George Spenceley recalls his years as a long distance lorry driver, the friends he made and the incidents that happened along the way.

I became a bus driver with the Middlesbrough Municipal Transport Dept. I undertook the necessary training and qualified to drive public service vehicles.

On my first day I worked the shift known as the drag, the route from Norton Green through Middlesbrough to North Ormesby. My outward journey to Norton was quite straightforward but I arrived at the terminus thirty seconds late.

To most people thirty seconds is nothing but to my experienced conductress it might well have been an hour. She slid open the small window that separated the cab from the passenger area to speak to me and said, 'Hey, you're new here aren't you? You'll have to drive faster now to make up the time you've lost'.

'Don't worry' I replied 'I'll soon make up the few seconds. Shrugging her shoulders she turned away mumbling. 'You new drivers always have to learn the hard way' and at that she started to collect the fares. I did find out the hard way for by teatime when everyone was leaving work every bus stop had a crowd of irate passengers waiting.

The few lost seconds had increased to one minute and then two, the bus that should have been four minutes behind me had caught up and by the time I reached North Ormesby the Inspector was waiting, along with a queue of tired people waiting to get home.

He stopped me before I reached the stand and waved the bus that had been trailing me to go ahead and load the passengers. He had a set too with that driver, gesticulated and pointed to his watch.

The driver that should have been four minutes ahead of me had decided to run a minute or so early, this gave his conductress or 'duck' as they were sometimes called an easy run but it left me the new driver with all the extra passengers, and this needless to say infuriated my conductress.

The driver in the bus behind me also had an easy ride for he just tailed along behind without a care in the world. The inspector came to me and said, 'Don't worry this always happens when the drivers get to know that there's a new face on the shift. Let it be a lesson to you, now be on your way'.

As I turned the conductress give me what resembled a slight smile and then the thumbs up sign before ringing the bell for me to move off.

One day we were picking up workers from the steel works. The conductor, a clever sort of chap was pushing more and more passengers on to the bus even though it was full. The regulations stated that only five passengers were to be allowed to stand in the centre isle.

This crazy guy pushed more and more folk on then rang the bell three times indicating that we were full and I could leave. I looked in my rear mirror and could see him and hanging on to the bar on the platform, I'd never seen so many passengers on one bus.

I drove very slowly all the way back to the Exchange where they all got off and made for the other buses they needed, most were having a good laugh as they crossed the road.

I realised that it would have been impossible for the conductor to collect the fares so I asked him why he crammed so many people on? He laughed and said, 'I've collected no fares it's my birthday'. He'd given them all a free ride!

George Spenceley, 2002