From Our Man On The Spot

PLASE NOTE

This weekend brings our monthly Fellowship meetings on Sunday and Monday. Either there are a lot more months in the year due to the ravages of inflation OR months are a lot shorter, mirroring the reduction in sizr of  chocolate bars! Either way, months appear with alarming rapidity.

To add to the fun (?), after disposing of the Scottish mega cold, just over a week ago the East Devon germs stepped in to fill the gap. The snoitery snuffles, dry cough and general lethyrgy are back in place but slightly less debilitating than the Caledonian version!

But we  soldier on, dutifully!

The consequence is that Monday’s and Tuesday’s blogs may be significantly curtailed if the energy needle drops rapidly into the sector painted red.

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Daventry Changes – First Working Day

First journey   0958, Service D4, Long Buckby railway station to Daventry Bus Station.

Thus is the infrequent service further reduced as part of the “improved” timetable.

The stop for buses towards Daventry still has the now out of date timetable. 

The only persons available to help passengers at the bus station were the bus drivers.

The D1 to and from Rugby went straight back there … 

And a past example of Stagecoach’s strict adherence to the correct brand!

xx05 depart Northampton as a D3

xx11 arrive Daventry (past the next hour.)

xx15 depart Daventry as a D5 (town service)

xx38 arrive Daventry

xx42 depart Daventry as a D6 (town service)

xx17 arrive Daventry (past the next hour)

xx22 depart Daventry as a D2

xx01 arrive Northampton (past the next hour)

xx07 depart Northampton as a D2

xx47 arrive Daventry

xx52 depart Daventry as a D3

xx59 arrive Northampton (past the next hour)

And the fun and folic continues!

I calculate that five buses are needed for a five-hour circuit. No route branded identical vehicles are used this time. 

He continues:-

Vehicle allocation is the “it has a wheel at each corner, send it out” system so we have two Enviro 300 single decks, two gold branded double decks and an 04 registered Trident double deck 18408.

While Gold liveried bus 15845 (originally branded for Gloucester route 10) …

Not very shiny or new Trident 18408 …

Observations at Daventry confirm that they might have something to complain about. Any delay on that complicated five-hour circuit is going to delay every other journey.

Alan’s conclusions are pobyably to be expected and are similar to fbb’s. The difference is that Alan is there shiyveing on Daventry bus station seeing it all for real. fbb is sat a his desk/dining table/modellers bench/model paint shop in consideryablr comfort looking from afar.

Overall verdict for Stagecoach and West Northants Council – on how the change to service patterns was managed on Monday – 6 out of 10, must do much better. 

As a model of indifference to passengers, preventing passenger numbers returning to pre-covid levels and discouraging people from using the bus it was perfect.

fbb reckons 6 out of 10 is overly generous!

Storm Ciaran Seaton Consequences 

Wednesday Night – VERY wndy! – heavy rain lashing against the front of fbb mansions.

Thursday Morning – the road outside fbb mansions is only just above high tide level, hence three steps up to the front door! So at 0820 yesterday winds and the tide overtopped the sea wall just up the road from the fbb residnce.

The surplus then ran down the slightly sloping Trevelyan Road and began to threaten properties including fbb mansions. Once high tide had passed however, the encouraging fluid ceased to encroach and by 0930, the road was clear of  H2O. It never got higher than kerb and pavement level.

Phew!

 Next Variety blog : Saturday 4th November