To old friends

Reunion

The days of vintage bus rides on the Mediterranean island of Malta will soon be at an end with government plans to franchise out the entire network to a single operator and invest in new vehicles.

But boarding one of the island’s unique buses led to a big surprise recently for one holiday maker.

Dave Feasby, who worked for Scarborough-based bus and coach manufacturer Plaxton in for several years 40 years ago, said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he realised one of the many vintage buses parked at the bus terminus in Valletta was one he worked on during his apprenticeship in the 1960s.

“I couldn’t believe it – I flipped up the driver’s seat and my clocking-on number 145 was underneath,” he told the Scarborough Evening News.

“It wasn’t in bad nick actually! I felt really proud of it, as I made it 45 years ago and it’s still going strong. It certainly brought back a few memories.”