Old and new meet. Maidstone & District DH478 (VKR470) AEC Regent/Park Royal stands next to Volvo Olympian/North Counties carrying a dedicated livery for service 101 between Maidstone & Gillingham. As far as I'm aware, this is VKR 470's first visit to Showbus, although I have seen the bus in Maidstone on a number of occasions. The bus is showing blinds for service 18, one of the Heathfield agreement routes, which ran between Brighton and Hawkhurst via Lewes and Heathfield - the truncated Heathfield to Hawkhurst section lasted until 1981.

Another Heathfield route was the 152 (later 252) between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings. When out with my Wanderbus ticket as a spotty teenager, the 152 was a particular favourite of mine, penetrating deep into East Sussex through such places as Rushlake Green, Punnetts Town, Cade Street and Brightling. The story of Mad Jack Fuller, who frequented most of the southern part of the route and who built a folly near Brightling to win a bet that he could see Dallington Church from his house was especially attractive. Leyland Leopard 3456 (EKL456K) was typical of the vehicles taking the pretty way from Tunbridge Wells to the seaside

No sign of SO277 (seen last year) at this years Showbus - instead we were treated to its shorter cousin, SO288 showing blinds for Hastings circular service 155, an Albion Nimbus NS3N with Harrington bodywork.

The 99 from Hastings to Eastbourne was an interesting route, partly because I never went on it. Part of the reason for this is that Wanderbus tickets were not valid west of Little Common and occasionally there was a Southdown bus on which the validity of Wanderbus tickets was even more questionable. However, on my numerous visits to Hastings (occasionally arriving on a 152!), I would gaze longingly at the 99s, hoping one day to see what lay beyond the Pevensey Levels. Leyland Leopard/Marshall 3448 is one of the last such buses received by M&D and was based at Hastings (Silverhill) for most of its life with the company.

RM8, which I photographed mainly because it was displaying blinds for route 229, the London bus route which I have probably travelled on most - although when I used the route, I travelled on Sidcup and Bexleyheath RTs. The 229 originally ran between Orpington and Bexleyheath Trolleybus Depot. It was extended to Woolwich Hare Street (along with a revised 132) as replacement for the 698 when BX ceased trolleybus operation on 3 March 1959 although it had been truncated to run between Orpington and Bexleyheath by the time RMs took over. Thanks to Gerry Cork for route information.

While waiting for the aforementioned 229 in Sidcup High Street, I used to see lots of these - single door Merlins on route 21A (Swanley & Eltham). I was beginning to think that single door Merlins were a figment of my imagination until I saw M8641 (showing blinds for route 242 Waltham Abbey & Potters Bar).

Living in Maidstone it is understandable why one's interest in buses was stimulated given the variety in the town. Corporation trolleybuses in golden ochre vied with M&D Atlanteans and East Kent Regents. Eastern National was an exotic visitor to the town and it was on a Bristol similar to 331 (above) that I travelled with my family on holiday to Dymchurch in 1968.

If one wanted to experience even more exotic vehicles, one had to purchase a Wanderbus ticket and travel to either Tunbridge Wells or Hastings to see Southdown buses. Leyland Leopard 199 shows blinds for service 69 to Bognor Regis.