Back to School in Egerton

An excellent and encouraging first day back in schools. Many thanks to Egerton Primary School for the writing the following in our visitor book:

"What an inspiring way to start a new year! Children and adults were fascinated, interested and have now become historians! Your enthusiasm and knowledge were infectious and have left us ready to learn even more. Thank you!"

Church Choice for Chilham

Chilham St Mary's COE Primary School was the first school to opt for the Home Front Bus accompanied by a team from South Kent Community Church www.skcc.info .  The venue was the magnificent Chilham Village Hall as the school was too well tucked away in the ancient village to be reached by a big double decker bus. 

The whole school paid a visit and at the end the day gifted us with the biggest thank you card we have ever received, superbly modelled by the beautiful Jenny.

Many thanks to Chilham School for being such fantastic hosts and for writing the following comment in our Visitor Book:

"The children thoroughly enjoyed their 'hands on' history experience.  We particularly enjoyed the fact that all senses were involved in the experience.  All of our children, ranging from 4-11 years old came back to class full of enthusiasm and questions.  A fantastic resource.  Thank you very much."

Mrs J. Willis, Chhilham St Mary's CEP School

Folkestone School for Girls

An excellent morning with a select band of Year 8 pupils from Folkestone School for Girls.  All the pupils and staff entered in and a great time was had by all.  Check out this weeks Folkestone Herald for pictures.

"A brilliant session.  Very informative and the girls learnt a massive amount.  It was a great opportunity for students to witness the experiences and see items first hand."

Mr Weller, Folkestone School for Girls 

Flying Legends and a Legandary Bus

Fantastic weekend at Flying Legends, Duxford.  Home Front Bus fitted right in at the vintage Village and even appeared on TV.  Follow the link to see a tour of the bus on ITV News, Anglia Tonight http://vimeo.com/44949384 .

Lots of planes and lots of people who left a record 35 positive comments in our Visitor Book.  Thanks also to Winston (aka Allan) for dropping in!

Keeping Busy

Home Front Bus has been keeping very busy over the last week.  First we visited the tiny but excellent Petham School near Canterbury.  Actually we couldn't quite get there due to low overhanging trees, but parked instead in the local village hall just 200 yards down the road.  We are running out of reasons to say 'no' to schools that want a visit from Home Front Bus and are discovering that we can always find a way and a price option to make a visit possible.

Next we made a return visit to Eridge at the southern end of the Spa Valley Railway.  We enjoyed better weather and more attractions then at the same event last year and consequently there were more visitors to enjoy a trip back in time.  Ed, Jenny and I enjoyed a fish & chip supper whilst riding on the line on Saturday night.  Thanks to Terry and his team for being such great hosts once again.

Whilst there the bus suffered from quite a severe fuel leak, which was cured with the help of the owners of the splendid old fire engine pictured above.  Thanks also to Richard of Brookline Coaches who allowed us to park the bus in thier yard whilst in the mid Kent area.

After a day off the bus went back to Manor Oak School in St Mary's Cray.  It has been a year since our last visit and Ed and I were delighted and greatly encouraged by how much information pupils had remembered from our last visit.

More Great Press Coverage

More great press coverage from Kent Messenger is very welcome!

Diamond Jubilee Deluge

Not only did we have a deluge of rain over the Diamond Jubilee weekend but Home Front Bus also had a deluge of visitors.

It all started at Christ Church School, Folkestone on Friday 1st June for a special Jubilee party, also including pupils from St Eanswythe's School.  During the course of the day over 400 pupils visited to bus to get a taster of what life was like during WW2.  This is a record number for us made all the more notable as there was just two of us on duty.  We hope to return to give years 5 & 6 a more detailed view within the next year.

On Saturday we visited the Dover Tattoo for a very busy and enjoyable day where even the sun came out to burn my nose and arms for a while in the afternoon.  Here we were interviewed live by BBC Radio Kent and gave listeners a chance to hear a short verbal tour of the bus.

On Sunday we were at Hamstreet Country Show, where it rained for most of the day.  This didn't deter a steady stream of visitors who brought with them half the grass from the field, which was regularly carried out by the handful throughout the day.  It is a shame that this was the second year running that it has rained at this event as the organisers are a stoic and enthusiastic bunch who are worthy of a bit of sunshine as a reward for their efforts.

Monday - zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZ followed by a BBQ.

On Tuesday 5th June we visited the Music in the Park Festival in Staplehurst.  The rain held off until mid afternoon and then decided to stick around for the rest of day.  A hardy bunch of locals were not deterred and brought their wellies and umbrella's to enjoy the music.  The best place to be however was the warm and dry of the Home Front Bus.

Special mention should be made of the whole Burnett family who helped out in Staplehurst and took turns to take refuge in the cab during the rain.

Also Paul who did a sterling job as our shop keeper for three of the four days of the busy weekend.