timclinchphotography: A SAD FAREWELL I’ve not...

1st July 2011

Photo reblogged from TIM CLINCH photography with 2 notes

timclinchphotography:

A SAD FAREWELL
I’ve not been feeling too well of late, hence my absence from the blogosphere, and I must say, this story has done nothing at all to raise my spirits.
On July the 3rd, the iconic buses of Malta will all, by law, be removed from service and replaced by a fleet of new, modern, soul-less buses (including, rumour has it, all the hated ‘bendy buses’ recently removed from service in London)
I’ve only been to Malta once. A couple of years back on a shoot for the Tourist Board. It’s a funny place…the very definition of the word ‘quirky’. A strange mixture of the Medditerranean and 1950’s Britain. One of the things that I loved were these buses. All seemed to be relics from the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s…all painted bright yellow and decorated by the drivers (who own their own vehicles…many of them are still taken home by the drivers each night!) Each bus bore a wacky, hand painted slogan on the back, and the interiors were shrines to the strong Catholic faith that runs through the island.
Now…the dead hand of the EU, and the dreaded Health & Safety police have done their worst. Banned them.
They were wonderful, funny, happy little buses…ok, they were a bit uncomfortable, but every single Maltese person I spoke with LOVED them. There were rumours about this when I was there, but I could not imagine that anyone in their right mind would be so monumentally stupid and insensitive as to actually implement these laws. My guide from the Tourist Board described it as ‘cultural vandalism’ and…do you know what? He was dead right…

A SAD FAREWELL

I’ve not been feeling too well of late, hence my absence from the blogosphere, and I must say, this story has done nothing at all to raise my spirits.

On July the 3rd, the iconic buses of Malta will all, by law, be removed from service and replaced by a fleet of new, modern, soul-less buses (including, rumour has it, all the hated ‘bendy buses’ recently removed from service in London)

I’ve only been to Malta once. A couple of years back on a shoot for the Tourist Board. It’s a funny place…the very definition of the word ‘quirky’. A strange mixture of the Medditerranean and 1950’s Britain. One of the things that I loved were these buses. All seemed to be relics from the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s…all painted bright yellow and decorated by the drivers (who own their own vehicles…many of them are still taken home by the drivers each night!) Each bus bore a wacky, hand painted slogan on the back, and the interiors were shrines to the strong Catholic faith that runs through the island.

Now…the dead hand of the EU, and the dreaded Health & Safety police have done their worst. Banned them.

They were wonderful, funny, happy little buses…ok, they were a bit uncomfortable, but every single Maltese person I spoke with LOVED them. There were rumours about this when I was there, but I could not imagine that anyone in their right mind would be so monumentally stupid and insensitive as to actually implement these laws. My guide from the Tourist Board described it as ‘cultural vandalism’ and…do you know what? He was dead right…

Source: timclinchphotography

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