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A chance encounter with another old friend

Immediately after meeting a school friend from long, long ago who is now the Member of Parliament for Cleethorpes, I had a chance encounter with another friend, a classic London bus. Now in the care of the Newman family (former proprietors of EnsignBus), RTL453 (KLB648) looked splendid as it passed the Victoria Embankment before taking up a private hire duty.

 

By chance, I was passing the very spot where my father parked the family car on my first-ever visit to London, aged 15 in August 1965. I recall the thrill I felt when I first stepped out, seeing Big Ben and hearing its sonorous chimes, and hearing a departing train rumble over the nearby Hungerford Viaduct.

 

On that first brief visit, we explored London by bus. Most of our rides were on RTL-type buses, rather than the more prevalent RTs. I resolved there and then to pursue my fortune in London as soon as I possibly could - fulfilling that dream from 1972 to 2016. London Transport buses were that catalyst.

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Uploaded on May 7, 2024
Taken on May 7, 2024