PEOPLE & PLACES:
Dartford Crossing.
The Dartford Crossing is where the London Orbital Motorway (M25) crosses the River Thames to the east. Originally, built as two tunnels - one in each direction - a bridge was added later. That is now used for southbound vehicles and the tunnels carry traffic north. In extreme weather conditions, the bridge may be closed and, in that event, the tunnels are opened in both directions.
VOSA.
A fundamental purpose of VOSA officials is to identify vehicles which are unroadworthy. They have the power to impound vehicles which don't meet the required standards.
Vehicle Testing Centres.
In the interests of road and passenger safety, many buses and coaches are put through their paces at facilities like this one in Bedfordshire. A similar facility can be found in Warwickshire.
Dublin DUKW.
As I used to drive them when in the army, I couldn't resist joing a DUKW tour of the city during a visit to Dublin.
Buxton Opera House.
Both my sons were born in Buxton and, since my elder son had never performed there and I took a few days off to join my younger son flew in from Bulgaria to mark the occasion.
Isle of Man ferry.
This is the ferry in which I sailed to Douglas on The Isle of Man during one of my deliveries. I took a demonstrator vehicle to the Isle of Man. We sailed from Heysham and, evidently, the tide on the day was amongst the highest of the year and, as a consequence, getting up the ramp into the ferry was tricky To add to the excitement, the strongest storm of the winter had occurred during the previous evening.
IOM aircraft.
I've delivered mini-buses with greater seating capacity than the 'plane which took me back to the mainland. During the flight, there were remnants of the recent storm and we were buffeted about a bit.