On the buses!
What a super day! Earlier this week I received a letter of invitation to join the Town Mayor aboard a vintage bus to attend the Potteries Omnibus Preservation Society’s annual rally at Wedgwood Visitor Centre. So, at midday, a lovely old London Transport Routemaster bus appeared in the Market Square and, after photographs were taken, we joined the civic party on the top deck.
After travelling along the A34 and up to Blurton we duly arrived at Wedgwood where we were regally greeted by committee members and photographers. For the next two hours we were escorted around over 100 preserved buses and a collection of vintage cars. And whilst all of that was going on , a continuous fleet of old buses was travelling down to Stone to collect and deliver passengers from Crown Street.
These old buses certainly brought back many memories for me. Numerous old PMT buses vied with Crossville, Turners and many other well known local bus company examples. It just makes you realise what a monopoly Firstbus and Arriva now have and how boring it is to see the same livery colours wherever you are in the country.
But the bonus of the trip was that it is obvious that POPS are very anxious to get involved with us in Stone to see what further events or rallies we can arrange with them. I have already sown the seed of an idea for them to ponder - perhaps some event during the Food and Drink Festival in October?
The trip back to Stone was on an open top Leyland. This really caused a stir on the journey with several cars giving us a friendly toot on their horns as they passed!
have your say
