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PART 3
“We meet again”
31/3/73 - No.14 to 21/4/73 - No.17
Jack books into the
'Albatross Hotel' for his holiday only to find Blakey has chosen the same
place. Although they try to avoid each other's company, fate has other
ideas, and the pair get stuck in a cable car while a storm rages outside.
“Jack's
'testing' day”
28/4/73 - No.18 to 19/5/73 - No.21
Jack needs to earn more money so he decides to become a bus driver. On the
day of the test, he crashes the bus whilst trying to avoid Blakey on his
bicycle. With no chance now of becoming a driver, he 'borrows' a bus so he
can run his own mystery tours.
“Holding the baby”
26/5/73 - No.22 to 9/6/73 - No.24
Blakey has to look after a baby when the young mother is left behind at an
overcrowded bus stop.
[Note: the mother is the daughter of Blakey's brother,
Bertram, who emigrated to America twenty years ago]
“Sweet
revenge”
16/6/73 - No.25 to 14/7/73 - No.29
A man named Barker was sacked from the Luxton Bus Company's accounts
Department for petty theft. Now, having made a fortune with Australian
Mining Shares, he plans to get his revenge by making his former employers
bankrupt.
“Have
an 'art' ”
21/7/73 - No.30 to 11/8/73 - No.33
When Blakey is ordered to tidy the depot in preparation for an inspection,
Jack offers to get rid of the junk, intending to sell it in a street
market. Among the junk is a framed picture of the first Luxton bus, which
Jack sells for fifty pounds...unaware that Blakey wanted to keep it.
“The
Race”
18/8/73 - No.34 to 8/9/73 - No.37
There's to be a cross country race. Both Blakey and Jack have the same
sneaky idea of entering the other in the race.
“The
Protest”
15/9/73 - No.38 to 22/9/73 - No.39
Jack's bus is used to block traffic on the new bypass by a group of women
demanding that the council provide a safe crossing for their children.
“Opportunity
sucks”
29/9/73 - No.40 to 20/10/73 - No.43
There's to be a talent contest at the depot. Secretly, both Blakey and
Jack have sent tickets to famous TV compere 'Sunshine Williams', each
telling him about their particular act, and on the night, each thinks
'Sunshine' has come especially to see him.
“Crossing
the line”
27/10/73 - No.44 to 8/12/73 - No.50
The depot's vintage bus, 'Mabel', is to be entered in a vintage bus race
following the route taken by the first Luxton bus ever to run. Buses will
be judged on appearance of vehicle and crew as much as on crossing the
line first. Jack and 'First Gear' Foskette (the depot's slowest driver)
are to crew Mabel, but things get off to a bad start when Jack mistakes
paint stripper for polish and then dents the back of the bus on a
ventilation shaft.
“Who's
a pretty clippie”
15/12/73 - No.51 to 29/12/73 - No.1
When a dog saves Jack from having a nasty accident, he decides to repay
the animal world by giving a home to a pet. The RSPCA. Animal Shelter has
just one creature left - a talking parrot, which Jack teaches to collect
bus fares.
“Bus
sweet bus”
5/1/74 - No.2 to No.5 (no date)
There are severe blizzards in Luxton and Jack has just been evicted. In
need of a new home, he diverts a bus on it's way to the repair shop and
converts it into comfy living quarters. Blakey finds the missing bus and
returns it to the depot, unaware of just what's inside.
“Trading
places”
No.6 (no date) to 9/3/74 - No.9
The depot superintendent, fed up with Blakey and Jack bickering, makes
them swap jobs so that each can see what it's like in the other's shoes.
Jack is surprised to find that being an inspector isn't as easy as he'd
thought, and misses his friendship with the lads at the depot. But things
are about to get worse for him - the superintendent intends to make him
the permanent inspector at the North Street depot.
“Kung-fu
clippie”
16/3/74 - No.10 to 4/5/74 - No.17
Jack tries to learn some magic and escapology tricks, but he's useless at
all of them. He decides to cheer himself up by watching the telly and is
so gripped by a programme he'd not seen before, 'Kung Fu', that he decides
to live just like the lead character. Thus is born 'Kwai Chang Harper'.
But in the real world, there are bullies like 'Iron Ted' Smyth to deal
with.
(Chronology by Kim Stevens, all stories were
in
colour and all titles are made up) |
