The Buxton truck DVD is now on the PMP shop in DVD and download and more of the old West Midlands archive is on as digital downloads in response to several requests. The next Bus Spot Ultra films will be Birkenhead with wallasey and St Helens while the next archive Tickety'boo production will be a Spot On London RT buses with lots of scenes never made public before. I'm still busy scanning the old cine films with an emphasis on the George Roberts London material just to get it away for storage and clear shelf space and ditto the Winter collection on Scotland which goes to their National Archive this spring.

Friends and family now for the weekend, possible next blog Sunday evening or if time permits.

Also ready tonight the trucks on the Cat & Fiddle Pass at Buxton filmed in the freezing cold and wind this week. I've just got the cover to do and put it on the shop. Hoping next week sees fairer weather. Family and friends here until Sunday evening so may not be opportunities to post then.

I've finally managed to get the second part of the DVD in the new Tickety-boo series ready and another grand hours with 100% scanned cine showing how the company slowly and perhaps grudgingly became a part of the NBC and the sorry state of affairs which sometimes resulted in a mixture of vehicle types and liveries and the need to hire in buses from sources as diverse at London Transport, the NBC  and municipals. There are classic scenes of all these attributes and enjoy a soundtrack of melodies from the era. I'm hoping to get the cover done before the end of the week, the master DVD is being burnt to disc as I type. So another busy day and the weather a little calmer will it lead to any opportunities to film tomorrow. I've still to edit the Buxton lorry film from yesterday morning. Here is Mandy at RGK near Chasetown collecting her new £6k wheelchair which weighs less than 4kg ( whatever that may be in real weight). The old chair will go in to storage and just be used for overseas trips be air as it gets so knocked about at airports.

A reminder of the quality of the scanned cine film used for the Tickety-boo productions, a still from the cine scan.

Other than a scattered flecky covering there was little laying snow on the hills but I did get an hour of lorries working over the Cat & Fiddle in Derbyshire. It was bitter, my hands suffered most despite two pairs of gloves which needless to say hampers photography a bit. I did go on to look at Dove Holes again and have decided than rather than waiting for a snowy day thereabouts it would be superb on a sunny mild day as the amount of lorries is staggering and large numbers of Fodens and the occasional ERF. I've been trying to get the second London Country 50th anniversary film finished, I'm within 4 minutes now so will look through the scans of inner London for Country bus workings, this will take us through the rest of the 1970s.

Tomorrow we go to Staffs to pick up Mandys lightweight wheelchair. Mandy was at the access forum at Manchester Airport, a very interesting and tiring day but Mandy has now got a place on the regular panel for its quarterly visits, Mandy says she saw many areas which the public don't usually get to. The work on Terminal 2 is well under way and will see the old Terminal 3 vanish in the reorganised arrangements. I'll keep looking at Thursday for film opportunities surely we'll get a break in the extremes before Friday. Here are shots from the Derbyshire hills today above Buxton.

This is the new London Country Bus Services DVD which is now in the PMP shop both DVD and digital download. The second volume is being edited which is about the only thing I can produce in this awful weather. I also managed to get the Nottingham DVD cover ready and that too is on DVD and as digital download. I've updated the list on the PMP shop.

I will try and get some filming done this week but we are really up against it although at least the wind is set to drop. I may try Buxton tomorrow and try for lorries in the snow, Mandy is on the Access committee workshop at Manchester airport tomorrow. Wednesday we pick up Mandy's new titanium lightweight wheelchair from near Chasetown, Staffs. Thursday is the best bet for filming but where is another question. Friday we have relatives arriving for the weekend. Any time I have to spare through the weather and I'll try and load more films as digital download options. Lots of people are interested in the archive video on download, I'll take a stab at it and put the West Midlands films on first.

Just the cover to make for the first volume covering London Country Bus Services which should be ready tomorrow, as usual this can't go on Youtube as they don't want archive film there but the quality is a worlds away from past productions and indicates where our future in archive quality lays. Very pleased with the results and a couple of advance copies will be going firstly to friends who have helped with film in the past and encouraging participation in the future and the safe long term deposit of their material with the OTA after great scans have been completed.

It is of course frustrating to see decades of hard work almost rendered useless by this new technology but great that I am participating in its transfer in a large way now. I also need to get the cover done for the Nottingham film which will also be ready tomorrow. The new ones will then go on the shop as digital downloads without undue delay. The weather outlook this week is fairly dire but Thursday I'm hopeful of getting two location done and any clear areas of sunshine may permit a few truck films, we have lots of destinations on our to do list. Just to stick with Nottingham some shots from past visits to whet your appetite.

All went well for the anticipated quick trip to Nottingham to film the buses, arrived about 8.15, got the rush hour services , grid lock much of the time. Later was better, less was more on this occasion. There were lots of new buses there and I got some great shots. Out at a Quizz and pudding night at Plumley village hall tonight but will get the Nottingham film edited tomorrow and also make more progress on the London Country films. Generally speaking I'm well on top of things compared to normal, a big shopping bag went off to the post this afternoon, best sales day since Christmas. I've also made a start on Janet's family tree ( land lady at the Crown) I think she'll be pleased back to 17thC on one line and some progress on several fronts, it makes a change to dip into something else now and then.

As I've got to get a move on and ready myself to get to Plumley early I'll just give you an initial slide show on Nottingham, it will be a fairly long playing DVD as I got quite a lot of shots, all very friendly drivers as usual, it is a very smart municipal fleet one of only 8 such undertakings let in Britain.

Fingers crossed that all is well for a trip to Nottingham mostly for the update on buses tomorrow morning, I think it will be windy but by lunch time blowing a gale by which time we'll be heading home. No chance for Derby the bus station spot at the exit is far too exposed but there should be the chances of sheltered spots in a light cloud sky situation in Nottingham. Today other than a bit of shopping we shifted a fair volume of orders first thing and I cracked on with the cine film scanning and am nearly through my targets for this month of getting the OTA batch done and clearing the G Roberts bus collection which was a bitch to project and even worse getting it through the scanner, stops numbered about 20 per film which is annoying and puts the scanners at jeopardy.

Anyway I'm just getting the files trimmed up and ID's ready to file. I want to back them up on my editing computer and need to buy another external drive for my photos which are being left as copies with OTA should hey be able to benefit from their use until my eventual demise, much in the future I hope. The Youtube channel seems to be ticking along nicely with revenue climbing after the new year slump. I've filed recent photos and the good news for those who insist on using Amazon shop is that the latest 50 or so PMP films are now loaded on our shop there as well as on the PMP shop which I implore people to use in preference. The London Country films are on the production line and if the terrible weather continues will be getting done sooner than later.

Anyone coming to see us at Boyle St, Detling or Brooklands and wanting anything specific to pick up let us know so we can bring an extra copy or any copy at all if its an oldie. This is intended to be the last year toting the old sales stock at reduced prices the skip awaits any lack of custom this spring giving a bit more space in the shed or van. A dry spell will enable us to get the van sorted and ready, fingers crossed on that one as it has been raining in biblical amounts with ark at the ready. Here is the latest DVD

I took a chance and Mandy came with me to Preston, we arrived just after 8am, the light cloud was already fine for filming and it stayed dry until I was finished filming at 10.30, just as it started to pour down. We met up and had some nice lemon drizzle cake in the Harris museum library cafe and then back down to see if Mandys car was ready but it wasn't, we've just got it back before 5pm. We dropped the post off and I got stuck into film scanning, running off printed blank discs , downloaded DVD orders, sorted out the rest of the Brazil itinerary for July including stop off at Santos and the flights. A saving of about two thirds on travel agent prices, serious money and we could never afford it if we didn't do it ourselves. Not much on the net today, tomorrows weather looks relentlessly wet , I'll keep my eyes open for Friday, by the end of the week it gets worse again if that is possible, lots of minor roads here flooded and trees down. I've ordered up another bell to ring me in the far office / editing suite as I can't hear anything with the machines going, the last Chinese rubbish went in the bin after I got a refund. Total waste of time and effort.

Anyway still working towards the London archive features, perhaps tomorrow. Trying to get these other London cine reels done as they are awfully spliced with gum and tape and break or jam every few minutes, the other collection for OTA goes through without one hiccup. I can do two good 'uns and relax with tele in the lounge but get the wrong reel and its a tangled mess before you know it so very much getting the worse done first. I'll put the Preston trailer on Youtube and here are some shots from this morning. Very friendly visit, just one  whinger from east of Clacton, wasn't even near a bus. The bus station looks very smart with the landscaping, perfect now for photography, better than ever in fact.

Sometimes it feels as if a day hasn't been that productive despite having dropped off Mandys car for car park scratch repair and then drop off post which we got ready early on then I was both scanning cine and finishing Detling and Brooklands hotel bookings and the Cyprus personal details for BA booking  and check terminal plus an overnight for Term5 plus Cyprus car hire. Then the Caucasus trip for August this took ages. I've finished four 400' scans today some of which will help with the London Country films which are getting closer to editing.

The foul weather goes on , hoping to get to Preston tomorrow with fingers crossed rain doesn't start until later it was the only possible spot to try. Thursday fingers again crossed that somewhere dry but light cloud emerges and I suppose ditto Friday. We have a Quiz and pudding night Friday at Plumley village hall. I will have a look at loading recent releases on Amazon this week. I've put the BBC SFX library we bought 30 years ago on EBay caused no end of trouble on Youtube with Yanks claiming the sounds are theirs.

With London at last you may add starting to appear in our special editions lets take a dip in that area for tonights slide show.