Brom saw a bus

Well, here's Brom again. And no, I didn't see a bus. I saw lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of buses! It was really exciting, mainly since Mara was sometimes jumping up and down and nearly making me sick (and you can see why: I was in her pocket). 

The reason there were so many buses (or coaches as Mara says) on the road was, because there was a big football match happening in Rotterdam. That is always where the cup final takes place and this year it was between PEC Zwolle (which is where we're staying right now: Zwolle) and FC Groningen, a city in the north of the country. And both teams had about 250 buses coaches filled with supporters going to Rotterdam.

You can see the Duck family behind my ear.

While we had to wait for the first buses coaches to come past, we looked at the river IJssel and all of a sudden we saw Papa and Mama Duck and four little Ducklings. They were trying to cross the river! But the river was flowing very fast and there was a lot of wind. So, when Papa Duck saw a large freighter headed their way, he ushered them all back to shore, where they got some rest. 

Ten minutes later there was another try and they made it! All six of them swam to the other side. We were all really impressed and even applauded!

After we saw the ducks and the buses coaches, we left because we were going to visit a really really good friend of Mara's. But on our way there, we had another little stop and we saw even more buses coaches! This time the FC Groningen supporters, because they didn't want them using the same routes! 

But then we really started driving to the friend and I was allowed to sit in front at the window! I saw a lot of tulips and Mara said that if they are still there tomorrow (Tuesday) she will take a photo of me with some tulips. I would like that very much. I would like it a lot more than all those buses coaches, but don't tell Mara!

When we got to Mara's friend (Pepperfly and Mr Pepperfly and Peppermaggot) it was very nice. They are really nice people who know how to cuddle. Which is very important for a teddy bear I will have you know! We talked and talked about Mara and Gera (that is Mara's sister by the way) and Pepperfly and all sorts of things. We had tea and cake, although I didn't partake. We saw the house and Mara said it was a lot nicer than the first time she saw it. Which was when they hadn't moved in yet and there was a lot of stuff on the floor. 

Now there were all sorts of nice things everywhere. Comfy chairs, soft cats (three) and even a little 'Help' teddy*, who didn't mind his photo taken at all! He was very nice as well and very soft.

We went out to dinner afterwards, which was really great. Although there were some children running around and I got a bit scared. I didn't want to come out of the bag until they were gone. I did check the menu out though with Mara. White wine pineapple with ice cream we chose. Very yum. But, I got very tired and so did Mara and we went home soon afterwards. But it was a great day! 

*Help teddies are given out by the emergency services to children who have been through an accident or a fire or something like that. It gives them something to cling to when there might not be something else to cling to at that moment, like parents or own teddies. 

The slippery slope

Oil and water, speed and obstacles? No chance!

I had forgotten all about it: the slippery course I was due to take on Monday. Fortunately I saw it in time and managed to get on it. 

Working as a busdriver in Norway can be difficult at times. Especially during the winter months, when there may be snow and/or ice. It could get slippery. Of course I have driven in all sorts of weather conditions, but not so much on slippery surfaces. And it's not part of the Dutch curriculum either. Concerning driver's licence I mean.

So, when the opportunity arose to do some light training, I was in. And last night was that opportunity. First we got a bit of light theoretical training. Then we saw how much we would weigh at collision speed (several tons in my case, if driving over 80km/50mph). And I was asked to get in a lovely driver's seat with a seat belt. I was then pelted down a slope and came to a very abrupt halt. It might have been only 7km or 4 miles an hour, but I can still feel it today. Imagine what it would do at higher speed!

But we gave it a go!

But then the main event. There were two to three on every bus and off we went. We started off slow and everybody managed to stop. But we had to drive faster and faster and after a while they put some obstacles in our way as well. Nothing major and at low speed we managed to avoid those, but the higher the speed got, the deader the traffic cones were!

It was great fun, but I learned a great deal as well. When the roads do get slippery: slow down! Anything over 50km or 30 miles an hour is too much! Especially if you have to swerve to avoid something. 

Tide Games

During the Tide Games I participated in two things: the precision driving and the old fashioned relay race. I had never tried precision driving before and it looked extremely difficult to me. Once I got started though, I realised it was extremely difficult in some places and other places were okay. 

I had to position the front of the bus over a circle and every centimeter off the center cost me points. (fail)

I had to pull a weight off of a barrel and then have it land in a bucket. (fail)

I had to pull two barrels apart to a certain distance enough for the bus to pass through. (I was okay-ish)

I had to touch a green bar while leaving the red one untouched (nailed it)

I had to drive past a cyclist with a distance of 1.20m! Obviously they have never been in Amsterdam! (9cm off, way to go!)

I had to back up the bus until the lights came on. (too far, the sirens went off)

I had to knock some green sticks down, while leaving the red ones standing. (four green, one red)

I had to park four meters away from an obstacle (way off)

I had to parallel park with a distance of 1.50m from the bus to the bar at the front. (nailed the parking, 84 cms off)

I had to park 1,50 meters away from an obstacle (only a few cms out)

I had to guestimate the height of a bar I had to pass under. (quite off)

I had to park the front wheels in a red square on the ground (short)

It was good fun to do and I managed okay-ish. I would have loved to know the score, but I forgot to ask! 

Stuck

I had some difficulty opening the door!

Several years ago, when I was younger, I got stuck in the sand one day. With my coach. Which weighed in at around 14 tons. Fortunately I managed to get a farmer out with his tractor and he pulled me out. Fast forward...

Stuck

Last Monday I had to take a group of people to a military base in Germany somewhere. The address wasn't right and they didn't really know where they were supposed to go, so when they saw their sign, they told me to take the turn. Which I did. I then drove on a cobbled road covered with dirt and sand. The next turning saw the road change to sort of gravel and dirt and sand. Do you see where I am going? So did I, but too late. And then I was stuck. No budging.

Hooking the tow cable onto the truck

Fortunately a recovery vehicle was close by and after a bit of 'where should I go?' between the men, they decided I would need to retrace my 'steps' (as it were), since the road was only getting a lot worse. They then proceeded to pull me out. The only thing damaged was my ego to some degree (not much though, don't worry on that score). After they had pulled me out, the recovery vehicle got in front of me and we drove back to the main road. I shook hands with the driver and went on my way to the hotel.

Another day, another adventure!

'Two'

This week's challenge was two. And I could pick any two I wanted. As long as it was only two and not any other number. So, two it was and I dove into my photos to find one with only two! I think I succeeded.

Last year I had to drive a fair amount of festivals and on one occasion I had to stay in a hotel, just in case something went wrong and all those festival goers needed to be evacuated. So, me and my colleague were both staying in this hotel, about 35 km from home. We both drove a bus that could at its fullest hold around 125 people. There were only thousands at the festival!! Nothing happened that night though and both buses stayed in the parking lot that night.

This is my seventh entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

Home again!

Did I ever tell you I hate traveling on a coach? When I'm not driving that is? Well, I do. Just so you know!

The floor in the bus!

Yesterday morning I was in the first of four groups to pick up the Dutch scout troops to take to Sweden. I left on time at 08.30am and arrived at the World Jamboree at 12.15pm. Everything was so well coordinated we only had to wait for two minutes before I was able to drop them off. They left my coach in a right state, but with all the rain and muck and mud of the past week, I was prepared. And since I was in the first group, I had a lot of time before the last ones would be there to actually clean the coach. At least brush the dirt out and make it look presentable again.

The toll bridge from Sweden to Denmark

We then had to wait for all the coaches to arrive, which took about four hours and finally at a quarter past four, all the drivers (bar two who were staying behind to look after the coaches) piled on one coach and left for the Netherlands. We passed through Sweden at a good pace, seeing coach after coach filled with scouts from all over the world. We then had to cross the toll bridge and tunnel to Denmark and came back to familiar territory again.

There was a train on the ferry!

We kept driving through Denmark until we reached the ferryport of Rodby (with the diagonal line again). We knew we were late for our ferry (it had left twenty minutes earlier), but managed to catch the next one, so we only lost half an hour. From Puttgarden (the German side of the ferry), we drove towards Hamburg, which I completely missed, since I slept my way to Bremen. We had a short stop to switch drivers and then drove on towards home. Our pick-up driver had to wake up extra early, because according to the planners we were about 2-3 hours early! We just thought there was no point hanging around for nothing!

I made it home at five in the morning and was in bed half an hour later. My own bed...

I was wrong

There, I've admitted it. I was wrong. I will capitalise it for you: I WAS WRONG!!! And what was I wrong about? Work. What else?

On Monday morning (very early) I wrote about how the worst part of my job must be the waiting. Well, guess what: I WAS WRONG!!! Because it isn't. Not by a long stretch. The worst part of my job must be the waiting while your coach has broken down, you don't know what it is and the mechanic is still on its way and/or trying to fix the problem!

Which was (obviously) what happened yesterday. I might have known in the middle of the day, but it was light out. And I didn't need all those lights on my dashboard. So, I never noticed they didn't work anyway. It wasn't until it was getting dark that I noticed I couldn't see how fast I was going. Or any of the other meters that are quite handy. I asked someone about my headlights and they were working fine. It was only the small lights that weren't. And when I got overtaken on the motorway by a lorry, the driver hooted at me and pointed at the rear of my coach: my tail lights weren't working either.

Which fuse shall we try?

I turned on the fog light, so I would at least be visible and just before total darkness and just before my very last trip of the day, I parked and started to find out what was wrong. I quickly ruled out anything wrong with the lights. For all of them to conk out at the same time? No, I didn't believe that for a second. Next thing on the list was a blown fuse. But that would mean about six or seven would have had to blow at the same time. We did try to replace a few, but still nothing worked. The last thing we could think of was a fault in the switch's wiring. But since I am no mechanic and don't really fancy getting zapped into next year: I phoned a mechanic.

Fortunately the mechanic didn't have far to go and quickly set to work. He also ruled out broken lights and broken fuses and realised it was the switch's wiring. Oh and the lights of the numberplate had shorted out. In the end he had everything fixed and I was good to go! Only an hour and a half late...

Recognition

Sometimes when I'm out and about, I run into people I've met somewhere before. But since I don't see them in the place I last met them, or they are wearing a uniform, I don't recognise them. However, they tend to recognise me, walk up to me and start chatting to me.

On Saturday (festival day), I was waiting at the trainstation for the bus to fill up when all of a sudden one of the public transport drivers walks up to me and starts hugging me! Now, I've got nothing against being hugged, but I didn't even know the man. Well, he set me straight very quickly. I did know him. I actually wrote about him not so long ago. When he and his friend were 'spotting buses' during the Army Days.

I knew he was a busdriver, but what are the odds of actually running into him? He had liked the piece I had done on him and his friend and wanted to know whether I had ever received the photos he had sent. Well, since they only had my blog address, I had never received anything. So, he got out his phone, took a photo of me and sent it to me.

Isn't it great?

Anorak?

In yesterday's post you could see a photo of all those buses waiting in line to pick up all those passengers. It tends to make me a bit emotional when I see all those buses or coaches together: it is such a great sight. However, I am not so emotional I want to photograph every single one though!

There are people who are though. Every time there is a massive event like this, you will see a lot of men (I've never seen a woman) with their cameras around their neck taking photographs of every single bus that drives past. Twice, three times, ten times! They are not interested in the Army Days or whatever event is happening, they are only interested in the buses.

The two in the photo are Jos (pronounce Yos) and Erwin. They are both busdrivers themselves and travel all over the Netherlands and sometimes abroad to photograph their buses. They record where they shot them, what the event was, the number of the bus, its numberplates and the company. Busspotters were responsible for telling the company I work for that we had two coaches with the same numberplates, they will know where our old buses go to (Cuba, Africa, Surinam amongst others). Their only downside? They loved the buses and only had a single glance for the 1-month old coach I was driving...

An anorak is a spotter of any vehicle and usually considered to be somewhat sad. However, I didn't feel these men were 'sad' in any way, they only have a different hobby to me!

PS: I asked permission to take this photograph and post it.

Putting my foot wrong!

I get in and out of buses and coaches about ten times a day. Sometimes less, sometimes waaayyy more! And you would think I would have gotten used to getting on and off. Wouldn't you? Today it showed I hadn't.

After I had hoovered my coach, I had to get off and start on my colleague's coach. As I took my last step down, my ankle got twisted and I fell. My colleague wasn't looking (he was washing the windscreen) and there I was: flat on the floor! Finally my colleague turned around and saw me. And you will never guess what he said: why didn't you say something!

Anyway, both my ankles hurt, but my left just that bit more (I've sprained it in the past as well) and my knee is a bit scraped. The dangers of the bus!

B is for...

Bus

Bus: Vehicle fitted with more than 8 seats, not including the driver.

Well, I had to enter this one! How could I not? After all, I drive a bus for a living. It is the way I make my money. It is the way I see all those fantastic places and meet all those great (and not so great) people.

Early buses were horse-drawn and seated only small numbers of people. In the 1830's steam-powered buses arrived on the scene. And with the arrival of electricity trolley buses were invented (a combination of an ordinary bus and a tram or train. It ran on the road, but followed the powerlines). It wasn't until the late 19th century that the first diesel-powered bus arrived on the roads, but from then on, it definitely took off.

The bus is still the most widely used form of public transport IN THE WORLD. Many places are only serviced by buses, because of a variety of reasons, like mountains being in the way or not enough passengers to maintain a train-service.

A 1964 Setra

From the fifties onwards, tourbuses (coaches (GB), autocars (F), pullman (I), touringcars (NL)) became more popular. The war was over in Europe, rationing was a thing of the past and people had more and more money to spend. Visiting other places became easier and the tourbus was the preferred mode of transport, also because cars weren't around that much yet.

The tourbus is still going strong. On board toilets, fridges, bars, video (dvd) and even beds, make life easier for the passenger. You can relax, look out, chat, sleep, watch tv and all without the fear of being pulled over for being a 'dangerous driver'. Why not give it a go sometime?

And if you ever see me? Blonde, black cap (usually) and in uniform, driving the big xx-coach, why not come over and say hi! I will show you my bus...

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Me and my boss

Arriving at the garage yesterday afternoon (around midday), I found the whole lot empty of coaches. Not even around the corner was there a coach to be seen. I immediately phoned my colleague who had been in charge of exchanging coaches and buses that day. But he told me that the coach I needed hadn't been finished with yet and he therefore hadn't brought it back. I then phoned my boss. Here is more or less the conversation as it passed:

Me: There's no coach here!

He: I know, it wasn't finished this morning.

Me: So I'm off now? Couldn't I have been informed?

He: Well, it was changed late yesterday afternoon and you might have slipped through the cracks. Sorry for that.

Me: So, I can go home now?

He: Yes, sorry.

Me: Good, no military band then for me today.

He: Why not, you have to start at two.

Me: THERE'S. NO. COACH. HERE!!!

He: Oh...

He: ...

He: ...

He: You can't come here for it?

Me: That would take too long, I will never be at the base on time!

He: I'm getting on the coach right now and we will exchange somewhere in the middle!

Me: In other words: I have to work this afternoon anyway!

In the end we exchanged some twenty km from the base, I made it on time and the airconditioning gave up!

What a day...

Rotel

You have several options while travelling. You can stay in hotels, motels, b&b's, youth hostels, guesthouses, inns, tents, caravans, your car or even sleep out in the open. Or you can stay in a Rotel! A rolling hotel.

This coach has space for twenty passengers and one driver. During the day you go and visit the sights of a certain area, during the night you could park almost anywhere and out comes the hotel part. Apart from the beds in the rear part of this coach, there's also a kitchen where meals can be prepared for all passengers. There's probably a toilet area as well, although I couldn't really find out where that would be supposed to go.

I have seen them out in Italy with the trailer which held many more people than this, but in my mind, it just looks like a lot of coffins one on top of each other and very uncomfortable. I know the Irish aren't too fond of them either. They don't add anything to the Irish economy, because they bring everything themselves, right up to their dinner. This one I saw in Saintes Maries de la Mer in Southern France.

I wonder where they stay during the night though...

Diesel

Minimum delivery 5 liters!

Well, what do you expect after driving for over 2000 kilometers? The coach gets thirsty and needs a drink! 509 liters of drink! A good thing I don't have to pay for it myself...

Certificate

In the ten years I've been a busdriver, I've received three certificates of a "damage-and-traffic-fine free year of driving". The first time I had actually hit an Irish car that year, so wasn't really entitled to it, but my boss couldn't be bothered to get it changed. The second year actually was good, but last year once again, I had had some damage. Not much and nothing compared to what that bus had to endure a few months later: total loss and the driver unfortunately lost his life.

But, I know that next year I will not receive my fourth certificate, because today, thanks to some idiot who put his car within an inch of my coach, I had some damage! Fortunately I'm really quick in filling out the insurance form, but still...

I'll be glad when this week is over!

Old rope!

The day went well for me. Right up until the point where I was going home. I was driving along, radio on with lovely 60's music (it's 60's week). All of a sudden as a lorry passed me, one of the side hatches flew open! I slowed down immediately and parked halfway on the grass. I put on my safety vest and went outside. No chance of closing the hatch again. At all! So, I got the coach moving again at a snail's pace and moved to the nearest emergency spot. There I started the process of removing the bar that held the hatch in its place. I was hammering away while traffic was swishing by at a speed of about 50/60 miles an hour!

The hammering didn't work. I got the spanner and managed to get the top loose. But unfortunately the hatch still didn't close. I couldn't get the bottom loose, but help was at hand: the ratcatcher! He tore the bar off and the hatch could close. I locked one side of the hatch, but the other side didn't have a lock anymore. In the end we used a piece of rope. I had to go back to the mechanics to get it fixed properly. In the process I was home nearly an hour and a half later. My hands were filthy, I was quite cold and my clothes need a wash!

On the bright side: nobody got hurt and no vehicles were damaged.

PS: the ratcatcher is someone who goes around the countryside, especially near dykes and levies, to check on holes made by muskrats that might damage the structure ànd cause flooding!

Parking

Having to park a 12 meter long, 2,5 meter wide, 3,55 meter high vehicle is not the easiest of things. Especially when you're in London and you can't park your coach at the hotel! It took us over two hours to find a place and it was an illegal one as well. In the same street where we started to look, so I was quite grrrrrrrr at the end. Also, because my time was running out. I only had three quarters of an hour left to work. Not so good.

In other news, London was fantastic (as usual). The weather was great: cold but sunny and it was nice and busy in town. Which of course caused more havoc parking the bus. But I was lucky and found a spot about a hundred meters from where I dropped everyone off, so I was happy. The other coach wasn't so lucky and had to park miles away.

Next weekend should be a bit easier. I have been to that hotel before and know where to park (at the back of the hotel), so that will save us some precious time! Time I could use to buy my goddaughter a present, or myself for that matter!

Busy

Well, I'm going to be busy for the next few days. Tomorrow I will be off to Den Helder for a 'Sail' thingymebob ferrying people back and forth. Tomorrow night I will stay in a hotel and the day after another day of 'Sail'. I return home, so on Saturday I can go to not a clue for some festival or other to ferry people back and forth. On Sunday I have to work again, that day in a coach however, the first time this week! On the downside: until the middle of the night and I will have to clean the coach! I am not looking forward to it and am already tired.

The major problem with our 'new' articulated buses is the drivers' seats. They are just awful. There is no suspension, so you feel every dropped dime in the road. There are no armrests, so you steer in the wrong position, causing back pains and when you do get in a crash, whiplash is a given, since there is no headrest! And no, I wasn't planning of getting into a crash. But you know what I mean.

You might wonder why I talk about articulated buses when I'm a coach driver, but since this week, I have been driving those &%$#&@ buses. And no end in sight either for the near future.

Are you still with me? Or have you abandoned this blog altogether on account of incomprehensible babble? Blame it on the job!

Anyway. I will be busy for the next few days, I will not be able to blog for a few days. I will need my days off when I get them, because I will be hunched by back pain by then. Other than that I'm fine!