Bus Driving in Malta

Sunday, October 9, 2005
<>by Mr Alfred Brincat, BA (Hons), MMAA, Birkirkara.
It was service with a song on bus no. 45.

The bus driver offered a free disco throughout the journey; he wanted to make sure that even those as deaf as doornails would not miss the entertainment and played the music at the highest volume possible. It was so loud that no one could hear themselves speak and so had to shout to communicate with those sitting shoulder to shoulder with them, so pandemonium ensued.

At times the driver could not hear the bell and only stopped after passengers shouted at him to do so. At times there were more than 16 standing passengers, so by the time one fought one's way down the aisle the bus would be half a kilometre away.

Down the winding Mellieha hill, an elderly lady rang the bell and the driver stopped within metres. The lady told him that the bus stop was further along but he told her rudely that she had to alight there. Funnily enough, the driver stopped at the next bus stop anyway, even though no one wanted to get off.


Must have been trained by First Bus_
__________________________________________ This article may also be viewed at http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=201716

Funny story from Wales

I came across this story in A Policeman's Blog and though I would like to share it with you.

Drunken prank led to armed siege
Oct 2 2005
Nathan Bevan, Wales on Sunday

IT SOUNDS like a storyline from an episode of Shameless.
In a series of mishaps which TV's mad Mancunian Frank Gallagher would be proud of, what started out as fun in an all-day drinking 'bender' on a deprived council estate ended in a 12-hour armed siege and someone shot in the groin by a rubber bullet.
This week 39-year-old Dominic Peck, from North Walk in Barry, was beginning a two-year prison sentence after admitting false imprisonment and making threats to kill. He also faces the prospect of having his injured left testicle removed.
Story continues

But last night mum-of-two Amanda Lacey, the woman he was said to have held captive at gunpoint during the tense stand-off, told Wales On Sunday the whole thing was just a drunken prank gone horribly wrong.
"I'd split from my boyfriend at the time and was sleeping on people's settees," said Amanda, whose friend introduced her to the 6ft 4in on-off labourer, who offered her a place to crash.
Having been there for three days, Amanda, now living in nearby Woodstock Close, said that she'd started that Sunday morning with a trip to the shops for drinks.
"I offered to go for Dom because he couldn't be seen because there was a restraining order on him from entering Barry, but his flat is here so what was he supposed to do?" she said.
"We had about nine litres of cider and there was a bottle of sherry left over from the night before.
"So we just sat there drinking and watching the telly."
Then at 11am there was loud knocking at the door of Peck's three-bed, second floor flat.
"Me, Dom and another bloke were sitting watching a dating programme on the box when we heard this banging.
"It was the police shouting, 'C'mon Dom, open up we know you're in there'. I think they'd come because he'd breached the order.
"At which point he turned to me and winked before shouting back, 'F**k off, I've got a gun and a hostage'.
"But he was only joking - we were all hammered to be honest."
As all went quiet the trio thought the officers had gone, until Amanda got up to look out of the window.
"I peeked out and saw they'd cordoned off the street and there were armed officers in all the neighbours' gardens with their guns pointing at the window.
"At that point the other guy with us panicked, jumped out the window and did a runner.
"What we didn't know was that he had the keys on him and the front door was deadlocked - we were locked in."
During Peck's trial at Cardiff Crown Court, the jury heard how he had yelled to police that he had an arsenal of weapons in his flat and was holding a knife to Amanda's throat.
"Apparently, he said he had a Glock 9mm pistol and a shotgun, but I can't remember him saying that," she said.
"As for the knife, he may have had one from the kitchen but he never threatened me with it. He was a big bloke who could look intimidating but he was a friendly giant really."
Then at 6pm, having been drinking all day, a worse-for-wear Amanda stood up at the window.
"I looked down and there were all these little red dots floating around on my chest - it was the laser sights from the police guns.
"I was really scared and when Dom saw that he really lost his rag - but we were both really drunk by then.
"He threw a big axe that he'd bought - I think he'd got it to chop down some trees - through the window pane. Glass went everywhere."
Amanda added that she could remember the police desperately calling up to her.
"They wanted me to jump to safety. I said, 'That's two floors down, you must be joking!'."
She said that she phoned 999 on her mobile to explain to police that she wasn't being taken hostage, she was just locked in.
"I didn't have much talk time and got the police to ring me back," she said, "but before I could say I wasn't in any danger my battery ran out."
Things reached crisis point just before midnight when a smoke canister came flying in through the window.
"Dom pulled me by the arm into another room but then the door was kicked in and about 10 officers in riot gear with shields came storming in," said Amanda.
"They pushed me into one room and Dom into the bedroom.
"I heard a bang and screaming.
"Dom had been shot by a rubber bullet the size of a baked bean tin."
Now, eight months on, his council flat taken from him, a jailed Peck waits for an operation to remove his injured testicle.
"He's written to me and phoned me a couple of times," said Amanda.
"He's not very happy at all about what's happened to him."
And to show there are no hard feelings on her behalf, Amanda is willing to offer Peck a place to stay when he gets out of jail.
"Yeah, I'd put him up on my sofa any day," she said.

Elected Mayor for Torbay

Here are some links to web sites of some of the candidates for Mayor of Torbay.
Remember the person to vote for is the person fittest for the job; i.e. Boss of Torbay Council.

Robert Crawford
http://217.35.100.161/rcc/

Julien Parrott
http://www.julien4torbaymayor.webeden.co.uk/

Ian Oxley
http://www.ian-oxley.co.uk/

Bye
http://www.byeforthebay.org.uk/index.html

Susie Colley
http://www.susiecolley4mayor.co.uk/index.htm

Information on other candidates (those without web sites) can be found here

On Holiday

I am on holiday at the moment, just for a week, so far I have done almost nothing and if past experiences are any thing to go by when the week ends I will still have done almost nothing. During the summer I was walking down Union Street and overheard a brief moment of a conversation. It went like this, him, to her, "All we do on holiday is walk round the bloody shops." That all I heard. Now my idea of a holiday is that it is a rest from work but some people seem to think that a holiday is wasted if every minute isn't spent doing some thing. Looking at the Pyramids, climbing Ayres Rock, looking at every picture in the Louve, white water rafting down the Grand Canyon and in the case of the couple I overheard, and many like them looking in shop windows in Union Street. Don't they have shops in Rotherham?














I've heard of the work ethic and that's fine for work. But not on holiday.

Changes to the 12/12A

A note has gone up on the buses to the effect that the company has listerned to feed back from passengers who have not been totally 100% behind the 12A service and that changes will be made to the timetable from Oct 16th in the hope of improving the service.

Hopefully these changes will be radical, along the following lines:-
1) A 12 leaves Newton for Brixham every 20 mins
2) A 12A leaves Newton for Torquay, Paignton, South Devon College and Brixham every 20 mins, 10 mins after the 12.
This will give all passengers who board in Newton a 10 minute service all the way to Torquay and Paignton. Those few going beyond Paignton will only have a 20 min service, they will have to read the timetable and remember their bus departure times to save themselves a 19 min wait.
3) A12 leaves Brixham every 10 mins, one going to all the way to Newton and the next bus going only as far as Torquay.
This will restore the 10 min service out of Brixham for almost every one catching a 12. Those people traveling from Brixham beyond Torquay will need to check time tables to avoid 19 min waits. Those traveling between Paignton and Newton will have a 10 min service as they can catch either a 12 or 12A.
4) A 12A to leave Brixham for SDC, Paignton, Torquay and Newton every 20 mins.

This is not a prefect solution but it would restore the former 10 min service for almost all of our passengers and it would still provide a direct bus route to the college.

Even better if the number 3 was restored to serve Roseland and the 12A went from Paignton to the college along the direct route via the ring road.

I live in hope; also know as Cloudcuckoo Land.