August Bank Holiday Monday. Nice day, plenty of people about, sunny and warm, beaches crowded, roads fairly empty, a 10 hour shift but I need the money. Only a couple of incidents to report. Actually the first happened last night while I was safe at home in front of the computer. One driver wasn't quiet so lucky though. He stopped in Newton Abbot and a female boarded the bus. A female who didn't want to pay for her bus ride. The driver asked her to either pay or leave the bus. The female did neither. She went upstairs and spread nail varnish and newspapers on the seats and set fire to them. Please don't try this at home. The police arrived and used a fire extinguisher to put the fire out and used tact and handcuffs to arrest the female suspect. The bus was then checked over by the fire department and driven back to the depot where up to 13 seats were found to be damaged. No photos, sorry. The bus is locked away.

The second incident happened in front of my very eyes, well 20 yards away. I was checking the times of the Plymouth bus for a passenger when I noticed an other female, this one was accompanied by an 18 month old toddler who needed a pee. Now there are no toilets on Paignton Bus Station. There are those who say there should be, but there aren't. Anyway female and toddler were standing facing the wall and this growing puddle of pee was running down the pavement. The open door you can see is the entrance to the staff canteen. When they had gone I walked up to the office to get a watering can to swill the area down. We keep a couple there in case a bus radiator needs filling. The controller said he couldn't let me have the watering can as I wasn't 'Type Trained' on it. Before a driver goes out on a bus of a type he hasn't driven before he has to have 3 hours training on the bus so he is familiar with the bus, the length, width and where all the switches are. But type training on a watering can? Not quiet. If you fill a bus up in the morning in the yard the engines are cold and the radiator caps can be removed safely. No type training required there. If the bus has been driven for several hours the water is hot and under pressure and it can be dangerous if the cap is removed incorrectly. We now all have to be taught how to remove the cap safely. Isn't Health and Safety wonderful. Three hours type training equals three hours pay. Just to learn how to do something I have been doing for 45 years without a mishap.