Was there today for the miners gala, was hectic. Seriously do not like that bus station, too small for the number of passengers that use it especially on a weekend and like today with the Miners Gala being on. Luckily didn't have to wait long as X21 came in just as I got there.


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Even on a normal weekday it gets overcrowded, both with people and vehicles. Not counting the park and ride, I've estimated there's about 75-80 buses an hour use the station and north road combined.

Feel for those of us who have to use it all the time! [emoji30]

Could be worse, I suppose, like darlo or hexham!

Hexham is even worse, but at least a new station will be opening soon


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My camera has just died after 20 months of use and abuse.

My camera has just died after 20 months of use and abuse.

What form of abuse? Although I have battered mine a fair few times when things have gone wrong, plus I gave it a shower in Manchester a few months back.

What form of abuse? Although I have battered mine a fair few times when things have gone wrong, plus I gave it a shower in Manchester a few months back.

This is why big'un's is a shock proof jobby! And from John Lewis. Made good use of the 2 year warranty when it died on us, before Christmas. Took them a month to sort it, but they provided us with a shiny new one, of the newer version of it, in the end.

He might get a better one when he can not kill this one. This one takes OK pictures for what it is, but they're only about phone quality.

Could be worse, I suppose, like darlo or hexham!

Oh, don't even go there! I could go on all day about that place, I've made my views on the matter on this forum pretty clear in the past so I'll refrain from repeating myself especially following Thursdays incident.

Hexham is even worse, but at least a new station will be opening soon

Must admit I am not a big fan of Hexham Bus Station due to the lack of space for pedestrians to move about on the stands.

Oh, don't even go there! I could go on all day about that place, I've made my views on the matter on this forum pretty clear in the past so I'll refrain from repeating myself especially following Thursdays incident.


Must admit I am not a big fan of Hexham Bus Station due to the lack of space for pedestrians to move about on the stands.

I suspect our views are the same. Big'un's too big to have his hand held, these days, but I do around there because there's such a lot to have to pay attention to. (And North road in Durham isn't any better than that particular bit - there's been a few accidents there, over the years)

What form of abuse? Although I have battered mine a fair few times when things have gone wrong, plus I gave it a shower in Manchester a few months back.

Well, it did tumble to the floor while I was running down Yarm High Street a month or two ago. This one has surprising not died in the same way previous ones have:
First one is still alive after nearly 8 years, now belongs to my sister
Second one died after falling to the floor on North Road in Durham when I was putting it in its case
Third one went away for repairs after six weeks, before finally committing 'camera side' in Middlesbrough by slipping from my hand
Fourth one got soaked during the 'Zone' Enviro300 launch
And this one, the lense hasn't retracted properly

I suspect our views are the same. Big'un's too big to have his hand held, these days, but I do around there because there's such a lot to have to pay attention to. (And North road in Durham isn't any better than that particular bit - there's been a few accidents there, over the years)

I do have safety concerns but the thing that really irritates me is queuing for buses as people frequently queue badly, in the wrong places, leave gaps allowing people to queue jump and I REALLY HATE anyone who allows people to get on in front of them who haven't queued whilst those of who have queued ending up getting on the bus behind them which has resulted in me getting crap seats or standing and it's never one elderly person they do it for, it's always someone allowing about 10 college students on who all have to sit in 10 different places. I have been in numerous arguments with people in regards to queue jumping, some I have deserved to get but if you have been to Darlington getting on at some of the stands is a case of everyman for himself and I haven't got time for people dithering on when my bus comes, especially when I have loads of people behind me surging to get onto the same bus.

I do have safety concerns but the thing that really irritates me is queuing for buses as people frequently queue badly, in the wrong places, leave gaps allowing people to queue jump and I REALLY HATE anyone who allows people to get on in front of them who haven't queued whilst those of who have queued ending up getting on the bus behind them which has resulted in me getting crap seats or standing and it's never one elderly person they do it for, it's always someone allowing about 10 college students on who all have to sit in 10 different places. I have been in numerous arguments with people in regards to queue jumping, some I have deserved to get but if you have been to Darlington getting on at some of the stands is a case of everyman for himself and I haven't got time for people dithering on when my bus comes, especially when I have loads of people behind me surging to get onto the same bus.

The stands at the top of Tubwell Row are worst for that. We were all quite civilised, waiting for the X67, this morning

The stands at the top of Tubwell Row are worst for that. We were all quite civilised, waiting for the X67, this morning

Stand H, which is the stand all the Aycliffe services leave from is by far the worst for people, stand L which is the 12/X66/X67 stand is usually the most civilised even when buses are dumped onto stands although some people at that stop need to mind their own business!

Had a few people accuse me of being a queue jumper whilst waiting for Durham bound 20's in Park Lane, even when in actual fact, the person making the accusations has done what they've accused me of doing, one old bloke kicked right off with me about it as well leaving him calling me worse than garbage and all us youths being the same although I should have reversed the argument claiming that all elderly people are the same and I have had several OAPs trying to queue jump me in various places recently, I know I should respect them but if they ain't going to respect me, sod 'em, if I see an elderly person who is struggling or they politely ask me, I will allow them on the bus before me but you ain't getting past me if you are ignorant, I think this is harsh but fair.

Stand H, which is the stand all the Aycliffe services leave from is by far the worst for people, stand L which is the 12/X66/X67 stand is usually the most civilised even when buses are dumped onto stands although some people at that stop need to mind their own business!

Had a few people accuse me of being a queue jumper whilst waiting for Durham bound 20's in Park Lane, even when in actual fact, the person making the accusations has done what they've accused me of doing, one old bloke kicked right off with me about it as well leaving him calling me worse than garbage and all us youths being the same although I should have reversed the argument claiming that all elderly people are the same and I have had several OAPs trying to queue jump me in various places recently, I know I should respect them but if they ain't going to respect me, sod 'em, if I see an elderly person who is struggling or they politely ask me, I will allow them on the bus before me but you ain't getting past me if you are ignorant, I think this is harsh but fair.

The oaps annoyed me on east yorkshire dart 492 today a full bunch of oaps sat at the back with no seats other than there reserved ones then having to give it up several stops later then the bus was empty 2 stops later

I do have safety concerns but the thing that really irritates me is queuing for buses as people frequently queue badly, in the wrong places, leave gaps allowing people to queue jump and I REALLY HATE anyone who allows people to get on in front of them who haven't queued whilst those of who have queued ending up getting on the bus behind them which has resulted in me getting crap seats or standing and it's never one elderly person they do it for, it's always someone allowing about 10 college students on who all have to sit in 10 different places. I have been in numerous arguments with people in regards to queue jumping, some I have deserved to get but if you have been to Darlington getting on at some of the stands is a case of everyman for himself and I haven't got time for people dithering on when my bus comes, especially when I have loads of people behind me surging to get onto the same bus.

That happened a couple of weeks ago when I was in Darlington waiting for a 7 to Durham at Tubwell Row. Was waiting in the queue under the shelter as it was raining and a few young lasses with buggies who weren't queuing just pushed in and got on the bus before anyone in the queue, think one tried to board when passengers were alighting as well.


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That happened a couple of weeks ago when I was in Darlington waiting for a 7 to Durham at Tubwell Row. Was waiting in the queue under the shelter as it was raining and a few young lasses with buggies who weren't queuing just pushed in and got on the bus before anyone in the queue, think one tried to board when passengers were alighting as well.


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Sadly a common occurrence at that stop, nearly always a driver changeover occurs at that stop as well except for the Belmont 7 boards. Things are even worse at that stop since they changed the interworking patterns for the 5/5A, before the changes it did Bishop Auckland - Darlington then go back to Bishop Auckland as the 5/5A but most journeys now go onto the 1 or 12 during the daytime and the 3 on evenings and Sundays, so buses often appear on Tubwell Row displaying "Darlington 5" which then usually drop off somewhere on Tubwell Row (although on some occasions we've been dropped off round the corner on Prebend Row) but when it comes round showing "Darlington 5" people assume it's heading towards Bishop Auckland on the 5/5A when this is not the case, so you frequently get people chasing after it meaning they have left the stop leaving a void at the stop then quickly reappear and start moaning saying stuff like "why has he not gone on the 5" "why has he ****ed off somewhere" "why couldn't he put not in service on the screen" yada, yada, yada! Until the 5/5A to Bishop Auckland appears which runs off the 19 in the daytimes and the 3 on evenings and Sundays. It's really annoying.

What form of abuse? Although I have battered mine a fair few times when things have gone wrong, plus I gave it a shower in Manchester a few months back.

It got a bit of a shower in Stockport on Monday too before I suggested we hide under the bridge to take photos.

It got a bit of a shower in Stockport on Monday too before I suggested we hide under the bridge to take photos.

Wouldn't be a trip to Manchester without getting a soaking! [emoji1]

Today's minor irritant that's annoying me is the Facebook app on my phone is saying I have one unread message on Messenger when I haven't.

Today's minor irritant that's annoying me is the Facebook app on my phone is saying I have one unread message on Messenger when I haven't.

Possibly a chat request from someone not in your contact list...I get them sometimes

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A very sad day for me today...

My partner told me she was pregnant a couple of weeks ago after taking a home pregnancy test, she put a sample into the doctors last week.

Last Thursday night she started bleeding and peed a blood clot, we were still waiting for the results at that point.

She got a positive result back this morning and managed to get into see a Midwife or Doctor quickly because of the bleeding, only to be told the clot she passed was her Miscarrying.

Cant believe it, things start to to well, start to look up, and BANG I am brought back down to earth.

Not quite sure where my head is at the moment, I am in total shock, she was only about 6 weeks gone, it would have been my first biological child.

Anyway just got to pick myself up, give my girl the support she needs and find the way forward

[CRYING FACE][CRYING FACE][CRYING FACE]

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Found one of the repainted Transdev Lancashire United Gemini's in Preston and in typical fashion - BLURRED PHOTO!!! [emoji35]

Ready to smash this Nikon into a million pieces, never works when I want it to [emoji35]

A very sad day for me today...

My partner told me she was pregnant a couple of weeks ago after taking a home pregnancy test, she put a sample into the doctors last week.

Last Thursday night she started bleeding and peed a blood clot, we were still waiting for the results at that point.

She got a positive result back this morning and managed to get into see a Midwife or Doctor quickly because of the bleeding, only to be told the clot she passed was her Miscarrying.

Cant believe it, things start to to well, start to look up, and BANG I am brought back down to earth.

Not quite sure where my head is at the moment, I am in total shock, she was only about 6 weeks gone, it would have been my first biological child.

Anyway just got to pick myself up, give my girl the support she needs and find the way forward

[CRYING FACE][CRYING FACE][CRYING FACE]

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Wishing you both well, MrF.

The hardest part for me when I had an early miscarriage was the hormone crash.E Ben though I'd rationalised all the reasons why a pregnancy doesn't stick there was no getting past the emotional seesaw it put me through.

Whatever you do, don't use smelly tile paint because you might end up wearing it (as husband learnt!)

Although pails into something not as major as previous posts.

Went to Heath Common rally yesterday and it was a utter waste of time. Half the vehicles didn't turn up, and there was large gaps in the timetable. I gave up and left at around 2pm and headed to the liquouce festival in Pontefract to photo the coaches there, then went to photo some trains before heading to a friends house in York for a few hours.

Here's hoping the Ruddington (Nottingham) running day is better next week (shouldn't be too hard), and I get some haulage on Atlantean ARC666T.

Made myself look foolish by trying to get on the 'wrong' bus, in my defence though it was the same service I wanted, heading to the same destination I wanted and was on the stand that is clearly marked as being the stand that the service in question leaves from, how was I to know that there was another bus on the next stand along especially when you can't see the front of the bus because of the height of the roof, any need to be sarky about this mistake I've made Stagecoach driver? Annoyed me even more as said bus has now overtaken the one I'm on as we have a pretty cautious new driver and this bus is FREEZING!!! *sighs*

The dark negative thoughts are trying to return in my mind.

A very sad day for me today...

My partner told me she was pregnant a couple of weeks ago after taking a home pregnancy test, she put a sample into the doctors last week.

Last Thursday night she started bleeding and peed a blood clot, we were still waiting for the results at that point.

She got a positive result back this morning and managed to get into see a Midwife or Doctor quickly because of the bleeding, only to be told the clot she passed was her Miscarrying.

Cant believe it, things start to to well, start to look up, and BANG I am brought back down to earth.

Not quite sure where my head is at the moment, I am in total shock, she was only about 6 weeks gone, it would have been my first biological child.

Anyway just got to pick myself up, give my girl the support she needs and find the way forward

[CRYING FACE][CRYING FACE][CRYING FACE]

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I feel for you Fozz, I really hope things work out and I understand that this must've been quite traumatic

The dark negative thoughts are trying to return in my mind.

Dont know whether you suffer Depression or mental health, whether your bi-polar or have a personality disorder, but whatever is going on Gary, I hope you can get it sorted.

As your most likely aware, I am in quite a dark place at the moment as well, so take care brother, I am with you mate...

Look after yourself

I feel for you Fozz, I really hope things work out and I understand that this must've been quite traumatic

Thank you, I must say, I would rather it happen this way, than say, 6 months down the line or go full term and have to deal with a still birth, that I could not handle [CRYING FACE]

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Dont know whether you suffer Depression or mental health, whether your bi-polar or have a personality disorder, but whatever is going on Gary, I hope you can get it sorted.

As your most likely aware, I am in quite a dark place at the moment as well, so take care brother, I am with you mate...

Look after yourself

I suffered bouts of depression over the years in 2008 and more recently from Oct 2014 to Feb 2015. Haven't been too bad apart from anxiety attacks cropping up every now and again.

Just the past fortnight little things have been getting to me, things I would normally shrug off. Work has been a nightmare where I have been at loggerheards with this customer since Saturday who refuses to admit he made a mistake.

Also the disappointment of the rally on Sunday has brought me down even more. And I feel the lack of companionship isn't helping much either. Closest I get to a hug off a living thing is my dog, and he only come near you if you have food.

Spent around a hour captioning photos for my next Flickr upload, was just about to start caption the last photo when all the plugs tripped in the house which mean my I lost all my work that I had just done. Wasn't best pleased, especially after the day I was having.

GNE stealthy increasing the price of the North Tyne Saver. Nothing on their website, or Facebook, but there's a poster on 5251 telling you that from today, the weekly pass is £13.15 and the day saver is £3.95.

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