Medical Time Again

I was in Teignmouth this morning taking my annual bus driver's medical. The appointment was for 11:15 at the West Bay Medical Centre with Dr Rosalind Cooling. It's the second year running I have been here for my medical and long may I continue to go there. Dr Cooling is quite a few years older than me and is a most remarkable woman. And she likes to talk. She now only does D4 medicals and only charges £45 and the whole experience, unlike most medical examinations, was a pleasure.

Once the medical was finished I went for a walk around town. I had 50 minutes before the next number 11 bus came along. Here are two of the photos I took.

1st of December and there were no pleasure boats out at sea, just this small dredger all on it's own. Then back in town there was this big lorry trying to unload outside WHSmiths. There is a loading bay but some idiot who thinks a blue badge means he can park anywhere was occupying the bay. Teignmouth came to a stop for a while.

Just in case you didn't know, even disabled drivers can't park in a loading bay. Not unless they are driving a commercial vehicle and loading or unloading. That's why they are called loading bays.

Teignmouth, three times in one day.

A couple of photos taken in Teignmouth today. The bus was the one I used on my first trip up there. I have to admit it was easier driving this small bus along the not exactly wide road between Torquay and Teignmouth but it has a limited carrying capacity. Fortunately we are not fully into the summer season yet so I managed OK. The destination blind could be a bit more informative. A holiday maker in Teignmouth is unlikely to know where Roselands is but might like to know that the bus is going to Torquay. I know they could ask but some tourists are reluctant to ask bus drivers questions due to the reaction they get back home. Down here we do try to be helpful but I have been told by visitors from some places that asking a bus driver a question is about a safe as burning the garden rubbish using an ex army flame thrower. We are due to get some larger buses on loan, usual practice in the summer so these Mercs should not be making too many more trips up the coast.

One item I heard on the bus radio today was about carer passes. We used to allow travel around Torbay to a person travelling with a disabled traveller but this concession is not included in the Government funding so Torbay reluctantly withdrew this facility. Some, richer, local authorities do fund carer passes but only in their own area. So down here the carer has to pay. An other driver had a little difficulty getting this message across to the holder of a carers pass from an other town and the driver had to delay the bus while she used the radio to contact control and asked them to confirm the situation. When you get your first mobile phone most people read the instruction book carefully, when you move on to your tenth mobile phone the instruction book gets thrown in a draw with hardly a look. Concessionary Passes are new, it's your first one, at least glance in the direction of the rules. Also I have been surprised over the last few weeks how many visitors have got on the bus and said they have a pass but left it at home because they didn't know they could use it in Torbay. A costly mistake but one that leaves more money in the pot for those who do bring their passes with them. A resident of Teignmouth who couldn't care less about buses or bus passes. All he cares about is flying and will the visitors feed him?

Teignmouth

Tuesday I ran around as a 12A/12C all day and made the trip up to Teignmouth (Pronounced Tinmouth) once. It is a fairly narrow, bendy, tree lined country lane, the road between Teignmouth and Torquay which most drivers treat with some respect. Some Boy, and Girl Racers, however do tend to think because it is tree lined, it is an off road section of the RAC UK Rally and consider it an insult to their manhood/womanhood if the 6 miles takes more than 6 minutes. It can be a bit hairy on some of the bends, which being tree lined and therefore difficult to see round are best taken at about 10 mph in a 34 foot long bus.



Wednesday was all 12s. Down to Brixham back to Newton, down to Brixham, back to Newton etc,etc boring really after Teignmouth but I like boring, it's good for me.

Then today, Thursday, (pay day) an other trip up to Teignmouth. The motorists on that road must love us. On the way back from Teignmouth I had to wait time for two minutes at Sheldon Bridge. Due off at 18:45. As the clock ticked over to 45 I looked in the mirror, several cars coming so I waited until the road over the bridge was clear of any traffic before pulling out. It is a long slog uphill out of Sheldon followed by narrow, tree lined bendy bits. It takes 8 minutes to get to Maidencombe and when I looked in the mirror there was a seriously large number of cars behind me. Maybe the drivers didn't know the way to Torquay and were just following me.

OK, so the picture is of Teignmouth pier and nothing to do with narrow, tree lined, bendy country lanes but I was too busy holding onto the big round thing to take any photos of the road. One day I will take ride up to Teignmouth and get some from the front seat upstairs.