A tall story from NY...
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I GET annoyed, very annoyed, with two types. of individuals and I've been meeting too many lately — they're the knockers and the patronising sympathisers.
The first lot are the psychiatric cases who go about telling others how bad all things British really are. Not your foreigners, oh no, but your real stay-at-home enjoy-the-Welfare-State nationals.
The second group are our old friends who have come to wish the patient well, but sadly shake their heads and make a mental note to ask for a day off for the funeral.
It's a wonder to me that the first lot don't emigrate and that the second lot can be so blind. Perhaps the rest of us don't shout loud enough.
Take the latest example_ Recently, British Leyland sold eight double-deckers to New York. On arrival they were found to be too tall for most New York routes. Immediately there were fingers of scorn pointed at BL. "They should have known better," said the mockers They did, but the customer, who is always right, insisted on the "tall boys".
Anyway, the eight have been on trial now for almost three months, and the New Yorkers are crazy about them This week I heard crews and passengers sing their praises.
They've discovered that, for very little extra cost in wages, fuel and capital investment, you can carry almost twice as many passengers with a dd. And, by almost halving the number of buses, you cut down traffic jams.
The passengers, who all want to ride on the top, like the big windows.