What has amused you/made you laugh today?

[MurdnunoC]

Who's Aunty Lee?
(And why does he/she/it have a club)?

[Michael]

Why exactly? It seems the Anti-Lee Club is back.

Because all you do is moan on here.

[omnicity4659]

Why exactly? It seems the Anti-Lee Club is back.

You should be able to answer the question for yourself, you suggested that a few members needed some.

Wasn't that the thing that surfaced about a year ago? I'd happily create a Anti-Antis Club to get rid of the antis.

[northern156]

All because I made some sarcastic fun of some Go North East brands

Just the once like?

[DanPicken]

Because all you do is moan on here.

I'm not the only one....

[MurdnunoC]

[omnicity4659]

I think Asda is shut so I cant buy any popcorn.

[DanPicken]

Asda is shut so I cant buy any popcorn.

Gan to the corner shop.

[Adrian]

Come on folks. Lets debate the content of the opinion piece, rather than resort to petty personal insults?

[R852 PRG]

Come on Lee. You can write about something better than that. Aside from your clear hatred for the Go North East exec team, some of the comments are ludicrous. I appreciate that it's an opinion piece, but a lot of it is without foundation and/or reasoning. Surely the whole point of writing an opinion piece is so that you not only get your opinion across, but also your argument for that opinion?

On the Castles Express:

"...and the seven Wright StreetDeck's which Go North East purchased for £1.5m (daylight robbery) would probably be better off without them." - This makes no sense. Without them, they'd be stuck with knocking on 17 year old ex-London buses, which were evidently unreliable to the customer. Never mind the management team. What would you have purchased instead, and why?

"Sorry Go North East, but all you have achieved here is restricting the view of the elderly. " - Really? I can see inside the bus from your picture, so there's no reason why someone wouldn't be able to see out, given that there is a natural source of light outside.

On the A-Line Solo:

"However, what we see before us now is reality, what we see before us is quite frankly a mess." - I recall describing it as being horrific, which you challenged on this very board. What's changed your mind?

On the X34:

"...the brand name. More, More, More with your X34 is pretty long and not the most memorable." - I somewhat feel that you're missing the point here. They're still marketing the service as the X34 - see here: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and...es-on-x34/. The "More, More, More..." is a tagline, not a brand name.

On the Crusader:

"A few years ago, Go North East believed in a magic little thing called interior branding, and on that interior branding they told the story of the Jarrow Crusade, but, them days are gone and under the leadership of Kevin Carr" - You'd think Kevin Carr went out there and designed everything from start to finish himself.   Would this be the same internal branding that operators don't update and fill it up with waffle? 6 month on, and my regular X12 is still showing as stopping at Plawsworth.

On the red Angel: 

"From a Go North East point of view, it was a temporary measure, however this brand was pathetic to say the least. A couple of stickers and done. This is certainly where the downfall of this once great company began." - Fetch me the violins! As you say, it was a temporary measure. Before the Volvo B5LHs came into the fleet, and it was a better solution than sticking with the unreliable Vykings. I agree it looked crap, but it really doesn't need the amateur dramatics.

On the indiGo:

"Right, indiGO. Where to start... First off, they are pink, not indigo,..." - Are we still harping on about this? Besides, the outline of the lettering is indiGo. On the same token mind, trentbarton's rainbow service isn't painted in the colours of the rainbow, and their Mango is teal. It's a pathetic argument, and I'd have hoped you'd have the sense to agree with that.

"...and secondly there is a pun in there. However that pun is probably not understood by the vast majority, and is quite frankly stupendous. The plot has well and truly been lost. I have at this stage lost all hope, and will resign to searching for inspiration elsewhere." - You mean "indiGo to here", "indiGo to there"? What's to not understand? We're going to need an orchestra full of violinists by now.

On the corporate livery:

"*This red corporate identity can often be seen with patches of orange, green, purple, pink and many other colours." - I recall seeing the rear of a ex-Highwayman bus like this, but it hardly speaks volumes. I've seen buses in a lot worse condition (aesthetically), and I hope to see you do an opinion piece around that...

I agree with you here, Adrian. I feel that the majority of the comments and opinions outlined in the article are just nitpicking, and probably heavily influenced by others, rather than the author's real feelings. One that particularly stood out to me was the ninth item on the list; the A-Line Optare Solo. I recall the author of the article expressing his liking for the livery on this vehicle when it first emerged, yet now it seems that opinion has been turned on it's head. Anybody else able to see a hint of hypocrisy?

[DanPicken]

I agree with you here, Adrian. I feel that the majority of the comments and opinions outlined in the article are just nitpicking, and probably heavily influenced by others, rather than the author's real feelings. One that particularly stood out to me was the ninth item on the list; the A-Line Optare Solo. I recall the author of the article expressing his liking for the livery on this vehicle when it first emerged, yet now it seems that opinion has been turned on it's head. Anybody else able to see a hint of hypocrisy?

No, I see a changed opinion.

[R852 PRG]

No, I see a changed opinion.

It begs the question, though; how does one's opinion go from defending it and viewing it as better than that of a professional branding team, to picking out faults with it?

[citaro5284]

Old(ish) blokes using the term LOL to make themselves sound young and trendy.....hahaha

And some of you will know who I mean 

[omnicity4659]

Old(ish) blokes using the term LOL to make themselves sound young and trendy.....hahaha

And some of you will know who I mean 

I see that someone has been on someone's Facebook - LOL

[citaro5284]

I see that someone has been on someone's Facebook - LOL

Not me.........LOL

[Rapidsnap]

I'm not that old

[citaro5284]

I'm not that old

You are excluded then Gary!

[northern156]

Not one of the trusted enthusiasts, citaro - sadly

[Rapidsnap]

You are excluded then Gary!

To be honest, I look younger that I actually am.

I surprise a lot of people when I've told them I've worked in the Betting Industry for nearly 13 years.

I was 31 last October, but most people think I'm around 25.

[citaro5284]

To be honest, I look younger that I actually am.

I surprise a lot of people when I've told them I've worked in the Betting Industry for nearly 13 years.

I was 31 last October, but most people think I'm around 25.

Definitely you were not the one I was thinking of my original post then....you must have aged well