PEOPLE in rural communities feel isolated when their local bus services are reduced because they aren’t economically viable.
This particularly applies to anyone who’s given up driving for health reasons or because driving is less pleasurable than when they first got behind a steering wheel.
There are villages that do provide an early morning bus to take you to the nearest town to do your shopping, but you have to hang around all day to catch a late afternoon service back home.
There were better bus services in the ’40s!
Reduced timetables and council cutbacks mean that even in some urban areas you’re more likely to witness The Abominable Snowman riding on the back of the Loch Ness Monster than see more than one bus an hour.
A friend tells me that after 50 years of leaving at 11.00pm, his last bus from town (which was always packed with people who’d been making merry) now leaves at 9.00pm!
That’ll be five minutes before all the pubs and restaurants in town close for the night!
So let’s applaud comedian and BBC Radio Wales broadcaster Owen Money for creating an entertainment experience that people without cars can enjoy without worrying about how they’re going to get home after dark.
“One Foot In The Groove” is a daytime dancing show for Over-30s that’ll feature many of the songs (and jokes!) that Owen treats the nation to on his Saturday and Sunday morning radio shows.
Owen will be playing original hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s and there’ll be live music, courtesy of his talented daughter Katie, who’ll be belting out a selection of jukebox favourites.
The tour starts at Blackwood Miners Institute on Thursday June 19 and, among other venues, will call in at Swansea’s Patti Pavilion on Friday July 11 and Llanelli’s Ffwrnes Theatre on Saturday August 9.
Just phone the venues or check their websites for times and ticket prices.
The great thing about it is, you can be home in time for tea. Unless you want to keep one foot in the groove and go clubbing afterwards!