CORITANI CAPERS
Rather than try and remember the events of the Leicester meetings as a résumé at the end of the year, I thought I would try and do a six-monthly report. Unfortunately, this has overrun, but here goes.
FEBRUARY: Trevor Follows gave us his traditional showing of events from the preceding twelve months, and in breakneck speed we managed to see all the year's highlights, including an update on railway activities. This month, Trevor additionally gave us a more in-depth look at operators in the North West.
MARCH: Ken Johnson followed his maiden show last year (which was about old and modern trams), contrasting with a 'biography' of his life in the bus industry, largely with Midland Red South working out of Nuneaton Garage. A thoroughly enjoyable viewpoint from a driver's perspective.
APRIL: An archive showing of ciné film was our offering this month. Ken Williams kindly brought along films that had been taken by his father who was a keen amateur photographer/film maker. There was good footage of the formulative years of the 'Confidence' company, plus a very interesting short film of Leicester in the mid-sixties including a variety of operators using Southgates Coach Station. Changing from 'Standard 8' to 'Super 8' for the various films was a technical challenge, but we successfully concluded with 1970s ciné films by Brian Dicks, predominantly of D9s in Leicester and London.
Also in April, the annual skittle match at WS (Wigston) again provided much jollity with appropriate pub food. Thanks to Rob Pike for the logistics.
MAY: We had Stuart Render giving us a show of his time at Leicester City Transport in the 1970s up to the mid-1980s. A lot of incidental background shots, together with anecdotes to the personnel that were there at the time, gave us a thoroughly enjoyable morning.
JUNE: Our Study Tour this year took us to the Oxford Bus Museum at Long Handborough. Transport was again provided by Confidence Coaches, on this occasion being appropriately an ex-City of Oxford Leyland Tiger/Paramount. Several photographs appeared in 'Omnibus' at the time. The Museum itself has also been the recipient of lottery funding and it was interesting to see how they had developed their main visitor hall for 'Joe Public'. We were treated to a ride on an immaculately turned-out lowbridge AEC Regent III/Weymann before returning home, via a brief visit to Worth's of Enstone.
JULY: The star attraction at our annual 'Bring An Artefact' day this year was a model layout of a typical Midland Red bus station/garage, kindly brought in by Ken Johnson. A keen member of the MBF, the attention to detail was amazing. The usual assortment of memorabilia, timetables, etc., also appeared by members present.
AUGUST: Paul Roberts provided this month's show entitled "Waterways to Motorways", the first half being a very enjoyable 'navigation' of the inland waterway system, plus forgotten ferry crossings of the Humber and the Severn.
SEPTEMBER: We welcomed back Chris Aston for his thirteenth visit and on this occasion had the mundane showing of "Leicester buses in the 1960's"! Such a mouth watering feast meant that yet again, we set a new attendance figure for a meeting, this time reaching the dizzy heights of thirty-four. At one point, Chris showed a vehicle on the X91 service and wondered if anyone actually ever travelled all the way for four-and-a-half hours between Leicester and Hereford. Rather like a self-confessional AA group, on a show of hands virtually all the audience admitted to having committed this bizarre act at some time in their life! We were also treated to birthday party cakes, courtesy of Dave Pearson, who was celebrating being able to travel on buses after 9.30am at the generosity of the taxpayer.
OCTOBER: This month another large audience welcomed back Mike Fenton for his nineteenth visit. Having already 'boxed the compass' for earlier decades, his latest presentation had progressed to the "North West in the 1980s", so covered the periods either side of deregulation. And, as one might expect from author of the "Fenton Files", it included as much of the unusual as of the typical. ACG
NOVEMBER: Sixty years and five days after Leicester's last tram ran, Mike Greenwood gave a PowerPoint presentation of 'Operation Scrap Iron', the programme of conversion from trams to motorbuses, though including a brief history of the whole system. The show was completed with a DVD that has been compiled from all known ciné film of Leicester trams, including just a few minutes in colour. Sobering thought to see a Leicester tram passing Woolworths and then to realise that at least one Leicester tram survives! ACG
DECEMBER: December 2009 marked the thirtieth anniversary of BMMO D9 withdrawal both in Leicester and throughout the Midland Red network. Appropriately, another large audience saw Mike Greenwood give a PowerPoint presentation on the Leicestershire D9 operations, concluding with the ciné film footage shot by Robert Deloyde during the final days of operation in 1979.
Brian Dicks (plus deputy diarist in October & November)
Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcs B47 6JX
Tel : 01564 826471 e-mail us
A registered educational charity no 507191
