St Mary’s community bus service was back in action on May 4 after a six month haitus.
A curious audience gathered on Holgates Green to watch the blue bus (with the logo South Gloucestershire bus and coach) being unloaded from the Mojo Maritime Landing Craft in a sudden dense mist.
“I’m delighted it’s finally here,” eccentric owner Steve Sims told ScillyNews. “And I’m very pleased with the bus itself. The MOT runs until next April so hopefully there wont be any problems with it.”
Steve explained that he had not known from one day to the next if the weather would hold for the bus to arrive - and was concerned that the season was already underway.
“Getting it over on the landing craft was a bit of a worry with the weather as the bus is too heavy for the Gry Maritha,” he said.
An inaugural test run around the island was enjoyed by ten cheering passengers.
Steve, 47, collected the 31-seat vehicle from Bristol last week. “I drove it up the motorway at 60 mph - knowing full well it would never ever go this fast again,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to getting it up and running, even though I know I’ll be sick of the sight of it in a month’s time!”
He added, somewhat unexpectedly: “I’ve named it Wensleydale after the proprietor of the cheese shop in the Monty Python sketch.”