Wednesday 26th May 2010 ~ Beware of Low Flying Easy Jets !

The advertising campaigns for 'Easy Jet' are usually long drawn out affairs, but not so this time. I am reliably informed that the current crop of ads have been a flop - not because of ash clouds or industrial action, but because they have been falling off buses !
37573 has, as we previously mentioned, lost part of its advert and eagle eyed travellers will have spotted a few crumpled examples alongside various points of the A47. Nobody seems quite sure why this has happened, but it explains why new ads for 'Letters to Juliet' have largely replaced the Easy Jet ones. Tonight 37565 was about to become the final recipient of the new ad.
37577 was again absent today and with 37574 on MOT and 37562 only returning from repairs at Volvo this afternoon, the shortfall had to be met by using 20109 on K3 and Paragon 501 on K5. From the coast, 34108 worked Y7, while noisy 37567 worked K16 from Lynn to Lowestoft and was then replaced by 37157. Again 37158 was the only B7 not in X1 use today.
For the second day running, delays befell K16 and today it was 25 late on its scheduled Wisbech departure time of 13.48 to Peterborough. Lack of trade saw the following K17 with 37576 just 4 minutes behind running slightly early.
 Mid afternoon services were slightly behind time, but an incident with remarkable similarities to yesterdays saw things grind to a halt in King's Lynn around 16.15. I am informed that a lady pedestrian was fatally injured by a dustcart on Railway Road/London Road in King's Lynn which brought traffic to a stand for quite some time. K2 15.45 to Peterborough with 37578 was just 5 late, but there was then a long gap before 20109 appeared on K3 very late indeed. B10M sister 20118 is thought to have done a relief to Peterborough, with K4 and 37572 following and arriving at Peterborough sufficiently late to jump an hour and then form Y6 19.05 to Lowestoft.
 Paragon 20501 did K5 as booked, but Y6 with 37570 was seen by Bruce entering Wisbech at 18.47, 30 late and with 'not in service' showing, although with punters on board. The decision had already been made for 570 to terminate at Wisbech and return east as K4.
Meanwhile in King's Lynn. London Road inbound was closed by the police and most X1s ran via Tennyson Avenue and Gaywood Road to reach the bus station. One service which bucked the trend was L11, the terminating 16.55 from Lowestoft, with 37565. This passed me on London Road and would then have been diverted into Millfleet - for us older chaps, Millfleet was the site of the old Lynn bus station closed in 1973. I have in my minds eye a picture of 37565 turning back the clock some 37 years and depositing its passengers on Millfleet with the driver giving directions to the present bus station ! Whether this happened would be interesting to discover as would be the route taken after this, which would presumably have been via the quayside and Tuesday Market Place, possible new territory for a B9.
Rob Brooks reports things returning to normal this evening with 37564 on time on L10 20.22 Wisbech to Peterborough as was the 20.05 ex Peterborough with 37566.