The world in one bus

Is the dearth of London bus blogs an indication of “Mrs Thatcher’s put-down"? “Any man who finds himself on a bus after the age of 30 can count himself a failure in life.”

In what context did she come out on this? And did she use 'man' in the generic sense, or did she deem women to be exempt from her pronouncement? And the new Europeans who, at times, seem to be the majority, at least on the upper deck. Do they escape this kind of judgement, which prevails as far out as Claygate, of all places. Mind you, given that they're afflicted with the K3, one of the great unloved routes of London, perhaps I'll spare the residents of Claygate further humiliation.

I’ve been absolutely fascinated by the Guardian’s atlas of multicultural Britain. They published a similar map of London a year ago, though it’s tantalisingly unrevealing in terms of analysing the current immigration wave.

Speaking as a pre-twirly, who flirts with the 65 practically every day of the week, I can vouch for the number of new Europeans who travel on it. On the upper deck, there is rarely a journey that you don’t hear people chatting away in one of the Slavic languages. With Ealing and Acton constituting something of a Polish hub in West London, the 65 is the route south, for immigrants wanting to earn or spend or party. Plus, from the top deck, there can be few bus routes that trump the 65 for “scenic” with its intimate views over the walled gardens of Petersham.