This is a First

There was an advert on TV not so long ago which showed two African gents in a hotel in New York who notice it it snowing and they go out side and experience snow for the first time. The Ad goes on to suggest that we should all do something for the first time each day. I can not remember what the ad was selling, but there you go.

Any way I had a 'first time' incident yesterday. I have never had someone try and bring a motor cycle on the bus before. True it was a mini motor bike, about one foot high and two feet long but still a motor bike complete with 50cc engine and more to the point a fuel tank. The would be passenger was most upset when I refused to allow him and his bike on the bus. So upset that he would not take my word for the fact that such an item could not travel on public transport.

There are two grounds for refusing him and the bike; one is we allow normal hand luggage on the bus. This lets holiday makers on with suit cases and shoppers on with a few plastic bags of shopping but not mini motor bikes. Also we can, no, must refuse anything that could be considered dangerous material. Now this bike was not brand new. At some stage in it's life it had had petrol in the tank. This ment that it would still have a small amount of petrol and more to to point, petrol vapour in it's tank. It is this vapour that is dangerous. I once worked in a garage years ago in my teens and was given the task of making safe a petrol tank. The boss said run some water through the tank. How long for I asked. Several hours, I was told. If you don't believe me when I tell you how dangerous petrol vapour can be then go and buy a 2 litre bottle of milk, drink the milk and tip half a cup full of petrol in to the empty carton. Next shake it about for a minute, take it on a bus and then drop a lighted match inside. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! I am only kidding. Do not even think of trying this at home. Don't try this at Home, on the bus, in the back garden, anywhere at all unless you have worked as a bomb disposal officer and the carton with the petrol is behind a very thick brick wall and you are 50 yards away. Make that 100 yards away. Not unless you are called Tony Blair and your job description is Prime Minister and you have just decided to go on for the next twenty years.

Any way I had to get onto control and get them to confirm my decision re no way was the passenger bring this bike on the bus even though he assured me that Alltheother Drivers let him. (I, like most bus drivers hate this bus driver with the odd name of Alltheother. He keeps telling passerngers the wrong thing, lets them ride for free, drink beer and smoke on the bus and eat burgers and fish and chips while swearing at the top of their voice and play rap music on their getto blasters). Control finally told me that the bike could not travel on the bus adding that I should have known this. Well yes Mr. Contoller, I did know this. I just needed you to confirm the fact that motor bikes don't travel by bus so the passenger would believe me. Well he did in the end and set of walking in the direction of Paignton. Why didn't he ride the bike you may ask? Mini motor bikes can only be riden on private land and if the police catch you riding on a public road they take it off you and drop it in the local crusher.