using a bus...

This is horrendous. Anyone who thinks that cyclists are the cause of all evil and that everyone panders to their whims, should think again....Mercifully, the cyclist escaped with his life.

While you can't condemn the whole company for one employee's actions, I wonder what kind of quality monitoring they do on staff, performance and fleet. Bath-based Buglers coaches ran the no 500 service bus involved in this incident. Thankfully, Bristol city council recently made it a cutback.



In the past, buglers have run the 532/533 services in South Glos from Keynsham to Staple Hill. Their commitment to quality was poor:

Buglers' Minibus  |  Midibus

Whenever I used these, I found the vehicles shoddy and badly driven. Re-registering them to disguise their age isn't a solution. I'm glad the contract passed onto Wessex connect.

In the absence of an integrated transport authority, you are reliant on traffic commissioners to monitor standards. Doesn't appear as if much of it happens in Bristol or Bath.

not all public sector work has good benefits...

first 'first'

Congratulations to my nephew who gained a first class degree from Bristol. This is tremendously good news and we are all extremely proud of his significant achievement! I'm pleased he continued to work hard through, what must have at times, seemed daunting challenges. As far as I know, this is the first 'first' in our families.

It's also good that he achieved this at a progressive university; one where widening participation is a reality. It must be rewarding to work in an environment that includes people from all of UK's communities. I know other universities where multiculturalism is defined merely by the number of overseas students recruited. Taking on more students from abroad doesn't make a university multicultural; it just adds income. Sometimes, you are doing that at an unacceptable cost to the undeniable talent which makes up UK's diverse community home students....

stoking the croft

This may seem radical, but surely Avon & Somerset Police chief Colin Port's visit should have been made before? It's easy to visit and say things after events like these. If you genuinely want to engage with a local community, then you do that all the time, not just in the aftermath of flashpoints.

Whether Tesco is any worse than other supermarket giants, I'm unsure about. All seem to forget ethics and common standards of decency when they source goods from poorer countries. I have seen this at firsthand.

In a SE London area I know, smaller retail businesses are doing well despite being a few metres away from one of the biggest tesco stores in the capital. Maybe consumer behaviour patterns are different to those of stokes croft. Crime is high in that area where rich and poor are polarised, but so far, rioting has not been a feature....

shame, but....

For those of us who watched this unbelievably exciting yet at times, frustrating match, willing Sri Lanka to win, the result is disappointing. But my admiration goes to all those who played such amazing cricket! This is what the game is all about. :-)

looking good!

A 10- wicket win over England put Sri Lanka against New Zealand in the semis. Although New Zealand can turn things around at the last minute, this was a decisive victory for Sri Lanka with 3.3 overs and 5 wickets to spare.

Saturday 2 April final against host-nation India promises to be nail-biting. Teams are evenly matched, making it almost impossible to predict an outcome. Pakistan's captain Shahid Afridi says the strength of both teams are too close to make a call.

It's time to hoist the flag in this quiet village, don blue-and-gold shirts and make as much noise as possible. One thing's for sure; this all-Asian world cup cricket final is going to be hugely exciting!

thanks!

Hi Alison - thanks for visiting so frequently!