Rain

Today we were promised heavy rain and 40 mph winds. The wind never turned up but the rain did, a constant steady drizzle. Now any bus driver in any sea side town in summer will tell you what happens when it rains. Some holiday maker wakes up and sees the rain and knows it is here for the day and has a bright, original idea. "I know, we'll go for a drive round." it only takes one but the idea spreads faster than the Black Death round medieval England and two thirds of all holiday makers are in their cars faster than you can say,"Ring a ring a roses." and every road for miles around is full of cars driving round at 2 miles per hour with the occupants showing the classic symptoms; he, dad gripping the steering wheel shouting at the kids and thinking "I'm driving. I'm in charge." She, mum,thinking "Next year Florida, and I don't care where this lot go." Them, the Kids, bored out of their tiny minds making rude gestures at passing motorist and breaking wind just for the fun of it and wishing they had stayed at home with all their mates. So now every bus is doing 2 miles per hour and running half an hour late.

Look holiday makers, you are on holiday, it's supposed to be a relaxing time. You can sit in a traffic jam at home. Please come up with a better idea like stay in bed all day curled up with a good book or the wife or someone else's wife or a can of beer or a game boy(the Nintendo type). Gone are the days when the landlady threw you all out at half nine with the strict instruction not to come back till five O'clock. Please; our roads can not stand the influx of thousands of cars going no where at 2 mph. You play havoc with the timetables.

A little update from the front line. You may have noticed that the is a little unpleasantness going on between two of the bus companies that operate here in Torbay. Probably you wont have actually, it's all been very low key and conducted in the best possible taste.

For many years now Stagecoach have employed a fare taker to assist bus passengers on the Strand during the summer. He sells tickets and gives out information and so speeds up the movement of passengers on to the buses. FirstBus now appear to have copied this excellent idea and have a fare taker working on their side (not the prime side) of the Strand. She doesn't look overburdened with work I am glad to say.