Updated Bus Routes

50 Issues ... and counting! (The Bus 1.51)

Welcome aboard The Bus!

The Stop

Today’s Stop is a celebration! Monday’s issue (Akrasia) was the 50th since I started publishing The Bus in April, and I want to say a sincere thank you to all of my subscribers - it’s great to have so many people interested in my random curiosities! Volume 1 of The Bus¹ has run the gamut from Demeter and Original Star Trek to ancient Greek philosophy, the origin of certain colours, Pink Floyd, basic Buddhist beliefs and the history of Monopoly. It’s been quite a journey, but after 50 issues it’s time to adjust the route a bit ….

Monday 3 October will see the first issue of The Bus Volume 2 and - like all organic enterprises - there will be a few changes. The Stop will remain focused on a single topic, but The Detour will change from text-based publications² to links to online videos I’ve recently discovered.³ Similarly, The Book is evolving into The Recommendation - and while books will occasionally be included, I’ll also be recommending films, documentaries and television shows. There are so many excellent ones in danger of being buried amongst the rubbish that I thought this section of The Bus should be expanded. And while The Sounds and The Thought will continue as they are - at least for the next 50 issues - I’m also intending to provide an audio version of each issue, so you’ll have the opportunity to listen to my dulcet tones reading out what I’ve written.⁴

So, to commemorate the first 50 Issues of The Bus, today’s Stop contains an index of Volume One’s topics. All of these are currently accessible on the web version of The Bus and/or - and you should definitely download this if you haven’t already - the Substack app (see the link below). I’ve also combined the different playlists into one mix which, to be completely fair, will take some commitment to listen through in its entirety. But it works really well on shuffle.

The Index:

The Sounds

Today’s playlist - The Bus Volume 1 - consists of 251 tracks, clocking in at about 16 hours of pure musical bliss.⁵ So, if you’re looking for an eclectic playlist at your next party, shuffle this one and enjoy!

The Thought

Today’s Thought is from … me.

In autumn 1996 I began work on a novel that - along with two others - still languishes in various drawers and file cabinets both here in England and in a few boxes my brother volunteered to store nearly 20 years ago. Anyway … one night after a day of teaching English to high school kids,⁶ I was listening to music (probably Nick Cave) and making notes about the plot while doing many other things when this thought popped into my head. I jotted it down on a slip of paper and taped it to the wall of the room I called my study with the intention to keep focussed and get the book finished. Well … I long ago left that apartment, the note’s disappeared, I’ve finished none of those novels and - until recently - I’ve not taken its sentiment to heart. But without question, it makes sense:

‘You can only accomplish what you sit down and do.’

If you have a thought on this Thought, on any part of today’s issue or on The Bus in general - please leave a comment below:

And that’s the end of The Bus Volume 1! I hope you enjoyed the diversions and are looking forward to the next volume.

Thanks to everyone who subscribes - your interest and support is truly appreciated. If you like The Bus, please SHARE it with a friend or two … or several hundred. 

If you haven’t climbed aboard The Bus, please do!

And check out The Bus on the Substack App … it’s brilliant. And you don’t have to mess around with fiddly emails!

Until the next stop …

1. Though I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this, I’ve always intended The Bus to be published in volumes composed of 50 issues.

2. AKA long articles one has to read.

3. Hopefully this will engage a few more Bus Riders, as Detour links receive the least clicks in each letter. At an opening average of less than 1% per issue, they’re not exactly clickbait.

4. We’ll have to see about this plan. I think it will work - it just depends on time!

5. If anyone is wondering about the mathematics surrounding this number, consider: the first issue (Arrival!) contained no playlist and, while I soon settled on five tracks per issue, a few earlier ones had more: ‘The City on the Edge of Forever’ (1.4) included eight Beatles tracks, and Labyrinths (1.7), Yacht Rock (1.10) and The Dark Side of the Moon (1.15) each had six. I also inadvertently repeated The Smashing Pumpkin’s ‘Bury Me’ - an error prompting the creation of a spreadsheet to ensure it didn’t happen again - and The Grateful Dead (1.49) issue’s inclusion of Lazy Lightning/Supplication appears as two songs on Spotify, even though it’s actually a single combination of both.

6. Which is probably the best job I’ve ever had. Great kids and (essentially) carte blanche on what literature to teach - what could be better?