A GRAND DAY OUT IN YORKSHIRE

after much deliberation after the weather forecasts for today we finally at bedtime decided to stick with my choice which I knew Mandy wanted to cover York and Harrogate. In the event I only got a slight ducking at the very end in York otherwise it was very damp but not raining just cloudy and cool, the lack of wind made it tolerable. We got up at normal weekday work time at 06.45 which isn't bad for us at weekends and headed over to York where it had stopped raining, we had coffee and cakes in a small cake shop and then went our different ways as I headed off to start my bus coverage. I think things have at last settled down but that doesn't mean to say its got boring as York continues to be one of the most lively bus centres in Britain and for operators, liveries and vehicles it certainly takes some beating and of course plenty of deckers around still which pleases everyone from enthusiasts to overseas tourists. I think the foul weather had kept the town quiet and although it did start to rain towards the end of my filming I think I'd got a pretty representative mix for everyone.

The next stop was at Harrogate, a slow crawl between the two but we made it and although still dark and damp the rain did hold off while we were there but then chucked it down as we headed home over the M62, back home it was dry. Harrogate has a pretty different bus appeal and certainly doesn't offer the bland Stagecoach / First/ Arriva image so familiar through our fair Isles but then the rather dark livery does take some sorting for stills on a cloudy autumn day. It certainly is autumn now and that means its Heaton Park rally tomorrow, the first Sunday in September and the forecast is dry but cool which is about as good as it gets there and lets hope the vehicle turn out has popped upwards as things have been slipping with the run of bad weather. I'm editing both York and Harrogate DVDs and should have them with us and all the other recent releases tomorrow at Manchester. The van looks a bit bare really but then we don't need a suitcase for Heaton Park. When we got home I went up on the roof to check out the wiring for the phones as the bell hasn't been working since we got back and we've managed to get BT to escalate it on the basis of Mandy being disabled which is very true and she needs to be in contact, I check up on her from work and the mobile signal is rubbish so alarms etc won't work from home. We were disapointed to find that Beales had gone in Harrogate along with their superb cream teas , sadly missed but there is a new Marks and Spencers on the road out to Leeds which had a fine selection of cakes still left albeit the Bakewell tarts were down to one poor specimen which was broken and nobody wanted! Photos today from York. The new DVDs are already on our shop. Not sure if I'll get an hour out of Heaton Park but will do my best.