BUS SPOT ULTRA DERBY UNDERWAY TODAY

Some areas of UK bus interest have been covered on film very well and Derby is certainly one of them with many hours of film in the PMP archive alone particularly the trolleybuses but going back to the tram era which were quite short lived I've only a few brief shots but they were gone in the early 1930's replaced mainly by the trolleybuses. As well as the Derby municipal fleet this volume will also feature big on Trent plus Barton and Midland Blue and shots of independents. I started filming in Derbyshire at the end of the 1980s so coming forwards there is an almost annual visit which takes us through to the takeover of municipal operations, Trent and Barton untied, the pedestrianisation and of course the controversy over destroying the popular and iconic bus station.  I've got masses of old Video 8 and Hi 8 tapes plus miniDv to go through, I've only just started.

We had a superb visit to the RNCM yesterday with a very filling Christmas meal in Brodskys and yet more outlandish gins for the girls from their ever expanding range. We had a drink reception in the interval. Got home quite late but caught up with Corrie then bed but disturbed by the fierce wind and heavy rain which came down overnight. It was not too bad this morning but as the day wore on it went downhill again. We had to go to John Leves's to buy a new iron, had lunch there and then took the new road from Handforth Dean which links up the bottle necked A6 and you wonder why they did it as yet again you stuff the traffic down the toothpaste tube but it still comes out at even more congested junctions. Turned off back through Macclesfield and home then started getting out all the tapes to copy. With Derby in mind a dip tonight into the archive. I'm still looking constantly at possible film locations Monday and Tuesday as the outlook keeps changing.