Bus-Book-Beverage Challenge

This is a simple challenge, or so I thought when I started it, of catching a bus armed with a book and go and have a beverage of some sort. What could be easier.

I thought I would start off with the Cardiff Bus No.1 and see how far I get.

What I didn’t realise at the time was that there are some very odd and infrequent bus services in among all those normal ones. Would they catch me out? We’ll have to see.

Just click on the pictures below to read about my adventures on that bus route:-

In case you are sat there wondering why didn’t he catch the No.3 or the No.5, well there isn’t one. I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps someone can tell me.

And as for all those questions you may have here’s some of the answers:-

Do I talk to people on the bus? No fear. What do you think I am. Odd?

Do I say “Cheers Drive” when I get off the bus like all true Cardiffians? I tend to keep it to just “Cheers”. I think you need a good Cardiff accent to get away with “Cheers Drive” and think I’ve lived away from Wales too long to get away with it. I do have the t-shirt though.

What’s my favourite fact about the new Cardiff Bus Interchange (CBI)?  I discovered when looking at an old map that it has been built in exactly the same spot as the old horse-drawn tram stables used to be.  Hay – imagine that next time you enter the CBI.

Do I have a favourite seat on the bus?  Whichever one I can get to without falling over.  That probably seems strange coming from a man who has walked up all of the mountains in England and Wales – but that’s the aging process for you.  

What’s my favourite beverage?  If you ask my friends they are likely to say Guinness and I certainly do enjoy a pint of the black stuff. In 2019 I completed a challenge I had set myself to have a pint of Guinness in all 52 European Capital Cities starting and finishing in the brewery in Dublin.  My next destination was always picked out of a hat by the person pouring me the Guinness.  It was a fantastic adventure over 15 years taking me to every corner of Europe.

Who’s my favourite writer? Out of all the genres I would say light hearted travel writting is my favouite. The chief protagonists in that category are of course Bill Bryson and Tony Hawks, but I’d probably choose Pete McCarthy who wrote the wonderful McCarthy’s Bar as my favouite, a man who left us far too early. Adventure travel writing without the humour is good if I can associate with the challenge being sought such as a long walk, sea crossing or mountaineering. Murder mysteries I enjoy as well as a well-written short story. I read quite a bit of non-fiction too.