Week 3 - Day 2

Different route for me today, as needed to go into the local town.

You may, or may not recall, that the return bus fare into said local town is usually £2.10, apart from that time the robbing git of a bus driver charged me £3.10.  After said episode, I now stick to my guns and proffer £2.10 into the driver's receptacle, so to speak. (Don't tempt me!)

I locked up, alarmed, and left work at 4.30pm today, and walked down the longer-than-average driveway, arriving at the bus stop and seeing on the non-punched timetable (posh street) that the next bus was due any minute, and for once, it hadn't zoomed past in a blaze of blue and orange glory just as I reached the ornate cast iron gates.

As it happened, I crossed the road without incident to said bus stop, and indeed also without seeing the bus approaching and throwing myself in front of it.  The bus arrived at 16.38 (a few minutes late)....a posh new one, which I hadn't had the pleasure of until now, so I was expecting great things....and I boarded and placed my £2.10 into the driver's receptacle and asked for a return to town. 

'£2.60', the driver said.
'£2.10 usually', I retorted. (I omitted to say unless you're the robbing git that charged me £3.10, which I knew he wasn't, as he was thin and grey and wiry and not burly like the robbing git)
'£2.60', he said again.
Here we go.  You've just never got a machete on you when you need one, have you?
'It's usually £2.10 as they put from Holmegate?' I offered with a smile.
'This isn't Holmegate', he replied, obstinately.
I shrugged and fumbled around in my cavernous bag for my purse, and slapped another 50p in the driver's receptacle.
'You've been getting away with that, then', he remarked smugly.
Snatching my ticket, I shot back 'well we won't say anything about that then shall we?' and took a seat.

Inspecting my ticket, I noted that indeed, it did say 'Royal Oak' instead of the usual 'Holmegate'.  I felt like marching up to the driver and pointing out that this wasn't the bloody Royal Oak either, as that was 3/4 mile back the other way! 

Of course, I resisted, as I have been brought up to be polite and not annoy people.

I got off the bus, planning to use the cut-through to the main Post Office, only to find that the iron gates were locked at the end of the little walk-through shortcut. Hey-ho!
Soooo, I had to walk the long way round to the main post office, including walking past some merry revellers sitting outside a local pub on the corner, and conduct my business at the Post Office, and then walk up the street and to the store *coughs* en route to the bus stop to return home.

I arrived at the bus stop having missed the bus by 4 minutes.  The bus went at 16.54, and I got there at 16.58.  I peered at the fist-punched-in timetable to find that the next bus was at 17.16.  Oh, well forgive me for the constant deja vu - but I had 18 minutes to wait until the next bus.  Even though in that time, 2 buses went past the other way.  Explain that one, if you can, as these buses do the same route on a loop.

Hot, bothered, and tired, those 18 minutes seemed interminable, and as each smug driver passed I was willing them to give me a lift.

Said bus arrived, mercifully bang on time (I was checking on my iphone) and I boarded and offered my ticket to the 20yr old young male driver.  Normally, the driver just tears your ticket a little way then hands it back.....this one, however, folded it as if to perform some sort of Origami, and my ticket was returned with a little unidentified shaped hole in the middle of it.  I guessed he was new and had 'been on a course on how to manipulate a return ticket in 100 ways.

The bus was quite full, although I noted that Gandalf wasn't on it (I won't miss that autograph opportunity again!).  There was, however, a man wearing what looked to all intents and purposes a ladies vest top, and a large lady in pink sitting at the front, sideways on, i.e. a 45 degree slope, who looked like a bulldog who had swallowed a wasp.  I saw her looking at me, and offered a smile.  She didn't return the smile, but kept staring at me.  My thoughts were, either smile back or stop effing well staring at me, woman!  She got off a few stops later, obviously to offload her natural miserableness onto her beloved, if she has one.  It's my guess she was off to get the chip pan on PDQ.

Am tempted to give Stagecoach a call tomorrow to ascertain exactly what the return fare into the local town should be.  £2.10? £2.60? £3.10?  All from the same stop, at roughly the same time.

It's becoming a bit like Deal or no Deal....i.e. what's in the box...what price is it today for a return ticket?!