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BIRD'S• EYE
Page 38
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VIEW By The Hawk
"French Cheese. . . oui !" is the notation on the side of this veteran Renault bus. It was photographed at Newhaven on its way back to France recently. (See "Pushing Cheese".)
Pushing Cheese Recently touring the Mid
lands was a real old veteran—a Renault bus which was first put into operation by Paris Transport in 1922. For more than 35 years this grand old vehicle honked its way through the city's busy streets between Porte St. Cloud and Porte des Lilas before being sold, in 1957, to SOPEXA —the official organization for the promotion of French wine and food products. Its function here, in fact, was to urge Midlanders to eat more French cheese—the destination board read "From France—the land of cheeses—to the Midlands ".
Tell it to the ... Speaking at the Institute of Directors conference last week, Sir Donald Stokes is reported to have said that 30,000 bus conductors were running around all day reading newspapers. These men, said Sir Donald, could be working in factories.
I am sure that 100 per cent of the bus operators in this country would agree with Sir Donald that half the conductors employed are not really required •and could be replaced by driver/conductors. But tell this to the TGWU and see what kind of response you get
One of Two
Last week, in a feature about the Fort William pulp and paper mills, the activities of timber hauliers William and David Ogilvie of Evanton, near Dingwall, were described. But one fact not mentioned was that Mrs. Isabella Ogilvie—wife of Bill—is one of only two women p.s.v. drivers known to hold licences in the north of Scotland. For the
past two and fair
weather and foul — Mrs.
Ogilvie has driven the local school bus, an 11-seater Morris. So far, I am glad to say, she has never been stuck in the snow that falls so often in this part of Ross and Cromarty. Not a bad record!
Useful Ferry Guide
Considerable interest was aroused by the "Guide to Vehicle Ferries" published in "The Commercial Motor" on July 16. Reprints have been requested by one large organization and I understand from several operators that the guide adorns the walls of their traffic offices. For this reason I mention the fact that this month's "Motor Ship" contains a ferry supplement which gives a guide to ferries not only operating from the United Kingdom, but throughout Europe, including Scandinavia. Operators and shippers sending or carrying loads to Denmark and Sweden should find this of value.
Useful Ferry Guide
Too Curious It is funny how people are affected by the presence, or the imagined presence, of criminal types. A colleague of mine passes one of the best-known prisons every morning. He tells me that his route is often blocked by accidents of the chain-reaction type at a pedestrian crossing situated right outside the prison gates.
The latest pile-up was last week when five cars were involved. It appeared that most of the drivers had been paying more attention to the prison than looking where they were going.
Sunshine Lolly Escapism in November? Not exactly. That insatiable source of statistics, OECD, has recently reported on tourism in member countries in 1964. The leading earning countries, in terms of the odd million dollars of tourist money (with the 1963 figures in brackets), were Spain 873 (611), Italy 826 (749), Austria 385 (314), Switzerland 300 (253).
Well down the league table comes France with 23, having tumbled from 124 in 1963. Shades of Le General —maybe we should re-align the Chunnel.
Meanwhile, more Continental tours to more distant destinations should not do British coach operators any harm.
Own a Sentinel? We have had a plea concern ing an underfloor-engined 6-wheeled vehicle—probably a Sentinel, fitted with an old Atkinson cab, which has been spotted on A40 west of London at Hillingdon Circus and also on the main Birmingham-Coventry road. It would be appreciated if the owner would contact Mr. D. N. Miller. 33 Warren Drive, Eastcote, Ruislip, Middlesex. I gather that Mr. Miller, a member of the Commercial Vehicle and Road Transport Club, is interested in the antecedents of this old vehicle.