suzyscottdotcom

So, here is the A-Z of the main points of my last month or so. Pictures for most are to follow!

( Cut for stuff that might be triggering! )

A mini A-Z post, to explain what I’ve been up to, in the last week!

 

A is for Addenbrooke’s Hospital (was H, then previously A). After moaning in the last two blog posts about waiting for an appointment for an ultrasound scan, I got a letter on Friday (yes… 6^th August) to come in at 17.40 on Monday 9^th August! So, after the #tigert5 developments, pedal back to Royston, and we will go from there. Except… no food for six hours before! So, if you see me pigging out excessively before lunch tomorrow, then you know why.

 

C is for Computer.  Didn’t mention this last time, as we’d not set it up. However, I had been using the Gateway laptop as my main computer, following the Mac getting hit by a power surge. Well, it was refurbished when I got it, so it’s not going to last forever. The keyboard has started to wear out, so a new replacement has to be plugged in… oh, and when it reboots, I have to unplug everything before it will restart. So, now I’ve got some money, I wanted to replace it. So, I agreed to buy a case and one or two bits from eBuyer, and C would add the remaining components from a machine of hers. So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you – the Coolermaster! At under £60 for case AND power supply, think we got a good one here!  C said it was a joy to put together. The old case (that was on the motherboard before) had a habit of overheating, but the Coolermaster has a huge airsuckything and several fans, plus mesh to aid airflow. I like it! Most of the stuff did transfer easily via Windows Easy Transfer, although iTunes then went mad and added everything already in the library, to the library. Also, got a Trust pen drawing device (Mini Tablet) on special at Maplin (Cambridge city centre) yesterday – it will be useful for drawing route maps etc.

 

G is for Girlfriend. C’s been a bit tired the last few days – think I must have pinched her energy! (also see M).

H is for Holiday. We’ll have one soon!

 

M is for Mountain Dew. After getting cash in Hemel on Friday, needed a drink. Found a shop in Marlowes (nearest to the cashpoint that I used) stocking Mountain Dew. Well, that kept me awake until I got home! Also purchased another bottle for tomorrow – see A and T.

 

R is for #randomcoffeewednesday – well, we already have #muffmunchingmonday, thanks to Lizzy The Lezzy, #randomchocolatetuesday thanks to thebustocrookes, two for Thursday and one for Friday (#fannyfingeringfriday) from LTL. So, what’s missing? Random coffee on a Wednesday? Random Coffee Wednesday it is! When things settle down, it might well work out. Does anyone think #randomradiosaturday might be a goer?

 

T is for Tiger Line. Tomorrow is our big first day of the Service T5 – look out for Facebook and Twitter updates throughout the day with the hashtag #tigert5 (well, most of the day – see A). Following a lot of hard work over the last few months, it is nice to finally get the chance to see the fruits of my labours on the road! This past week we’ve been route learning, out and about meeting people in Amersham, Chesham and St Albans. I got some pictures from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and you can see them via those links.

ROARY PAINTS THE TOWN ORANGE AND BLACK, IN AMERSHAM, ST ALBANS AND HATFIELD!

 

For the third consecutive summer, Tiger Line Buses are to introduce a new local bus service, on Monday 9^th August 2010!

 

The new Tiger Line Service T5 will link Amersham, Chesham, Lye Green, Bovingdon, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, Adeyfield, Leverstock Green, St Albans, Fleetville, Oaklands, and Hatfield. The service will operate every hour, Monday to Friday daytimes, and every two hours on Saturdays.

 

The service will build on the success of Tiger Line’s other bus services. Tiger Line have a reputation for providing quality bus services around Chesham and Hemel Hempstead. Nothing is too much trouble for our friendly staff. While our buses are not low floor, our drivers are more than willing to assist passengers with shopping or buggies. Our buses are fitted with comfortable, coach-style seating.

 

The new route also marks the launch of a new look for the company. Previously, our buses were white with lettering. However, the vehicles intended for this work will be painted in a new livery of mostly orange, with a black skirt. Most buses will be fitted with route branding, showing clearly where we are going, and our fare deals.

 

Fares on Service T5 are low, and designed to encourage passengers to travel. We have low single tickets, Day Returns (valid all day), Weekly and Saverstrip (12 journeys for no more than the price of 10). Discounts on the Adult fare are available to Children, University of Hertfordshire staff & students, Oaklands College staff & students, West Herts College staff & students, etc.

 

Passengers who purchase a Return or Explorer ticket (but not Roary Rovers) between Hemel Hempstead and Hatfield can come back later on the evening at no extra charge! After we’ve gone home for the night, Uno operate an evening Service 301 between the same points, which will accept our Return tickets, and all Intalink Explorers.

 

Our new Roary Rover tickets will allow 1, 7 or 28 days unlimited travel, in the areas of your choice, or even across our whole network! How does £5.00 for a day’s to travel anywhere we go sound, good? Well, it gets even better on Saturdays, when you can take two Children free with every Adult Network Roary Rover (daily, weekly, 4-weekly) purchased on that day (or, in the case of weekly/4 weekly tickets, valid for that day).

 

This bus journey connects with four main railway lines, various markets, local shops, hospitals, and hundreds of other bus connections.

 

This new service will also reinstate links between Hemel Hempstead, Bovingdon and Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Passengers can board our Service T5 heading for Chesham, and change there to Service T1, which takes you straight into the grounds of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, as well as other places such as Great Missenden or Worlds End Garden Centre.

 

We currently have four through journeys on our Service T2 between Chesham and Watford. Now, passengers can travel between these points throughout the day, simply by changing buses at Hemel Hempstead.

 

Our new timetable leaflet shows all journeys on Service T5, plus connections to/from Services T1 and T2. It also includes details of all our money saving deals, sample fares, and much more. Look for your copy at various local outlets, or download one from www.tigerlinebuses.com Failing that, email roary@tigerlinebuses.com or phone 01494 774411 and we will post you one.

BONUS BLOG MATERIAL!

A launch will take place at St Albans Market on Wednesday, 4^th August 2010. We will have one of our buses there for most of the day. Roary The Tiger will be “on the prowl”, and we will have company staff and managers on hand to answer questions. You are welcome to come and view! We will be launching the bus around 11.00.

Since the above was compiled, the buses have all been fully lettered. Ticket machines have arrived. Destination blinds have arrived. Realtime passenger information has been fitted, allowing passengers to get the time of the next Tiger Line bus online, or by SMS, in real time!

Woottens Luxury Travel and Tiger Line Buses operate 25 buses & coaches. Further information about the company can be had at http://www.woottens.co.uk/fans_of_woottens.html

So, this is what I've been working on... and is now starting to take shape!

Tiger Line Buses are introducing a New Service T5 on Monday 9th August 2010.

Amersham, Underground/National Rail Station
Chesham Broadway
Lye Green
Rushmore Lane
Whelpley Hill (selected journeys only)
Bovingdon Market (Saturday market hours only)
Bovingdon, HMP The Mount (visiting hours only)
Bovingdon, Chesham Road hail & ride
Bovingdon, Halfway House
Box Lane
Hemel Hempstead Railway Station
Hemel Hempstead Town Centre
Hemel Hempstead Bus Station
Midland Road
Adeyfield, Longlands, Queens Square
Leverstock Green
St Albans City Hospital, Waverly Road
St Albans, St Peters Street
St Albans, Railway Station Interchange
Fleetville
Oaklands
University of Herts de Havilland Campus/Comet Hotel
Hatfield Galleria Outlet
Hatfield Town Centre (Asda and Gracemead House)
Hatfield, Market Place
Hatfield, Railway Station Interchange

Service T5 will operate hourly, Monday to Friday daytimes, and two-hourly on Saturdays. The launch of this service will be concurrent with some new ticketing deals.

To get Service T5 off the ground, we have acquired five Leyland Tiger/Alexander Q type dual purpose buses, from Ulsterbus. Our numbers have not yet been applied to them, but we anticipate that they will be
Our Number – UB Number – NI Registration
W65 – 1372 – UXI 1372
W66 – 1375 – UXI 1375
W67 – 1376 – UXI 1376
W68 – 1377 – UXI 1377 (corrected!)
W69 – 1384 – WXI 4384

These have to be refreshed, COIF’d and re-registered (at the discretion of the staff who will decide on the day if they keep NI plates, or get local ones). They will be painted in a more prominent version of the Tiger Line colours, now to be predominantly orange. Some photos...
( Cut for pictures )
At the same time, we registered a change to Service T2. I was reluctant to make further changes to this route, that has already been changed three times this year. However, West Herts College is about to close the Cassio Campus site. With that in mind, we have submitted a change to remove our variation through the Cassio Campus, with all buses running via the new Watford “super Campus”. At the same time, some minor tweaks and changes were made. Further details to follow.

It’s been a busy week, of highs and lows. Lots of highs towards the end of the week! Hello again to everyone who has added me to their LJ Friends, or if I have added them. A random seven-pointer…

 

1. Firstly, congratulations to auntysarah for getting elected as a Lib Dem councillor for Cambridge City/Petersfield ward. I will admit that I was refreshing the results page every few minutes, after the count started!

 

2. Speaking of the Lib Dems, they had two people acting as tellers on the way into the Polling Station. As we left, I overhead “Do you have a number?” “No, I’m the returning officer”. Oops!

 

3. Mind you, given the current state of the parliament, I was surprised to find Nick Clegg up for sale on eBay. Seeing as thebustocrookes has Mr C for his MP, will you be looking forward to a bye-election, if this sale goes through? ;-)

 

4. Times are starting to speed up. Friday 7^th saw me working on Helpline, and Saturday 8^th saw a day in the office of Woottens & Tiger Line. Keep watching… (Oh, and I fired off some pictures of the exteriors and interiors of the buses & coaches, while putting up the T2 service change posters. You can see all the pictures here)

 

5. Speaking of which, from Monday 10^th May, Tiger Line Service T1 (Aylesbury - Bovingdon) is being changed, with a vey short notice amendment. This is intended to further help reliability to this route, as the April change was insufficient. Times will be changed by a few minutes, and the bus will now run between Aylesbury and Whelpley Hill, with the bit to/from Bovingdon being withdrawn. Two weeks later, Monday 24^tH May, Service T2 (Chesham/hemeL hempstead - Watford) will have a revised timetable. Following changes elsewhere on the corridor (mentioned here), the times are changing to ensure we can still get on the bus stands at both ends. A new T1 is now on tigerlinebuses.com with the T2 one going up later today.

 

6. Arriva’s changes start this weekend, around Watford (and to/from Hemel). I forgot to mention last time, but the 32 (Northchurch – Hemel) is being dropped entirely. Little Jim’s Service 502 is being revised to cover, to maintain a service.

 

7. Last Spring I sampled the “ghost bus”, a rail replacement bus running in London. one journey on Tuesdays off-peak only, between Ealing Broadway, Kensington Olympia and Wandsworth Road. As you will recall, there was never a passenger service between these points, but to ensure that the track remains covered after the dropping of the Crosscountry bit from Reading to Gatwick Airport. You will recall, at £500 a day, it was hardly value for the public purse (indeed, my sample journey was then subsidised to the cost of £125!) Well, the Olympia – Wandsworth Road bit is being covered by Southern Railways, off-peak, with a train spare during the day. The plan was that Southern would pick up the Ealing – Olympia section for a train service, as part of the franchise commitment. But, Network Rail have refused them access to the track around Ealing, allegedly claiming that train types were incompatible. As for what happens now, I’ve no idea. But if you see a TGM empty coach driving around West London on a Tuesday…

( Cut for lots of text )

No word from me here (although I’ve been busy on Facebook, Twitter, and the Forums!) might mean you suspect the worst! Please don’t, as things are  - I dare to say it, but – looking seriously improved for me. Improved you say – isn’t it hay fever season, the global turbulence from the Icelandic ash cloud that I’m not going to attempt to spell, and much more besides?

 

Further to my last post, I did say we intended to experiment, prior to getting the blood tests back for Coeliac disease. We decided to experiment with a gluten-free diet for me. So far, things are looking up. Why do I say this? Well, “the obvious symptoms” are largely gone. I appreciate it will be a while before my gut is back to “normal” – especially after 31 years of gluten attacks – and I’m not under-estimating it. Other notable boosters include an upturn in my feelings (or is that the increased prozac? Maybe a bit of both – but surely not just yet, as it would take some weeks before a change should be noticeable – or does it?), and an increase in my peak flow. So much so that I am going to take the meter into the docs with me! The last I checked, my weight was going down slowly, but in this time of turmoil, who knows if it will stay that way...!

 

As we go into what could be life-changing news, I do not intend to under-estimate it. However, for something that’s been upsetting my gut for 31 years (and now getting worse), it’s now the right time for change. (with apologies if anyone’s turned off, thinking this is turning into an Election broadcast!)

 

So, what else have I been doing?

 

Friday 9^th April was a day at Helpline. The following day (Saturday 10^th April) we went into Cambridge, intending to add me to Caroline’s bank account (it’s at that stage of the relationship readers, and it’s going to be much easier!), and some shopping. Sunday 11^th April was a quiet one to catch up!

 

Monday 12^th April was a visit to the depot of Stagecoach Bedford, with other members of the Anglia Bus Forum (you can see my pictures here). Tuesday 13^th and Wednesday 14^th was a mix of working from home, and deliveries.

 

Thursday 15^th April was a day at work – for the first time since getting the job with Woottens and Tiger Line, I was in the office for meetings, snaps, and much more besides! I took a few snaps in the yard, and you can see them here.

 

Friday 16^th April was another day on Helpline (one passing c2 snapped!), with similar the next day, Saturday 17^th April.

 

On Sunday 18^th April, I had my Ratification Interview for Switchboard. This was a basic run-down on what I’ve done so far, after reaching the 35 hour mark in volunteering on the phones. Success, so now I can drop the word “trainee” from my titles! We then went for a lunch (I had some Gluten Free stuff, without troubles) and then we visited the British Museum for a bit, before returning home. You can see the pictures here. Pics include Caroline and me.

 

Today, Monday 19^th April, and busy at home.

Further to my previous SOTS posts a month and a half ago, I am acutely aware that I have not done one for February yet. So, here goes with a recap of the last month and a half!

After being offered a very attractive, casual, work-from-home package to work for Woottens & Tiger Line, I've been even more busy. I must admit, the offer did take me by surprise – here was me and Michael W discussing private hire prices, and we went off onto something else! Very happy though!

Weight – at the start of the month, I initially thought the scales were lying to me! However, down by just over a kilo is not to be sneezed at!

Health – just like weight, good, with not a lot of effort from myself. Various work has helped!

Work – in addition to the above, work on Helpline will now continue locally until the end of June.

I've not forgotten about what I wanted to do this year, just doing a lot in addition to it!

Friday 5^th March was a day working at Helpline. There is a slight glimmer of hope in a meeting being held on Monday 15^th to discuss plans, but beyond that, no-one yet knows what will happen, or how, with regards the transfer of the service. Back home in the afternoon, bought a few things in Cambridge to make dinner, and then prepared for Saturday. I took a few pictures in Cambridge, and you can see them here.

Saturday 6^th March was the 2010 Million Womens Rise – and Switchboard had a presence in Trafalgar Square! So, we went into London, had breakfat at Camino (near Kings Cross) before continuing. Lots of fun, although cold and a bit tired towards the end! We then continued to a Spanish resturant C liked the sound of in Portobello Road, so we went out west, but (as we went in spec) we didn't realise they were closed for a private party! So, back to town on a 23 bus, until we spotted Star Of Bombay on Westbourne Grove. Good food, although I was a little tired and didn't properly enjoy it. Cab back to Kings Cross via Edgware Road and Camden Town, before a ride back to Hertford North, for a rail replacement bus back to Royston. You can see the pictures that I took here - a mix of rally/march pics and some bus stuff!

Sunday 7^th March was a day to catch up and relax!

Monday 8^th March was mostly working at home for Woottens, and lots of work done on the Tiger Line page on Facebook, plus promoting the service changes from 19^th April. Happy International Womens Day all!

 

 

I can now explain why I have had to be mystic Suzy here on LJ, for the last few weeks. I can now reveal that I have been offered (and accepted!)a paid job with a bus operator! I am working for Tiger Line Buses (part of Woottens, Lye Green, nr Chesham, Bucks) and my new job title of choice is Planning & Marketing Assistant. It's mostly working from home on a casual basis, but I'm already loving it. Feels really good to be asked!