On some of the more picturesque bus routes in the central Lakes, if you can secure the panoramic window seat at the front of the top deck, you are in for a treat as nature opens up all around you in the hedgerows and on the water. You are also offered the quirky experience of looking into people’s trolleys in Booths, or into their gardens. And all with a running commentary from the driver. But that front seat is prized and fought for; by walkers, by shoppers and especially by legions of pensioners, who queue patiently for the moment their concessionary passes allow them onto the buses for free.
Battle of the Bus Pass
Elbow suspension at ninety degrees.
Pension and pass; they have all that they need.
The winners and losers already decreed,
in their 9.30 rush for the front of the bus.
Wainwright baggers and the Japanese
have no chance of securing seats like these,
they’ve been sprinting towards them for centuries
in their 9.30 rush for the front of the bus.
Necks flexed like swans they spot all your weeds,
scouring the parks for ramorum disease,
digging the dirt on your carrots and peas,
in their 9.30 rush for the front of the bus.
Fear their disapproval at loss of their seats.
Never be fooled by their bent backs and knees;
they’ve leap frogged children with relative ease,
in their 9.30 rush for the front of the bus.
