The view from here: Those were the days, my friend . . .

Every now and then I get overtaken by a hippie bus and I think, 'I wonder where they're going? Wouldn't it be nice to get to the end of the bus-route and just keep going: see where the road goes. I suppose this would be the bus driver's equivalent of jamming.

Instead of following a fixed route I'd go my own way, heading off into the distance wearing dark glasses, like Hunter S Thompson. Maybe pick up a few hitch-hikers and other road people on the way to a festival.

A fireapple red double-decker thrumming down the highway, the speakers playing Steppenwolf's 'Born to Be Wild. Don't stop until you get to the ocean. Or even drive it into the water and see what happens.

But somehow I don't think I'd get away with it. Passengers wouldn't like it and nor would my conductor Stanley. And they'd soon notice at the garage when the bus went missing.

Furthermore, I'd have to spend all my time looking out for low bridges. That's probably why most hippies buy single deckers. It's one less thing for them to worry about.

I wasn't driving a bus for a living in 1969, but I can imagine the kind of conversations they had, that summer . . .

'Two and two halves to Marrakesh, please.'

'Hey hippie - you wanna buy something outa sight?'

'Hey - later, man.'

'I can dig it. Who's the chick?'

'Hey, we've got a caring relationship.

'I now pronounce you bonded so long as your relationship continues.

'I can really groove on your sense of humour.'

'I can see the statement you're making.'

'I can't handle any emotional input right now.'

'I don't dig people copping feels]'

'I think I'm gonna crash, man.'

'I wanna be free.'

'I'm just getting my thing together.'

'I'm not really into this type of pressure trip.'

'Isn't that far out?'

'It freaks me out.'

'It's beautiful.'

'It's psychedelic.'

'I'd like to hear what your head is saying.'

'Can we focus on the big pic-ture here.'

'Cool out.'

'Don't get burned like you did last time, man.'

'Hey - dig.'

'Just drop in and drop out.'

'Let's get it on.'

'Let me sit on that for a while.'

'Let's cop a groove.'

'Let's define the parameters of our relationship.'

'Let's make love not war.'

'Let's split for the beach.'

'Let's take a rain check on the orgy.'

'No cop out.'

'No sell out.'

'Peace, brother.'

'Pretty good stuff you got there, brother.'

'That really blows my mind, man]'

'That's cool.'

'Oh wow]'

'There's a lot of rage in you, man.'

'This is hard to verbalise, so I'm gonna be right up front.'

'This is really heavy.'

'Unbelievable.'

'We may have a downstream problem here.'

'We're just raising our consciousness here.'

'What's happening, man?'

'When are you going to come to terms with that?'

'You cop for that.'

'Will you get off my case, man?'

'You're incredibly full of anger.'

'You're one hip cool dude.'

'What it is, man, what it is . . . '

'Why don't you drop acid and get off your incredible power trip.'

'That's 1/6d. please'

'Far out.'

(Photograph omitted)