Mike (the London Bangler)

Hello ladies and gents,
How are yer? Alright??? :-)
MY HOBBIES AND INTERESTS:
What is there to be said about me? I've been an enthusiast of British buses, trams and trains since I was 6 years old and I have been photographing buses and trains ever since I got my first 110 "instamatic" camera in 1992. In 1993 I got a 126 camera and in 1994 I got my first 135 camera (which was OK but not excellent). In February 1996 I got an improved Canon 135 camera and it is the camera I still use to photograph buses and trains to this very day. I am proud to say that I still use film in my camera, no matter what some other people say about the merits of digital photography...
Over the years I have been to many pop concerts and theatre plays and I have met many famous people from the entertainment and music industry. Below are a few photos of me with people you may recognise from the entertainment and music industry (plus my meeting with HRH Prince Charles when he visited our old housing estate way back in February 1996)!!! :-)
I just so happen to be a massive ABBA, Bangles and Status Quo fan too. I love playing the guitar and the keyboard or piano and as far as I'm concerned photographing buses, going to see ABBA tribute bands or Status Quo concerts is better than working for a living.
ABBA:
My love for ABBA began in spring of 1987 when I borrowed a copy of ABBA's "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" on cassette and as soon as I heard the beautiful voices of Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad along with the great melodies written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus I knew straight away that I was hypnotised by their great music. I have collected most of the records, cassettes, CDs, videos and books ever released by ABBA and I have also got Agnetha and Anni-Frid's solo work on record and CD as well. One of my prize posessions is a black and white photo of ABBA taken during 1977 with Anni-Frid Lyngstad's autograph underneath the photo written in blue ink - I paid £100 for this photo!!! Another prize posession I own is an LP by the Hep Stars released in 1968 called "Songs We Sang 68", still in 98% mint condition. The Hep Stars was the name of the pop group that Benny Andersson was a member of between 1964 and 1969 before he became a member of ABBA in 1972. The Hep Stars were known as the Swedish equivalent of the Beatles at the time when the beat boom gripped Sweden during the mid-1960s.
In November 2002 I went to see the musical "Mamma Mia!" at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. If you haven't yet seen "Mamma Mia!" I strongly suggest that you go and see it at a theatre near you, as it is definately just the ticket for a feel-good night out!!! :-)
THE BANGLES:
I have been a big fan of '80s girl group the Bangles since 1988 and I am a regular poster at "Return Post" (or "RP" for short); this is the official message board of the Bangles at www.thebangles.com. My username is "VickiLover" (as my favourite member of the Bangles is lead guitarist Vicki Peterson). I am one of a good few Bangles fans from the UK who posts on the Bangles' message board and as their board is based in the USA I am the only poster on Return Post who comes from the London area (my RP nickname being "The London Bangler").
Do you know who this is supposed to be?
It's Vicki Peterson from the Bangles!
STATUS QUO:
I have also been a long-serving fan of Status Quo too. Ever since I saw Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt playing their Fender Telecaster electric guitars on TV in December 1983 I became hooked on them and their music. Some people say that I look similar (and dress similar!) to Francis Rossi and I have had the pleasure of meeting him and shaking hands with him many times. I am a member of the Status Quo Message Board (or "SQMB" for short) at their official website at www.statusquo.co.uk and although I don't post as many messages on that message board as I used to, I still read the message board occasionally. For those of you who don't know me on the SQMB, my username on the Status Quo Message Board is "Mike McDermott-Rossi". ;-)
Above is a photo of me meeting Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi at the launch of their "Just Doin' It!" 40th anniversary book at the Croydon branch of Waterstones on 23rd November 2006.
LONDON'S BUSES AND TRAINS:
From August 2003 to December 2005 I was on hand to photograph London history in the making as the last 20 remaining bus routes operated by London's iconic big red Routemaster buses slowly went over to modern driver-only buses. Over the 2-year period from 29th August 2003 to 9th December 2005 I photographed all the last days of Routemaster buses and conductors on routes 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 23, 36, 38, 73, 94, 98, 137, 159 and 390. Routes 14 and 22 were special Routemaster routes to me as they connected the town of Putney in south-west London to the West End. Route 390 was created in February 2003 to replace the northern end of route 10 and as such was the last "new" Routemaster route to run in London; route 390 lost its Routemasters in September 2004.
London still sees Routemaster buses on two special "Heritage Routes". These two routes are: Heritage Route 9 (Aldwych to the Royal Albert Hall) and Heritage Route 15 (Trafalgar Square to Tower Hill). Both Heritage Routes operate from 09:30 to 18:30 daily and use Routemasters painted in a replica 1960s London Transport livery as applied when the buses were new.
On Friday 9th December 2005 London witnessed history in the making as this was the last day in normal service of the Routemaster bus on route 159. Not only did this day mark the end of the world-famous Routemaster buses in normal service, it also marked the end of buses with conductors in London, which started with George Shillibeer's horse Omnibus in 1829. It was a very sad day but there was a massive turnout by bus enthusiasts from all over the UK and members of the public, and the event was also covered by TV news crews from Europe and as far afield as the USA. It just went to show how well-loved this icon of London was by everyone all over the world from Tottenham to Texas and from Mortlake to Melbourne, and the streets of London will never be quite the same again.
ROUTEMASTER: 1954 - 2005
Also in December 2005 another mode of iconic (!) transport associated with London and the south of England came to an end with the final withdrawal of the faithful British Rail class 421 (4 CIG) and class 423 (4 VEP) slam-door 750v DC electric trains, which carried millions of commuters and daytrippers since they were introduced in the mid 1960s. These slam-door trains were a regular sight on BR main line train services from London Waterloo and London Victoria to Surrey, Kent and the South Coast and one of their main advantages was their ability to load and unload passengers quickly at rush hours, making them ideal commuter trains.
The class 421 (4 CIG units) were built from 1965 to 1966, whereas the class 423 (4 VEP units) were built from 1967 to 1970 and although slam-door electric trains are now all but a memory in the south of England, just two class 421 units remain confined to the line from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier with South West Trains as this line is used as a "Heritage" line. One unit (No. 1497) is painted in the replica British Rail blue and grey livery as applied during the 1970s and the other unit (No. 1498) is painted in the replica British Railways green livery as applied in 1965-66 when these 4 CIG units first entered service.
BR SLAM-DOOR TRAINS: 1965 - 2005
Finally, I also have my own small working model railway layout called "Winchbury", based on a fictitious south-west London/Surrey suburb during the late 1970s/early 1980s.
PHOTOS OF "WINCHBURY", MY 00 GAUGE MODEL RAILWAY LAYOUT:
A FEW OF MY OTHER PERSONAL PICS...
VIEWS OF RICHMOND - MY FAVOURITE PART OF SOUTH-WEST LONDON:
MY BIG 30th BIRTHDAY AND '80s/BANGLES-THEMED CHARITY PARTY @ THE CRICKETERS IN RICHMOND:
SATURDAY 14th MAY 2005