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Lost
1\1111. R. GRESHAM COOKE had hoped that during the debate on railwayfinance in the House of Commons, last week, he would. be able to. -raise 'the question of rural "bus services: With the aid of The Commercial Motor he•Itad made a careful study of.operating costs:and had prepared a first-class brief: Unfortunately, he was 'unable to. catch the Speakers eye. He now lives to fight another day, and I hope before long he will havethe chance to put before Parliamerit,the facts—as opposed • to the generally aired fancies—about rural .bus operation.
They Know Better •
T OUDEST applause at the S.P.D. luncheon after the official LA opening of the company's Nottingham depot, last week. was accorded to -a comment .by Mr. M. Brown when 'he welcomed Mr. M. .E, Treasurywala, Of -Hindustan: Lever, Ltd. Mr. Brown asked the assembled company to take particular note that Mr. Treasurywala had recently been promoted from the marketing to the transport side of his organization.
This appreciation' of the transport man's value is something, that India certainly did not learn from the British raj.
Journey's End •
ONE of the comparatively few remaining owner-driver, bus operators has given up after 34 years. During that time, with his wife as conductress, he has driven nearly 700 miles a week on his service from Fleckney to Leicester. He has now sold out to Provincial -Garage (Leicester), Ltd., to 'spend his retirement in gardening. Some people are gluttons for punishment.
Star Attraction
BECAUSE so many members of the Institute of the Motor I-, Industry wished to hear Mr. R. Lane, chief instructor of the Leslie Hartridge Training School, talk about -servicing diesel pumps and injectors, last week, a larger hall had to. be
hired. . •
It is quite untrue that the audience thought that they were going to hear Frankie Laine.
Quick Response
MY paragraph (December 5) about Mrs. Jean Hall's efforts to raise a' prize fund for' the Weymouth round of the Lorry Driver of the Year competition next year brought an immediate donation of £5 from Arthur Hughes and Sons, Ltd., Liverpool. They entered at Weymouth last year, but were rather disappointed when their driver, P. Harkin, in an articulated Bedford, had a walk-over in his class. They thought his skill deserved a better test.
It was, however, vindicated in the final of the competition this year, when he was Class F(2) champion, took third place in the final classification and second place among the drivers of oil-engined vehicles. The competitors in Class F(2) at Weymouth next year will have to look to their laurels if Harkin enters again.
Petticoat Influence
A/IRS. J. BEAUMONT, a director of
Happiway Tours (Manchester), Ltd., was telling me last week how the different tastes of northern and southern passengers can affect the choice of hotels on Continental tours. Northerners particularly enjoy the informal atmosphere of the establishment that Happiway Tours use in Austria, where the maids often mingle with the guests in the evening, dancing national jigs 'in gay .Tyrolean costumes. The handsonie chef charms holiday, makers with dances and ,ohl7so.131ausibie stories. Mrs. Beaumont is quite willing', to leave: the purchase of chassis and the operational details to her co-directors, but has strong ideas on the question of lintels:, and on interior decoration . for cdaches, She regards some of the upholstery coverings on offer as decidedly odd, and planning to visit Yorkshire initls shortly to chrocise or suggest designs she thinks mill . be the most' attractiveto the passengers.
Clear as Daylight
ARGUING that Preston by-pass is unsuitable for a speed of 70 m.p.h, by a 14-ton-gross vehicle, Robert Walling, motoring correspondent of the London Evening Standard, asks: " What impact force would result if the lotry hit a halted vehicle in the dark'?" The answer is simple: the same as if the lorry hit it in daylight.
-Guilty Conscience? T POINTED out on October 3 that when Mr. R. A. Fearnley I completed a quarter' of a century as general manager of Coventry Transport Department, the transport committee noted the anniversary, but members of the "Transport and General Workers' Union made him a presentation. Perhaps the committee have felt a twinge of conscience, because last week, after presenting two retiring filters with certificates (in Mr. Fearnley's officer. Cult.. W. Spencer, chairman, and Dlr. W. R. Jones, vice-chairman, took them out to lunch.
Ideas Pay
MR. RONALD SHEPHERD, suggestion scheme officer of the lvi Ford Motor Co., Ltd., ha S been faigely responsible for "Successful Suggestion Schemes," an excellent 0.114 of the subject published last Friday by the Industrial Welfare Association, It covers 208 of the 500 or so known schemes and shows that awards paid for worthwhile suggestions last year ranged from 2s 6t1.. to £750.
Joseph Lucas, Ltd.. among the 20 operators' of the most successful suggestion schemes, last year paid out £25,304 for ideas—the largest recorded amount. Their highest award was €600.
The Old Brigade
APPRENT10ES who served their, time with Thornycroft are being sought by Mr. H. E. Mundy, honorary secretary of Thornycroft's Old Boys Basingstoke Association, which has now been running for 29 years. Many men who have made their mark in the industry owe their early training to Basingstoke. Those who want to gossip over old times should write to Mr. Mundy at 55A Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading,