BIRD !S
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EYE By The Hawk
VIEW
Every Friday evening, after vatching her favourite television programme, Mrs. Hugh 7ellows settles down and reads most of The Commercial low aloud to her husband. "She must be one in a itillion ", I can hear some people saying. Well, she is. l.ut so is her husband, Hugh.
For the past three years Hugh ,has been totally blind, ollowing an accident in which the rim flew off a wheel ie was replacing on his vehicle. Months later, after he had ecovered—rninus his sight—this owner-driver from :ireets Green, West Bromwich, went into haulage and he ow runs, with the help of his wife and some very loyal rivers, five vehicles under B licences. And he actually runs he business, in every sense of the word—answering the hone, seeing customers and looking after the fleet.
What is the first thing that Mrs. Fellows reads out to er husband every Friday? " Haulage Applications" (the Vest Midland section, of course). "We like to see what he other boys are up to ", she tells me. What do we hink about it? We think they've both got a lot of guts.
I Lot of Guts ientimentai Journey I'm told that Stanley Robson, ead of the 130-vehicle fleet of Robson's Border Transport, f Carlisle, was seen taking time-off last Sunday to ompete in the London-Brighton Ford veteran rally. He as driving his firm's oldest vehicle—a 1918 Model T one inner which he bought two years ago.
This was not the only Robson vehicle taking part, iough. The family was further represented by a 1914 lode! T sedan—co-drivers for this vehicle were Albert tobson and the firm's engineer, Tom Tinning. It seems 3at Mr. Robson has a sentimental attachment for his old 'orrd—aptly named "Border Veteran ". He started up in lie haulage business with one like it in 1925.
orobing Deep Why do you (or do you not) -avel to work by bus? Or car? Or train? This sort of uestion, among others, was being asked of nearly a third shout 45,000) of Coventry's working population s on 'uesday in a journey-to-work survey sponsored jointly by le City of Coventry and Birmingham University's departlent of transportation.
The idea, of course, is eventually to use the results of le survey to improve travel by both public and private -artsport; Coventry and other cities and towns have had -avel surveys before but this is the first time I've heard of
a deeper motivational probing. The questioners wanted to know why people chose particular forms of transport and routes and also what they thought of existing travel. The answers could be very entertaining as well as useful.
Sorry Spectacles The eyes and the ears of the
Press being what they are it was inevitable that the catastrophe that occurred last week-end should come to light. An English cricket team dismissed for 0. I repeat, 0, nil, nothing, not a single solitary run. Victims of this ducking, I was sorry to hear, were from within our own industry. The team in question was the Martin Walter works eleven, who by now, I imagine, are having a lot of explaining to do at the factory. Instigators of this massacre were a village eleven from Saltwood, which, I bear, has some rather efficient fast bowlers. One consoling thought, Martin Walter works eleven—you can't ever do so badly again. Can you?
Bus .operators in the Western area last week held a luncheon to. honourStarley Nelson on his retirement as chairman of the Traffic Commissioners, and I can do no better than quote the delightfully apposite 'verses printed in the menu (ComPosed, 1• am assured, by C. H. Preece. Western National's commercial traffic manager):
Poetic Tribute Our Stanley is a man of. parts, Practitioner in several arts; . His paintings hang in many a place, His gifts of favour and of grace: For Stanley has a heart of gold,' His kindly acts are Manifold.
Music and clocks, no common pair, Iill in his time when we're not there. For us, we see the social gift .
When voice and glasses are uplift. ' Isn't this nice' we hear him say To brighten yet another day.
His gift of words, of phrase that steals The strength from almost all appeals: His care for those unversed in law, Who unsupported ask for more: These qualities of heart and brain, These are the things that will remain.
A raconicur of no mean skill A ' bun viveur ' whose glass we fill.
And yet—let no one be in doubt He knows full well what he's about: The seali.s held firm, if tipped at all Will favour him who's staked his :ill