THE
BLUE BUS TALES

were 3 children's stories, previously available from

VALERIE'S UK VIDEOS

£ - sorry - sold out - worn out !

Unfortunately, the Master Tape has worn out, and so no more videos are available.
The video really needs a total remake, which will cost an enormous sum of money to do it 'properly'
with state-of-the-art on-screen graphics. Perhaps . . . one day . . .

In the meantime, you can still view the story that the author wrote especially
for the last Christmas Holiday. It appears free on the next page,
by clicking here on "IT WAS CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE BUS DEPOT"

The video advertised below was 43 minutes long, and contained an introduction and 3 other stories.
It was for children of about 3 to 6 years, (or their grandparents!)
and included a bus safety message at end of the video,
the safety of children on and around buses being of particular concern to the author
after so many years in the industry, and seeing something of the results of carelessness.

We apologise to all our little 'fans' for the non-availability of this recording,
and thank everyone who, over the past several years since the video was first released in 1992,
has supported the author by purchasing a copy.
Dozens of copies were sold to addresses in South Wales, and Scotland,
to many T&GWU branches around the UK, and not a few went abroad, to Canada, etc.
Many people bought several copies, and we do indeed hope that they're not all quite worn out yet,
and will give hours of bus fun yet, for some of the next generation. Perhaps some will be passed on . . .

In the meantime, if anyone would like an on-screen copy of one of the text of BLUE BUS TALES,
for their own children or little relatives, please feel free to contact me,
and I will see what can be done. I can't supply any graphics, I'm afraid, other than the ones you see here.
If I have a child's name, I'd be happy to personalise a special story for that child, and return it to you via email.

I still enjoy writing them, but with no more videos projected, and no youngsters in our family
there's no incentive to write any more. Perhaps you know a child who enjoys riding on buses . . .

see a copy of the videocover at the end of this page

43 MINUTES OF ENGLISH BUS FUN FOR 3 - 6 YEAR OLDS

AND GRANDMAS & GRANDADS !!

I started writing a set of childrens's bus stories, around I979, but it was the early 1990's before I managed to get some ideas written down, and produced onto a video in 1992.

They have sold in small numbers all over the UK, and some abroad too, in Canada and Australia.
Feeling that Thomas The Tank was getting it too much all his own way, I wanted to do something on buses. I was then a bus driver, first on Leicester City Transport in the early 70's, then East Yorkshire Motor Services, and latterly on Hull City Transport until 1993. It seemed that for children who enjoyed buses, there was practically nothing in the way of stories, apart from some well-worn songs, with all buses in existing stories appearing in LT red anyway. It seemed it was time to break that traditional mould.

Thomas The Tank was a bit of an inhibition in the first place. Being accutely aware of the certainty of being accused of plagarism, I tried to make these stories and adventures as unlike Thomas as possible, but there were limits. Like the fact that, because the TV version of TTT had come too late for my family to really enjoy, I only vaguely knew of the Thomas stories ; I hadn't actually seen any! And even now, I've never seen a full one. So any similarities, and I don't really think there are any, are purely coincidental. Well, I would say that, wouldn't I.

Having decided that the bus in TTT didn't really look like a bus, I determined that my buses would have recognisable front ends, the radiator, windows and headlamps forming the facial features. And it seemed reasonable that a considerable amount of more adult humour, irony if you like, could be introduced, at the same time preserving an air of olde-worlde innocence for the youngsters themselves. I had in mind then all the poor suffering Mums and Dads who would have to read these daft tales to their kiddies; the prospect of a video was then a long way off.

And so, several of the first set of stories came to be written down.

It was meeting a colleague at work who had his own infant video business that started the bus really rolling, if you forgive the pun. He suggested putting the whole thing to video, with animated cartoons, mixed in with real models, sets, of a bus station, depot, etc, to give different levels of interest.

Another colleague was a model maker, who did a fabulous job on the 'sets', as we pretentiously called them. Another colleague, a lady watercolour artist, painted the backgrounds, and provided a large enough room to set up and film in, as well as gallons of coffee and endless delicious scones!

Those colleagues, good friends, I am indebted to. The video in its present form, with all its innocence and olde-worlde charm, would not have been made without them. Many ideas flowed from them all.

They are; the video maker Rob Walters, now the proprietor of his own Dovedale Studio;
Brian Goldsmith, the model maker. Brian's wife, Jan, sang the songs on the video.
And Stephanie Gowan, who painted the backdrops and designed the first video cover that got the project off the ground.

Lastly, when the video was all but complete, we needed music to the songs I had written.
Another bus driver, Simon Weightman, did the honours, and still gets his legged pulled for it!

To them all, and many others that helped along the way, with encouragement, ideas, and lots of goodwill, I bestow many, many warm thanks. The dream may have been mine; they fulfilled it.

But, I must say that without such a strong interest amongst kiddies for buses as well as those infernal trains, there would have been no point in any of it. My audience, whether toddlers laughing at daft antics, or Mums and Dads chuckling at the way the bus industry and bus services everywhere get a good dollop of fun poked at them, especially that dreaded breed of busman, the Inspector, they are the real and only judge. I am proud to quote a Grandfather in North Wales who bought a copy for his grandson, who wrote to say, amongst other things, "......and obviously written by a busman!"

You have been warned . . . Enjoy!.

Robert Haywood

£-sorry - sold out - no longer available on video

from the address above,

or click the link below to order:

Satisfaction Guaranteed or money refunded, including postage.