I've bashed my way through the truck DVDs from last weeks visit to Crick/Rugby - all are finished and now available on our shop ( fingers crossed). The store should actually now come up as the home page, I actually had a helpful Weebly support person at one stage although this quickly regressed on the next complaint. I'm now downloading the material from Scotland hoping to get through it all this evening and then get the covers done. I've still had no word back from Tom Tom, the order shows in progress yet when I try to update it all goes to pot. Mandy's muscles are still sore around her ribs from the leap from door to lawn last week, not helped by this weekends excursions at Bridgeton. I've got the Scottish stock out from the van, topped up the water for brews and loaded more regular stock in plus the Manchester area photo stock. I will hopefully be starting a DVD for the Big Orange event tomorrow. I've heard nothing from the museum yet I hope they don't come up with requests Friday afternoon. My special will include relevant buses in scenes computer enhanced from the original productions and cover selections from several volumes. I'll also have copies of the first Big Orange at the Manchester City ground car park. Photos from Paisley Friday afternoon.
Cor blimey mates, what a day, after recovering from a weekend in Scotland I got on top of the orders which were straight forward then battled with Weebly yet again as the first to use credit cards showed that the order had failed, after much ado it turned out that it failed then succeeded but the fact that it failed appeared last in the chronological list that it produced. It took a bit of doing but that was sorted, then the problem of printing orders from our shop went on, a 'known' issue with Weebly keeping geeks worldwide awake no doubt. Then after a lot of other computer related bother like updating the tom Tom maps I ended back at Weebly as the landing page for the shop had vanished and that was the key to getting down to all the menus and list, they said Ii'd deleted 1000 items over the weekend but of course i wasn't at home and the only thing I touched was my blog. Thus it's either another Weebly special irritant or sabotage/hacking which going back to the horrendous problems i had from the Yorkshire mob makes me very suspicious but I've changed my pass word so hopefully other than in house Weebly crap I should be safe. I've bashed my way through the truck DVDs from last weeks visit to Crick/Rugby - all are finished and now available on our shop ( fingers crossed). The store should actually now come up as the home page, I actually had a helpful Weebly support person at one stage although this quickly regressed on the next complaint. I'm now downloading the material from Scotland hoping to get through it all this evening and then get the covers done. I've still had no word back from Tom Tom, the order shows in progress yet when I try to update it all goes to pot. Mandy's muscles are still sore around her ribs from the leap from door to lawn last week, not helped by this weekends excursions at Bridgeton. I've got the Scottish stock out from the van, topped up the water for brews and loaded more regular stock in plus the Manchester area photo stock. I will hopefully be starting a DVD for the Big Orange event tomorrow. I've heard nothing from the museum yet I hope they don't come up with requests Friday afternoon. My special will include relevant buses in scenes computer enhanced from the original productions and cover selections from several volumes. I'll also have copies of the first Big Orange at the Manchester City ground car park. Photos from Paisley Friday afternoon. We are still struggling with the wretched Weebly site, how I wish we had picked a different provider for e commerce and blog etc, it was fine to start with but typically arrogant USA people/company they never listen and care not a jot for paying customers rather more fixated on kids with thumbs flicking at their phone apps or whatever they do. Its probably run by myriad spotty computer geeks who have zero experience of providing a service or running a business and have a total inability to test changes before launching them. Any problems using the shop etc just rings us. We had a good run down from Glasgow and stopped off at our now favourite pub just off route near Kirby Lonsdale just into Lancashire, the Plough. Great puddings and dinner. Only hassles on the journey was a badger walking straight out in front of us around the corner from home, their eyesight is so poor that they don't see or it seems hear the vehicles approaching, their numbers are so vast that the roads in Cheshire are littered with them each morning. This years GVVT event at Glasgow failed to do little more than cover costs and was a fraction below last year. As a vast improvement was required to ensure our return this will not be the case. The change of the event to a two day ordeal has for us been a disaster and very annoying having been invited by them to attend the early running days and having built up a dedicated Scottish DVD stock. These are of course usable at Lathalmond which we shall continue to support as our only regular venue in Scotland. If any new rallies or open days start up or one off events we'll consider these as the interest for filming might will override the business case. It's a pity but the flavour of the event has crept away from the original concept, a bit like Lathalmond started to do before it seemed to go back to it's roots and has come full circle. Photos from the first visit which was to Kilmarnock on Friday morning we battled through the crazy road works with useless signage to get back to bridgeton museum this morning. we hsd breakfast before i set off for filming which first took me to motherwell where the number of independents has fallen, no more than five operators noted. it wasnt anywhere near as busy as last time i visited but i found mybparking spot and had no hassles and then moved on to hamilton. the strathclyde pte have put up an even bigger fence at the bus station to stop photographers from getting near, they really are the worst outside yorkshire for antinenthusiast stance. it was a bit likecwstching paint dry compared to twenty years or more ago but still betterbthsn dome places and even the smaller operators have new buses. then as the sun was full out i went to clydebank although open as it is by the lay by area the low sun quickly became apain. arriva sold to mcgills and they have gone yo first plus the independent withbthe driver lady who made life unpleasant on orevious visit no sign of her and all very pleasant. themuseum was dead when i got back at four pm and takings were fairly meagre. unless a miracle takes place on sales sunday it will be our lsst time with a stand there.
well we had an easy drive up this morning and decided to give kilmarnock a go as its easybto do and i dont getvany hassle plys its nearlyvall stagecoach which has lots of followers. that done we headed up to paisley and its really mcgillsvterritory with justbone firstbroute passing through and a tiny representation from smaller operators how different from postvderegulation and the myriad independents. we then crawled around to bridgeton bus museum where wecsetbup for the running weekend. we seem to have lost our long established corner spot we are in a lsrgish slot in the corner so its fingers crossed weccan get in to pack up on sunday, if needs be ill trolley stuff out. it was hopeless last year withnthevtwo days draining overheads. last chance saloon this year. ive not decided on photo locations forvyomorrow a bit weathercdependent.
We are all packed and ready for the off, tonight we have a concert at the Bridgewater hall in Manchester with the Halle playing of course under the illustrious baton of Sir Mark Elder, we uphold a family tradition for generations Mandy's Hardy family has attended , one of her ancestors managed the Free Trade Hall where they played before Bridgewater was built. Today I've nearly done all that I could have expected, the DVDs are edited up to the Lancashire material shot yesterday and I'm already making inroads into the material shot of trucks around Crick earlier this week which will produce three fairly long running DVDs. I've finished the short series of Showbus catch ups terminating at 2002 from then on they are all on DVD already. The 2002 show was that of the first Gold run which was of the special buses marking the Queens jubilee from 1952-2002 - it all seems like a long time ago now. How about Dear leader May Blossom who is now reinventing herself as, not Thatcher but Heath ; now there's a thought to play with - good old Ted who really just felt unloved-he wanted to be really nice to all the poor people and imagined they could all come and cheer him on at Cowes week and he'd hand out corned beef sandwiches for free. I've got a lot more photos filed away, next free spell I'll get thousands loaded on to my Smugmug site. More hassles with Weebly although nothing that should show but good news is that you can now use most cards on the PMP shop as well as Paypal. I hope we'll get to see some of you at Glasgow over the weekend, I think we'll play the venues for filming by ear looking at the weather as we go. I'll try and blog but don't hold your breath! Some recent clips I've loaded to our Youtube site. A day around the local area with a start off up the M6 which at rush hour was amazingly clear of traffic joining north of the road works at Knutsford but the cameras are installed now ready for work to start north bound around Warrington section which should be fun, I assume this will start after the 18-19 stretch is completed. The weather in Lancashire was mild, breezy and mainly sunny although it's getting to that time of year when too much sunshine is a bit of a mixed blessing. Blackburn was that much in shadow that I retreated to M&S and had a morning coffee and slice of Bakewell tart before I attempted to get more scenes. The new bus station is not as well placed for photography as either the temporary facility which was brilliant or the old bus station by the railway which was equally good and served me well for several decades. Eventually I realised that I was struggling to get much footage and the shots were far from perfect so i moved on to see what the new bus station at Accrington could offer. Much better placed for photography although a lot more limited than the stops by the market where you could get all manner of combinations, directions etc but it saves on the leg work as everything seems to come around to some degree and despite the ethnic security chap who was very polite staying away from the loading bay areas saved few lives as there was not one van or lorry in the hours I was there and eventually the 'spotter' ranks grew as I was joined by a young man very enthusiast about Citaros from Gdansk ( I know it well) and then two nice chaps from Newcastle upon Tyne who bewildered the young Pole with their accent. There had been another 'local' enthusiast who never came to speak. Anyway the massed ranks kept the security at bay and it was spot on bfor photography with a quality of subjects to match the ease of shots. Pilkingtons have been joined by Boomerang, a name used down in Tewkesbury some time ago. Their vehicles look as if they are on a wing and a prayer but brightly painted, remind you of anyone? Darwen coaches have got a couple of full sized buses. Transdev are now in the rent a wreck game. Plenty of ex GHA hand me downs around including their cherished numbers. I hope our Geordie friends had a good spot in 'Leeds', they'll know what I mean. The light had really dipped at Burnley and it was probably the worst visit for film or photographs I'd made there for a while but I did it so that's up to date. I was just thinking back to Accrington, when I did a few shots at the other side, by the exit from the bus station an ethnic from the bus station staff wandered over, nice chap but do you know he had what I find to be a recurring chip on his shoulder - it's about money. Perhaps it just an Asian thing but he actually said he bet I didn't have a mortgage, could I spare him £100K to pay his off, ok he was joking but there is certainly a lack of will accept parts of British life and expect it all to come with the flower fairies. Meanwhile dear leader May blossom has been spouting off at the Con party conference, the would be reincarnation of Thatcher seems to believe the crap coming out of her mouth or she has a demented script writer. The Con party started the referendum, they opposed leaving the EU May included. Where is the legitimacy of the Cons who are artists every one. ( sorry for the play on words and UK politics for overseas readers). Photos from around Lancashire. I'm now on the 2002 Showbus films then start on trucks at Crick etc eventually reaching the Lancashire buses. We'll be at Bridgton GVVT ( Glasgow) on Saturday/Sunday. Mandy has swapped winter coats for summer rainwear, it must be winter! After the early start yesterday we seemed to both be relishing a lay in bed and it wasn't until about 9am that i started getting the DVD orders ready by which time the phone was ringing again. I'd only had time to do a few small jobs including watering the trans planted shrubs etc and it was time to head off to Partington to Gary Knowles my dentist, thankfully this time it was a matter of removing the temporary filling, the plugs in the root canals and then cementing and filling the tooth without any need for discomfort let alone the pain I had last week. Rejuvenated I managed to fill the IQ ready for tomorrows film outings and get some more posters and tickets done for the Harvest Supper event and dropped these off at the Duttons. It was already into the afternoon and I had done some editing work, the Showbus 2000 DVDs and covers are complete and I've started on 2001, also revamped some of the writing and photos on the web site. I've managed to get the recent DVD releases listed on both Amazon and EBay. Tomorrows trip will be up the motorway to Lancashire with the new bus stations at Blackburn and Accrington , if time permits maybe I'll get up to Burnley, lets see how it goes. This leaves me quite a lot of editing from yesterdays truck trip and with Glasgow GVVT etc at the weekend it looks as if some will pass into next week. I'm heading up to Grimsby to have a look at 16mm cine film in Phil Sheard's garage, that's next Tuesday. EBay had altered their format for listing, not that much just throws you when it looks different, its supposed to be more aligned for people working from their phones and ipads, tablets etc. Photos from yesterdays trip to Crick. There are more clips on the Youtube channel from the 2000 Showbus which was the first with a substantial continental attendance which seems to have fallen off in recent years. Those with sharp eyes may notice a new location amongst yesterdays photos in Warwickshire, north of the Stobart yard/cafe. The weather was spot on today at Crick/Rugby and much warmer than I'd expected at 19C all day albeit first thing at home it was only 6C when I got up. The crawl though Birmingham added 45mins to the journey but I'd allowed for that and any earlier the sun wouldn't have been up enough. I positioned myself by the end of the dual carriageway at the distribution centres and this proved really good and it was virtually non stop activity with Stobarts galore. I had breakfast at the Stobart cafe but was annoyed at the cash machine was out of order and I wanted to pay for tickets tonight as the fund raising committee meeting at George's place which is only a stones throw, I could easily walk there. We have a long string of events, concerts etc coming up in October although tomorrow is the final stage of my tooth saga ( I hope) and as it's midday it will really put a block on getting anything else done other than at home. I need to water the plants I moved at the weekend as its bone dry and no rain in sight at present. On Wednesday I'm hoping to film the new bus stations at Blackburn and Accrington. Thursday we are out with the Polio Fellowship at Gordale garden centre on the Wirral for afternoon tea and a talk. Mandy is still very sore after her bad tumble out of the front door yesterday afternoon and straight out across the lawn, looks like pulled or torn muscle. On Friday we head up to Scotland for the GVVT running days, if the weather is good we might film at Kilmarnock and Clydebank. Weather makes or breaks it up thhere, we'll set the stand up on Friday evening whatever. We've decided to do Germany by car in 2017 as well as the Balkans, Croatia, Bosnia and Albania- ish. I'm going to Japan and Mandy will be coming to India with me in February. I got a nice thank you note from the RNCM for my email on the squat there in 1974, it seems there is little in their archive on that aspect, I've sent them a copy of my autobiography, by the way there are still copies available, I think you can get it on Amazon or EBay. Anyway here are a few shots from this morning at Crick. By the way Showbus 1997 is now available and I'm just burning the first master for a two parter on Showbus 2000, once again the first time it has appeared on DVD. I've now released Showbus 1997 at Duxford for the first time on DVD, next will come 2000 with again the show at Duxford for the millennium event. Of course we already released the 2016 volumes some days ago, on that note I've updated the diary and the list as well as everything being up to date on the shop bar the latest archive of Showbus. I must get the new releases on Amazon and Ebay, very boring doing this but so many of you will insist on using the wretched EBay or Amazon company sites which means we have to pay them a whole chunk of cash for the pleasure and Amazon insist on taking postage whereas the other PMP sites are post free world wide. It's been a warm sunny autumnal day and it was time to have another session in the garden, I was dripping wet and am now looking forward to our roast lamb. I've checked the weather outlook and I'm almost certain it will bwe trucks at the Rugby ports near Stoberts depot and cafe, maybe I'll have lunch there, if you are a driver watch out for the yellow vest and give us a flash ( with you lights preferably!). My nagging on the use of ad blockers on Youtube may have had some affect as the revenue is creeping up a little but some of the countries with the highest amount of hits on the trailers are amongst the lowest or even zero for clicks or DVD purchases, this may well result in my deletion of our Vietnam material as a start, the most skinflint tightest minge bags going should realise that nothing is really free. Other locations will also feature, amongst which will be the USA. I was thinking with the increased rhetoric over Brexit from Dear leader May Cherry Blossom our latest dictator that we should also leave NATO and become non aligned so we can trade with anyone including brother Putin and even fuhrer Dump. With all the latest Youtube uploads I'm sure you will already visited so why not buy the DVDs now, superb Christmas presents. Here are some recent clips I suppose it was something of a quiet day, no rush to get up other than get a rather large post bag ready and clear the decks for another week. Mandy had an appointment in morning so I went round to do the post and afterwards launched into gardening with lawns mowed, bulbs planted and over sized shrubs cut back and relocated. Nothing much in the post other than a nice card from my sister thanking us for the pleasant stay they'd had and from the RNCM for attending the principle's circle launch event. I've been pruning out the photo files awaiting filing to get rid of the huge number of duplicate shots and unwanted views of pavement and sky etc. I've now edited the truck film on Merseyside and added to our shop the films from Loughborough and Leicester. I'm not sure yet what we shall be doing next week , it depends on the weather, available are Monday and Wednesday, Tuesday is round 3 or 4 at the dentist, we may go to Southern Cemetery and tidy up afterwards if the weather is kind to us. Thursday we have a Polio fellowship outing in the afternoon and Friday we go up to Scotland for the GVVT bus running day at the Glasgow bus museum I'm working through the odds and ends on my desk one by one keeping the pile to a minimum. I must get the family history software loaded again, the disc arrived last week. Photos from yesterday's jaunt to Merseyside. Oxford Diecasts latest future model details contain a super model for East Kent and later M&D. |
PMP Sponsors the North West Vehicle Restoration Trust at Kirkby.
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