Spice Is Nice Sweetener for Bus Drivers

Regular Travel West Midlands’ bus passenger, Cyril Spicer, has cooked up a sweetener for bus drivers - but it’s not a half-baked idea!Cyril, 73, from Kingstanding, has been travelling on Travel West Midlands’ Line 33 bus route for nearly twenty years and has struck up a unique friendship with some of the regular bus drivers on the route.Dave Lawrence, Tracey Nolan, Loretta Denholm-Jones, Philip McMahon and Martin Petrie, all Line 33 bus drivers, have cakes baked especially for them by Cyril.He said: "I started to bake cakes about eight years ago. Being retired, I travel quite a lot on the local buses, especially on the 33 bus into Birmingham City Centre and back. The drivers are brilliant on this route and I wanted to reward them for their excellent service."Matthew Parker, TWM’s Traffic Manager at Perry Barr Garage where the service operates from, said: "Apparently there is a bit of competition between the drivers because Cyril bakes different sized cakes for them and rivalry is growing by the minute!"

Published 8th April 2002