Parents of a vital community resource, which allows children to play in a safe space and provides adults with a network of support, have expressed their anger this week with news that the affectionately known ‘Big Blue Bus’ has had diesel stolen from it; leaving less money for toys and equipment for those that use it.
The bus was having maintenance work carried out at a garage during half-term, and whilst it was parked overnight, the fuel was syphoned by thieves. This is not the first act of vandalism in the area to community vehicles, with the Carers’ Centre discovering their minibus had had all of its wheels and a wing mirror stolen at the beginning of the month.
The Big Blue Bus is a converted, ex-London bus, which had worked hard in its lifetime, lovingly repainted and restored to provide a space for children to play, with a sandpit, painting, puzzles and more.
Upstairs, the double-decker has carpet flooring for crawling children, with a book corner, baby toys, dressing up box, duplo, building bricks and a train track, amongst others, to choose from. It benefits from a kitchen, with a toilet, electric, lighting and heating.
Most importantly, the bus provides a haven for parents and children to be together, play, and to share their experiences in a safe and informative place. Often, once the bus has moved on, parents make their own support networks, having met there. It travels to areas where families may be isolated, because of money or a lack of transport, and only asks for a discreet voluntary contribution; not wanting to put pressure on those who cannot give very much. It relies on funding from sources such as the Big Lottery, Peoples’ Health Trust, local Town and Parish Council grants, charities and businesses to survive. And now, having provided a service to the community for over twenty years, the bus is beginning to see parents bring their own children, having once played on the bus themselves.
‘Lottie’, the Big Blue Bus, costs in excess of £2,000 to keep on the road a year, with fuel costs high, and the theft being a blow to the good work that staff are trying to achieve. If anyone would like to donate to their cause, please visit: www.thecommunitybus.org.uk, email: [email protected] or call: 01761 419557.
The Big Blue Bus runs six sessions a week for families with babies and pre-school children; on Monday mornings at Greyfields Road, High Littleton and Peasedown St John’s Beacon Hall in the afternoon; on Tuesdays outside Haydon Que Club (morning) and Paulton Hall (next to the fire station) in the afternoon. There are single sessions on Wednesday at the Orchard Vale Community Hall,
Midsomer Norton, and at Pensford Village Hall on Thursdays. It also runs play schemes during school holidays for 5–12 year-olds.
The charity has a long history in the area, with the first ever bus called ‘Bertha’, purchased from a bequest in 1985; initially used as a mobile clinic and later for welfare rights advice, a coffee bar for young people and a mobile exhibition space. It gained charitable status in 1991, becoming the Bath Community Bus. ‘Doris’ was then purchased in 1994 to replace Bertha, after she became no longer viable. Doris had been converted by the Challenge Anneka television programme.
In 1999, the operation became known as the ‘Community Bus’ and in 2003, moved to Radstock Road, Midsomer Norton, working closely with local Children’s Services and Community Family Services. In 2004, the latest bus, ‘Lottie’, held her first session funded by the Community Fund (National Lottery). Today, it is a charitable incorporated organisation with the working name of the ‘Big Blue Bus’.