The Return

Well, the time has come. I return to Bath on Sunday, the notices have gone up explaining to customers that the Park & Ride contract has transferred to another operator. They will now have a less frequent service which starts later and finishes earlier, and all this for an increase in fares. Still I have thoroughly enjoyed my few months at Hengrove and have been made to feel part of the team. So from Sunday I am back to having to work for my living!

Using a Bus

Most days I get comments from passengers saying a bus did not stop where they were waiting. I always ask 'did you signal/put your hand out?' the reply is often 'we don't need to do that the bus should stop if someone is at the stop' I remind them that at some stops more than 15 services use the stop!! Anyway came across this on the company web site.

Travelling by bus throughout the country, this simple step-by-step guide will help make your journey as easy as possible. If you have any questions please contact us.

Plan your journey - To plan your journey, simply go to journey planning section. Find the service number you need and the timetable for your bus will be worked out for you. You can then print this for the service or just the stops you need.

Choose a ticket - We offer a range of tickets to suit different types of trips, whether you are travelling every day or just once a month. Details are available in our Tickets section. Day and lower value tickets can be bought on the bus from the driver. Season tickets are best purchased before you travel and are available at local outlets or you can buy online - (Opens in a new window).

Locate the correct bus stop - Bus service numbers are generally displayed on bus stop signs or on the timetable panel. Services can be displayed together, so check the sign for your service number. Each bus stop has a code, by texting this code to 84268 you will receive details on the next buses due at the stop. Or find your bus stop at www.traveline.org.uk - (Opens in a new window).

Catching your bus

Signal the bus to stop - As the bus approaches, check the route number and destination displayed on the front of the bus. Raise your arm as a signal to the driver that you want the bus to stop.

Buying your ticket - If you are unsure which ticket you need, just ask the driver who will be happy to advise you which ticket is best for your journey. Having the correct fare available will help reduce delays when getting on the bus.

When you want to get off - Simply press the bell once, as you approach the stop where you want to get off, stay seated until the bus stops. If you are unsure where your bus stops ask the driver for help when you get on the bus.

Easy access, comfort & safety

To make it easier for you to get on and off, most buses can lower their suspension. Special seating areas are available on many of our buses for passengers who are disabled, elderly or using a buggy. Please bear in mind that special seating areas can get full at busy times of the day.

 

Rules

Interesting few days watching the news and also the amount of misinformation that is spread on sites such as Facebook. When reading something that is important I always double check on a couple of other sites to collaborate the story. It has also been interesting hearing peoples views on what caused the disturbances. My own view is that we now have a complete disregard for rules in this country. Rules are seen as being against our human rights, but what about the human rights of the victims.
I have had a couple of interesting conversations on the bus this week regarding rules. A couple of passengers tried to use their bus passes before 0900. I of course informed them that they could not. I received a mouthful of what a stupid thing, half an hour makes no difference etc. They then went on to discuss the behaviour of the rioters and if they had better discipline and obeyed the rules etc etc. So what is the difference between breaking one law or another. Some will say that some crimes are worse than others but they are still crimes. This I feel is where we are all going wrong. We must all respect the law and rules laid down. If we do not like them we must still obey them and then go through parliament to get them changed if necessary. the bible has some good direction on this.

James 2
⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”^] also said, “You shall not murder.”^] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.  ¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³ because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement.

Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

These are only a couple of examples. Perhaps if we all 'went back to basics' as first laid out in the bible and other religious books we would not be in the position we find ourselves in today.

End of New Wine

Well here I am, at home after another very successful New Wine. There were the usual 'niggles' but lessons were learnt, some put into practice straight away, some will have to the wait till next year. However once again, it is thanks to the many people who volunteer, that makes this event run so smoothly. As a Steward team leader it was one again a privilege to watch a group of people, most Christian, but some not, come together and gel as a team. They at times had to put up some unpleasant conditions and some not so Christian comments. But they carried out their duties with a smile and got the job done.
So once again my heartfelt thanks goes out to all those people who acted as Stewards this year. I hope you take away something from your experiences and that I will have the honour to meet you again.

Workers Celebration

Nearly at the end of New Wine 2011 and I feeling a little sad. Today was the workers celebration which as the name suggest is a celebration which only team members are able to attend. There is a friendly competition to see who is the loudest team. The kids teams win this one as they have the most members. Anyway the event is a chance for the team to worship together and for New Wine to recognise the work all the teams do. It did bring a lump to my throat to see my team all together in worship. Late's tonight so finish at midnight when we close Blue gate.

Parking

Day off today, but not for us. Job of the day was managing over 10000 people wanting to leave and return to site at the same time! Getting people off was not to much of a problem. Getting them back on was a different matter. There was a plan which worked but the fun started when the brown car park was full. This meant all the cars having to use the blue car park. This is at the far end of the show ground, this is fine if you are on gold or blue villages but is a far hike for those on pink and silver. We do run a 'buggy run' for those that have lots of shopping or have severe mobility problems, however, we now have a seemingly unending list of excuses to why they should be allowed to drive on site. The best one for me was the delegate who said they had broken their ankle some time ago. this of course is something I know a little about so I engaged in a discussion. When I said I had also broken mine they seemed to think they were on to a winner, until that is I showed them the scares. I directed them to a suitable parking space. Off now until 10am tomorrow so should have some time to get in to Venue 1.

Second week

Yesterday was the first day of week two at New Wine. This week there are several thousand more delegates than last week. This obviously led to the gates being more busy than last week. However, we have more stewards this week so the task of getting nearly 12000 people onto site went fairly smoothly. The team this week has more over 25's than last week so this will make things easier especially when manning gates late at night.  We also have a new shift system which means we have more time off which enables us to attend a morning or evening worship and seminars if we wish. Anyway just sitting in the crew room waiting for the influx of evening visitors so off the Venue 1 car park.