Dear overseas based family - I took this today to remind you of home. Rumours of the demise of the traditional London Bus, the 'Routemaster' are slightly exaggerated. Mayor Livingstone kindly allowed a small fleet to remain, to service the heritage route from Trafalgar Square to the Tower of London, which happens to run right past my office. Sometimes I even look up from my computer and wave at the folks on the top deck of a passing number 15. And in a small way I'm doing my little bit for the British tourism industry, after that daft man the other day said he wouldn't let his party of American school kids come to London because of the risk. Remember potential visitors to Britain - No one has ever blown up a Routemaster. You're more at risk of falling off the back steps and under a passing taxi. Have a nice day.
2 comments:
So true! I love those old buses, even though they are wheezy, rattling old wrecks. I think we've all had that experience of running behind and grabbing the pole as it sets off... then realising it's going quite fast and leaping desperately to get on board. The other thing is falling down the stairs when they lurch to a stop. Even little old ladies seem to hang on though.
I read about the school kids from Florida who were advised not to travel to London. Apparently we (the British) then pointed out what a crime-ridden and violent place Florida is! That made me chuckle....
Me too. 'The Times' illustrated their article with a photograph of several Florida storms, with a caption "...but in England, hurricanes hardly ever happen". Eliza Doolittle would have been proud.
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