East European Retro

This morning I get the bus into work and gain first hand experience of Derby’s new bus station. I suppose you have to expect teething problems but it took us fifteen minutes from arriving at our usual dropping off point in Derby to getting to the bus station though all the lights/traffic and then queuing to park in the bay. Hope these are problems they can iron out or else it’s going to play havoc with the Red Arrow’s desire to always be early and where will they stack up all the Red Arrows when they arrive in pairs. Sometimes they even arrive in threes and when they up the frequency to every ten minutes, as they intend to, it could be in fours.



The bus station itself is a bit cramped inside but might be better when (if) it gets finished. Not that they seem to be even working on it any more. Rumour is there’s no rush as they can’t fill the shop and business units that will come with it.



Architecturally, it’s a wonderful piece of 1960's East European retro, in the style so favoured by the dictators of that era. Just what Derby needs; more grey metalwork and cladding. You half expect to see someone painting over the sign saying ‘Stasi’ and painting ‘Bus Station’ over the top.

There’s no dog training tonight, so the dogs get a run on the park which is now open until a staggeringly late 7.30 where it rains on us, of course.

Whilst I’m out I miss the fun as Leeds and Reading Festival tickets go on sale. Probably wise. I leave Daughter sat at the computer with her eyes and fingers on several ticket websites. I almost say ‘make sure you buy the right ones’ but I think to myself, don’t be stupid, she’s almost an adult, she knows what she’s doing...

Then half way around the park it dawns on me that she may be an adult but she’s still female (no offence) and she has recently gone pure Essex girl bleach blonde... but I’m sure she knows what she’s doing...

So it comes as no great surprise when I get back to find out that she has got a bit over excited and now is the proud owner of not only a ticket for the Leeds Festival but one for Reading too. It might be a tad difficult to keep her eye on so many stages, given certainly fairly obvious logistically problems.

She wonders why I’m not annoyed... you kind of get used to little setbacks like this after sixteen years. So if anyone wants a Reading ticket, click on the email link above.