Bus Depot

I have been around this area alot this summer.  It is an area that is part of my childhood.  My most precious Auntie Sheila was a 'clicky' and one of the first female bus drivers when they did away with the conductor.

Auntie Sheila would often look after my sister and I when she was on standby.  Standby was when you sat with other drivers waiting for someone not to turn up for work.  Otherwise it seemed you sat, chatted, played poker or pontoon, where invariably Sheila won, and bought items which other drivers were selling.  I remember it was where Auntie Sheila got a supply of L.P.s.  The Top of the Pops albums were my favourite.  The raunchy picture on the front of some semiclad woman showing a slither of breast always made me blush.  The drivers seemed to appreciate it though.

What a wonderous place it was to stroll into as a child, the buses, the smell of oil and fuel, the ticket rolls and brushed silver machines.  The canteen full of hot tea, bacon and pies.  Health and Safety take the fun out of everything these days.