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Captain, entertainer, Samaritan and guide, a bus conductor also sees things that the rest of us don't. These sometimes invisible, often gregarious, figures rode their last regular round on Friday 9 December 2005. Made in association with London's Transport Museum, Zimena Percival's film Little Platform, Big Stage tells the stories of five conductors from five decades of London's history, rich with period music and archive footage.
- 1959 - Ruel Moseley
Barbadian Ruel Moseley began his life in England calling out destinations he'd never seen and handling a currency he didn't know in the midst of a London smog, while some middle-aged passengers placed their fares on the seat beside them to avoid touching his skin. In spite of these hardships, Ruel met hundreds of girlfriends on the bus who were impressed by his dapper attire and his techniques with "the ladies"...
- 1966 - Betty Gallacher
On early shifts in 1966, Betty lectured both the top and bottom deck on the benefits of good conduct and decent manners. The first woman Trades Union rep for London Buses (alone among 72 men), 'Battling Betty' took no prisoners. She also counselled passengers with broken hearts, lost dogs and fractured minds because: "There but for the grace of God go we..."
- 1972 - Andrew Jonhson
An 18-year-old Scot who lived with, worked with and dated his older driver Frank. For five years, they spent 24 hours a day together and communicated for much of that time via the bell system. But after a heady honeymoon period, Andy became stifled by Frank's jealousy. It was the beginning of the end for this crew.
- 1983 - The Meagers
The Meager family are known as the "Munsters of the Bus World". In the early days of bus privatisation, Dad (driver John) lost his license for drink driving, forcing him onto the back of the bus, while wife Helen took up the front seat. The next two years were the worst of her life as he nagged and bullied her into oblivion. Their children, James and Tessa, and grandaughter, 6-year-old Little Helen, comment on the dynamic that keeps Helen and John "like teenagers..."
- 1990-2005 - Baysee Rowe
Baysee has worked nights on Hackney's 38 route for 15 years. A handsome, streetwise, 39-year-old Jamaican, he's a bit of celebrity in the bus business, as he plays blues harmonica on the platform. But he's seen everything you'd care not to see on a bus at night. He's had a broken nose, a punctured kidney and has been put in a cell for defending himself. As night falls, and conductors near extinction, Baysee and all the other conductors share their memories of what they will miss...
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