The Odyssey of the 111

As a twice daily traveler of the 111, the bus that journeys through the backstreets of Manchester, I have experienced many an odd circumstance on my voyages. I was prompted to blog about the phenomenon that is the 111 and its passengers after a string of strange events that occurred this morning on the way home from University.

Perched on the boosted seats downstairs (throne-like and conjure feelings of importance and royalty), I was chatting away to my friend J (yes i watch Gossip Girl) when she leaned over and whispered "Is that lady a man?", looking over towards an OAP I replied "Oh I'm not sure I think it's a man, he's reading the paper" to which J informed me I was pondering over the wrong suspect, the person I was talking about was indeed a man...without a doubt. The actual man in question sitting ahead of us and facing forward was of a very stocky build yet had long, greasy, thin hair died an unnatural shade of brown-orange accompanied by some grey roots, (bang on trend!) As he/she wriggled uncomfortably in their seat I glanced a flash of bright pink lipstick and ghastly blue eyeshadow!

Transvestites/cross dressers are not an uncommon sight in Manchester, Canal Street is the pinacle of the LGBT scene in Britain. But seeing this he/she in the middle of the day, removed from its natural habitat was extraordinary!

Not only do transvestites catch the 111 in full attire at 12 o clock in the afternoon, but if you happen to hop on the bus at 8AM you may be lucky enough to come across Crazy Bus Lady! Pictured above, Crazy Bus Lady, known by the entire Manchester student body, likes to board the buses and preach and rant loudly to passengers. Although her speeches change in content with each sighting, Crazy Bus Lady is far from unintelligent; she strings together sophisticated words (which overall don't make any sense in a sentence) and has a razor sharp tongue for issuing comebacks to anyone who has the guts to argue with her. Such comebacks include "Identify yourself!!"...(I'm the driver, please get off the bus) and "Disgraceful which you are". Although obviously insane, when Crazy Bus Lady speaks there is silence, albeit a few sniggers and the odd abusive comment and her following on facebook grows by the day.

Only a few tales from the Odyssey of the 111, stay tuned for more anecdotes of this wondrous adventure.

Images courtesy of Flickr & the CBL facebook group