| One of the
perks of working on the Corporation
was the chance to do football
specials. The overtime pay was
not very much but we got in to
see the match free. The downside
was that we had to leave ten minutes
before the end so that we were
on our buses before the fans came
out. There was also a time when
an official at the Dell told us
we could not get in to see a cup
game. Until, that is, we threatened
to take our buses away. |
 |
| Our own fans
of course were always well behaved
but visiting ones could be trouble.
Generally the two sets were kept
apart but one Saturday as we left
the ground a group of Chelsea
supporters caught up with us.
If we could have pulled out into
the main road we would easily
have got away but a special constable
stopped us. We had to sit there
while the bus was kicked and rocked
from side to side. It needed one
of his colleagues to step out
and stop the traffic so we could
escape. |
|
| May 1976.
The day we won the cup I had a
late turn. I took a radio with
me so that I could listen to the
match. During the afternoon the
city was almost completely deserted.
We drove around, stopping frequently
to avoid running early. Then the
final whistle and it's Southampton
1 Manchester United 0. |
|
| As if from
nowhere thousands of people appeared
in the streets. Cars jammed the
roads, pedestrians spilled out
from the pavements. Driving into
the city from Portswood I abandoned
any idea of collecting fares after
London Road. We moved forward
only very slowly and people were
getting on and off the bus all
the way. An amazing evening of
absolute chaos and joy. |
