Liverpool: The nice thing about nostalgia

The good thing about nostalgia is that the amount of time lapsing doesn't neccesarily make it better. I see the Eighties and Nineties as even if not a 'Golden Age' it was certainly an interesting and colourful 'Indian Summer' for the bus industry here in the UK. It was full of nice surprises like the former Merseyside PTA buying quantities of former London Titan B15 double-deckers. Liverpool has seen various less than beautiful liveries but that worn on 2354 was perhaps the best.

Lisbon: More bumpy roads

Elderly AEC Regal No.105 wears it's second body and crosses the sort of terrain that shook it's first one to bits. Even the cars don't escape the torments of the cobble-stones and only the tramway provides a kind of smooth ride.

Manchester: A quick bite

One of the things about photographs is that they do lie for when they freeze a busy scene it can make it look rather tranquil and relaxed. I tend to try to tell it how it is and I like to get as much reality as possible into my shots and in this view you can almost hear the braking sounds, the hooting of impatient taxis and the roar of the passing traffic in central Manchester. This one is even more interesting as Bullocks who have been operating coaches since the 1920's a little while ago sold just about all of it's bus services and vehicles to Stagecoach including this 'cut-and-fold- look' Dennis trident bodied by East Lancs.

Ah those wonderful light evenings!

Yes the clocks will soon be going forwards an hour and we can look forwards to light nights when sometimes it's 22.30 before it goes dark. One evening I was sent to Blackburn with some trays of components that needed to be returned in a hurry so I had to wait for them. On this occasion it was a pleasure as the soft sun was still stong enough to take some great photos of buses in the town's bus station. The livery on Powercraft's Plaxton bodied Leopard made me think it had come for Rennie of Dunfermaline but that was not the case.

Making the best of a bad job

It's not easy taking pictures in deep shade and against bright sunlight but I stopped in Liverpool especially to get one of this former Southport Leyland PD2 trainer still in it's old red and cream colours in the Merseyside PTA fleet.

Queen Mary with H & M Coaches

Southdown's Queen Mary Leyland PD3's were popular second-hand additions and one found it's way to H & M Coaches of Chasetown near Burntwood.

Copenhagen-Lund-Malmo

The journey from Copenhagen to Malmo used to involve a short sea crossing with the buses but today as it is bridged it is so much quicker and no doubt there are more Swedes than ever visiting Denmark at weekends on cheap booze trips. In the Eighties one of the regulars on the route was this Van-Hool bodied Scania.