✨️Sit Down, Relax, and Enjoy the Ride
It’s magical to be up at the height of the trees;
to glide along from place to place with little effort and see the world from this different perspective.
There’s a thrill to looking down at the cars and the people looking so small from up here.
I know this route well but there is always something new to see.
The world is always moving, always changing.
From season to season to season, beauty changing at a pace for us to experience it again and again.
Different people, different places, different stories.
Some might call this a noisy cage,
but I like to see it more of a space containing a unique sample of the world;
all the chatter as a reminder that we are not alone.
To be flying up here or sat down there, is freedom.
It’s independence.
It’s the world opening up before my eyes.
Endless possibilities.
Where should we go next?
Are we up for it?
How will we get home?
There’s no need to worry when the system is so connected.
It’ll be alright,
there’ll always be another one coming in just a few minutes.
Sit down, relax, and enjoy the ride.
.
I am a bus nerd. I know my enthusiasm isn’t shared by everyone, but that’s okay because my connection to London buses is a personal one. My family home is in Kent, a wonderful place to grow up, but a place that left me feeling trapped as I got older and my mobility began to decline. The first chapter of my love of London comes from the buses that pass by my hospital. Encouraged by my mum, I often kept journals during hospital admissions when I was little. I look back at these occasionally to see how far I’ve come and remind myself of who I was, who I am. There’s a page in one of these journals filled with coloured squares – blue, pink, but mostly red. I had been watching the buses go by, noting down their colours to create this piece of art. It acts as an expression of an experience I still hold dear today: feeling like I can choose to go anywhere, anytime, all by myself. There will always be another bus coming in just a few minutes.
A couple of decades on and I’m still noting down buses. These days, instead of coloured squares, I write down all the bus numbers I’ve ridden on and the places they’ve taken me. I note these on flashcards that I tuck away on the top shelf of the bookcase in my London flat. I used to watch buses go by and wonder where they could take me, and now I know more of the answers. My map of London is vast and joined up by bus routes. It’s ever-growing and each journey can be as exciting as the first.
I once “snuck out” of hospital to take my sister to the theatre. (I say “snuck out” but really I’m sure the nurses knew what I was doing). I could walk, but not far. I didn’t know which direction we needed to head in but that was okay because the bus would take us there. We travelled further than I think I’d ever travelled without an adult or, at least, without someone older than me. We saw more of London than I could take in with just one ride. The bus dropped us off in an exciting hub, busy with people, and exactly where we needed to be to see the show. I know this trip stays in my mind because we did it on our own; me and my younger sister travelling together; experiencing it together; feeling the excitement together.
My interest has always been in the places buses can take me rather than the model or type, but that didn’t stop me from feeling the hype when the tram-bus came to town. A new model of electric bus is currently being trialled on one bus route in South London. I may have been one of those to squeal when the route was announced – “That’s so close to me! I could ride it!” my heart shouted. Once again though, the thrill was amplified by the thought of sharing the experience with someone else, in this case, my partner. She knows of my bus obsession - everyone in my life does to some extent – but, wonderfully, she also feeds off this joy of mine. Buses might not be my partner’s thing, or even their first choice of transport, but the fact that they make me happy makes them happy too. We rode this new bus together and added to the bus adventure memories I will always treasure.
I have countless stories like this. There are so many tales of adventures I could share and I can’t put them all into one blog post. But I will tell you this: every story comes back to independence. It was finding that one thing - London buses - that would allow me to live a life I hadn’t been able to imagine before. Those buses passing by my hospital window told me who I could be, where I could live a good life, and how I, a disabled woman with varying mobility, will always be able to get around.
Buses are great.
There’ll always be another one coming in just a few minutes.
So sit down, relax, and enjoy the ride.