After quite a busy week last week it has been down to earth with a bump and I had my first Saturday off in about 5 years as we only had a small group for the Cliffs and Chris decided to give me a break. A break consisted of catching up on a few jobs with Celtic Star and I’am delighted to have finally solved the problem I had with the PA system, we were getting feedback from the alternator which was driving us and our passengers mad!, it took the form of a low whine which really irritated! I have tried a whole load of suggestions but finally tried a fairly cheap component wired into the radio and for a change I had a bit of luck and cured it!
My other major job was tidying up the garage as it has been a bit of a hive of activity over the last few weeks with getting new buses ready, ahem accident repairs and other repairs it really was annoying me as I couldn’t find anything and I had a breathing space before my next job which will (hopefully!) be getting Celtic Princess ready for test in June.
It was looking like one of us was going to get a day off today but at the last minute we got a large group to go to The Cliffs of Moher and so I was delighted to oplige, I have a really nice group of Italian rugby players and fans so I’am having a nice day even though the weather isn’t too great! I’am also having a spin in my new coach which I’am enjoying although I still miss my old one sometimes!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Richards Blog 12.05.09 – Porno and tyres!
It has been a great weekend and for a while we have been fairly busy, we have quite a few people on our short breaks and it has been really nice to have the same people for a couple of days in a row and I think a good time has been had by all (myself included!) Our new accommodation in Limerick has been very well received by everyone and some have commented that they don’t know how we do it for the price (maybe we are too cheap!!) I really love my job when we have a fun group and I can get to know them over a few days – it is still a dream of ours to run our own coach holidays for small groups – maybe one day!
Thursday was a really exciting day for the wrong reasons! I had my new coach on the Cliffs tour and heading round Black Head I heard a bang and a whoosh of air, I initially thought we had blown an air pipe but found that one of the rear tyres had blown out, I made it to Doolin for lunch and had the tyre changed there, fortunately the one tyre fitter there was at home! Changing of the tyre involved more than a little input from me and would make a story in its own right! Anyway I was only 15 minutes late picking my group up – O’Connors pub wouldn’t be too bad a place to be stranded though!
Getting back to coach holidays as I often say if a group of you fancy getting together to join us for a grand tour outside of our day tour season – get in touch we might be able to help you, we would love to show you some sights.
This weeks music consists of my exploration of the Manchester band Doves and I’am really starting to get into their stuff, I love the melancholy lyrics mixed with some great dance influences – really different stuff! I haven’t really got my reading into gear yet but I’am starting again on the last Irvine Welsh I bought “Porno” which is a continuation of the characters from “Trainspotting” it is recommended if you are not easily offended – it is a little blue!
Thursday was a really exciting day for the wrong reasons! I had my new coach on the Cliffs tour and heading round Black Head I heard a bang and a whoosh of air, I initially thought we had blown an air pipe but found that one of the rear tyres had blown out, I made it to Doolin for lunch and had the tyre changed there, fortunately the one tyre fitter there was at home! Changing of the tyre involved more than a little input from me and would make a story in its own right! Anyway I was only 15 minutes late picking my group up – O’Connors pub wouldn’t be too bad a place to be stranded though!
Getting back to coach holidays as I often say if a group of you fancy getting together to join us for a grand tour outside of our day tour season – get in touch we might be able to help you, we would love to show you some sights.
This weeks music consists of my exploration of the Manchester band Doves and I’am really starting to get into their stuff, I love the melancholy lyrics mixed with some great dance influences – really different stuff! I haven’t really got my reading into gear yet but I’am starting again on the last Irvine Welsh I bought “Porno” which is a continuation of the characters from “Trainspotting” it is recommended if you are not easily offended – it is a little blue!
Richards Blog 05.05.09 – The Stops
“I can’t undue the day, it wont go, wont go under the rug
I pull out the stops and you, you pull the plug”
Copyright Elbow
Dedicated to Chris about last Tuesday x
Back to wallowing in Elbows’ wonderful music this week – Guy Garveys’ lyrics somehow speak straight to me and that one is a good example. As you might remember Chris had a little spill with Celtic Princess last week and I’am delighted to say that I have managed to repair it with a little help from my friends and it doesn’t really look too bad. The small bus has been a real miss this week as unfortunately numbers are still very low but at least it has meant I have been using my new stead Celtic Star and it is going great – we need a bit of luck at the moment!
It really has been hard lately though and I must admit painting and bodywork is not my favourite – in fact in general I hate repetitive jobs but they have to be done I suppose. Unfortunately we also have got some damp and cold weather at the moment so paint is taking ages to dry, I was hoping to use the small bus today but it was still just tacky about 15 hours after painting it, however I will build it up tonight and it will be ready for whoever is working tomorrow (only one tour).
Last weekend was the May Bank Holiday and I must admit I don’t like holiday weekends (as you may remember). All holiday weekends generally mean to us is more traffic also it is hard to be working when all around you are relaxing or having fun, it is one regret I have about our chosen career that we have not had a summer weekend together in 11 years, I know we get a good break in the winter but I do miss some of the things we used to do together like traveling to Scotland etc for weekend breaks. One other thing that I regret is not being able to go to the Oxygen Festival again, I have never heard a better festival line up with (wait for it!) Elbow, Doves, James, Keane and a whole host of others – still never mind.
We hope to have a meeting this week in Dublin to discuss the new products I have been hinting at – so watch this space!
I pull out the stops and you, you pull the plug”
Copyright Elbow
Dedicated to Chris about last Tuesday x
Back to wallowing in Elbows’ wonderful music this week – Guy Garveys’ lyrics somehow speak straight to me and that one is a good example. As you might remember Chris had a little spill with Celtic Princess last week and I’am delighted to say that I have managed to repair it with a little help from my friends and it doesn’t really look too bad. The small bus has been a real miss this week as unfortunately numbers are still very low but at least it has meant I have been using my new stead Celtic Star and it is going great – we need a bit of luck at the moment!
It really has been hard lately though and I must admit painting and bodywork is not my favourite – in fact in general I hate repetitive jobs but they have to be done I suppose. Unfortunately we also have got some damp and cold weather at the moment so paint is taking ages to dry, I was hoping to use the small bus today but it was still just tacky about 15 hours after painting it, however I will build it up tonight and it will be ready for whoever is working tomorrow (only one tour).
Last weekend was the May Bank Holiday and I must admit I don’t like holiday weekends (as you may remember). All holiday weekends generally mean to us is more traffic also it is hard to be working when all around you are relaxing or having fun, it is one regret I have about our chosen career that we have not had a summer weekend together in 11 years, I know we get a good break in the winter but I do miss some of the things we used to do together like traveling to Scotland etc for weekend breaks. One other thing that I regret is not being able to go to the Oxygen Festival again, I have never heard a better festival line up with (wait for it!) Elbow, Doves, James, Keane and a whole host of others – still never mind.
We hope to have a meeting this week in Dublin to discuss the new products I have been hinting at – so watch this space!
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