Anecdotes

Here's one I remembered earlier!

Back around 1980 I was friendly with a Piccadilly t/op, now a signaller at Nesden Depot. We shared an interest in buses, and used to travel out to rallies on a Coubtry Green RT owned by a chap in Hemel Hempstead who lived along the road from the late Bob Greenaway (they knew each other) and also another chap who was retired, in his Fifties and holder of some cash; let's call him "Fred". Fred used to wear an appropriate uniform when the bus was out, as shall be explained.

After dropping off the RT one night Fred and I took a Northern train down from High Barnet. It was a 1959 Stock, and we were in the last car, and sat down behind the Guard's area. Fred was dressed in what was either his father's or perhaps a relative's old all-green serge suit, with green Chief Inspector's hat with gold LT badge. I believe that these would have been worn by Green Line Inspectors and CIs at Oxford Circus, Victoria, and Aldgate? He however looked "The Part", and the uniform suited him, literally. He looked like my old Headmaster...an authority figure.

Said Guard decided to sit down on the passenger benches after each stop, and then he decided to put his feet up on the opposite bench. Fred then, in his best headmasterly voice, said "Guard... do you think that you should be putting your feet up on the seats?" This then caused a germ of a reaction in the hapless chap because whilst the man talking to him was wearing all-over green, as in billiard table, he had a gold badge, he was senior in age, and that uniform just might be a Manager's, even though at the time it was blue suit and cap. The germ then sprouted and he suddenly though that he might be in deep mire, and then snapped up to a standing position, the feet zipping off the seats, and an apology somehow worked its way through the poor chap's teeth!