The only good thing about the tube strike…

…was the surprise appearance on London’s streets of the old Routemaster bus. As the bus companies had to lay on extra buses this morning, a few of these 1960s icons were. They were a joy to behold, and not just for nostalgic reasons. Never was a vehicle so perfectly designed for purpose. With a conductor on board and an open back platform that allows passengers to jump on and off, they were so much quicker and more efficient than their lumbering, overblown replacements. But I have a special reason for loving them. My mum was a conductor on the Number 16 from Cricklewood to Victoria. My dad, newly arrived in London, was a regular passenger from his digs on the Edgware Road. So I owe my very existence to the Number 16. And if a Routemaster had run over whoever called the tube strike, my day would have been almost perfect.