Friday I did the same duty and morning went by with no problems, lunch went by with no problems, then early afternoon someone knocked some scaffolding down in Newton Bus Station and the place was closed for an hour while all the poles were moved out of the way and buses were all over the place. Then at one stage I picked up 40 students from South Devon College followed by 40 pupils from Paignton Community College plus 10 others and was heading for the bus station where any other 50 passengers awaited me when this happened. An other of the "I can park anywhere."brigade.

As the controller said when I reported the problem, "That's all we need." I bet he was thinking a little more that that. I know I was. When the driver turned up he did say "Sorry, didn't know buses came down here."

There is a story in the local paper about the scaffolding and how it came to be knocked down. The photo shows the scaffolding and a parked car on the other side of the exit road. The car wasn't there on Friday, it was a van that was parked there. An other contributing factor is the length of time it has taken for the toilet block to be built. I have a photo of the silver birch tree cut down in September and the first photo showing building going on was taken Oct 25. For a building 10 feet by 10 feet by 12 feet high that seems pretty slow. If the Great Wall of China had been built at this speed it would be a mile and a half long and not visible from the next hill never mind from space.

Not a great deal of room here for a double decker.