Sunday 3 October 2010

The Early Birds…

Yoga for health

On Friday, K had to be escorted down to the Adult Education Centre to begin her new course in Yoga. Yoga!  As if she’s not laid back and relaxed enough! It really ought to be me beginning Yoga class seeing as I am the uptight one out of this duo!  As it turned out, I very nearly needed more than Yoga, I nearly needed some smelling salts to help my recovery from shock!  The reason?  We had to use the bus before 9.30am and therefore we had to pay some bus fare.

 

She needed to be there for 9.30am, for that was the start time of the class. Usually we would have set off and walked down but it was absolutely pouring down with rain, and my long term reader will be well aware by now that I hate rain. (must have been of the feline persuasion in a previous life methinks.) 

Now for some strange reason beyond anyone’s comprehension (and may I say fairly typical of the strange laws we tend to have accumulated in this country of ours) you can’t use your bus pass before half past nine in the morning. Why?  You may well ask! Therein lies the conundrum. I haven’t a clue. Used to be you couldn't use them after 15.30pm either but that was changed some years ago.  Is it a dread that all pensioners and disabled persons will suddenly cram themselves onto the buses before 9.30am thereby causing havoc with timetables and drivers breakfast times?

My Bus Pass

We who reside in this country have largely given up trying to fathom out some of the strange and hard to understand rules and regulations that have accumulated over the years. Another example is, why can you ride for free on the buses (well, as long as its after 9.30am that is) and yet you have to pay on the trains?

Anyway, we boarded the bus and asked for two tickets for our destination, a matter of a mere seven bus stops in duration, not hardly worth parking your derriere for.

“ That’ll be two pounds and eighty pence please!” the driver said.  As he in all probability  realised by looking at us both that we would normally, in twenty minutes time precisely, be using our free bus passes he was obviously geared up for the likelihood of incredulous looks of flabbergasted disbelief on one of our faces, namely mine. I very nearly came over all faint. It’s been so long since we had to pay to ride the bus, I simply hadn’t realised just how much the bus fares had risen in the meantime.

rain

I was sorely tempted to ask if we could pay a deposit and then pay the rest off in weekly amounts.

“ It’s £1.80p each!” he explained when he noted the look of disbelief and horror on my face.  Hmm. Blasted rain. Next time, we’ll get a taxi, its cheaper by some 30 pence!  But hang on a goddam minute! Aren’t we all supposed to be encouraging folks to leave their cars at home and begin using public transport instead?

As we stepped off the bus at our stop he quipped “You’ll have to travel later next time!”  Yes. We’ll jolly well walk down in future even if its pouring down. I’ll invest in a huge brolly to cover us both, it’ll turn out cheaper. Either that, or I’ll book a taxi. Cheapskate aren’t I?

TG  (can’t wait to see K doing the yoga exercise above, can you?)  Winking smile

7 comments:

  1. We have more than our share of unfathomable rules over here, TG. A witticism I learned at the NCO Academy way back in the last century seems to apply to the "logic" of rules and regulations dumped upon the unsuspecting public by the powers that be: "If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bull****!"

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  2. I'm not surprised by the cost of your bus fare, because I often catch the bus but I agree with you how shockingly expensive bus travel has become. I hope K enjoyed her yoga.

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  3. Ahh Rocket Man, so we would get no respite by moving to the States then? Hmm. Penny, I fully expected the Yoga teacher to report that as soon as the class had begun K fell asleep but she managed to keep awake through it all.

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  4. Hello Technogran! You dropped by my blog recently, & thanks!
    Our bus fares go up every year here in Canada.. I drive but transportation is not getting any cheaper!
    Michael :-)

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  5. Thank you for your comment Light in a Box. As we are usually travelling bus-wise for nothing with our concessionary passes, we don't notice that fares have risen hence the shock.

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  6. I know how silly this will sound, but one of my favorite days was on Monday when I went to my son's house, and we made a decision to get on the bus and go downtown! It's a big city. I had to learn how to use /ride the bus. I had not been on one since I was a child. I hadn't the faintest idea how to pay the fare. But they must be used to folks as I am because they were quite nice while being instructive.

    I thoroughly enjoyed being ferried about without worrying about parking and other drivers. :-)

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  7. Yes Rambling, whenever its throwing it down with rain, I wish we had a car, but then whenever we travel in someone else's car and I see how long it takes to find a parking space, pay for a parking ticket etc, I am thankful we travel by public transport!

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