#busride - "take the last bus to Cambridge and I'll meet you at the station..."

The Monkees might not have sung that, although given the number of Clarksvilles in the United States, it might have been easier had they done so. And, one must admit, buses have never been as glamorous as trains. The Orient Express rail replacement bus, as an example, doesn't really cut it. So, fair enough, "Last Train to Clarksville" it must be.

The last direct bus to Cambridge leaves Market Street, Ely at 6.15 p.m. on a Saturday evening. Forget a late night out if you don't live near the station. Admittedly, late night excitement is a bit thin on the ground in rural England, but we still have young people who enjoy that sort of thing. And so, I wanted to be on it. I didn't have a lot of company.

The only sizeable community between Ely and Cambridge is Waterbeach, and the bus rather by-passes that, so it didn't take long to get to Cambridge. A short connecting ride later, and I was at the railway station for the last leg of my journey, a slightly anticlimactic train ride to Stowmarket.

So, a day exploring the bus network of East Anglia, and what have I learned?...

#busride - Cambridge to Ely, the indirect way...

Final score from the Abbey Stadium,
Cambridge United 1, Luton Town 3!

So, my scheduled connection lost, what was I to do? There was another number 9 to Ely an hour away, but I wanted to keep moving. Luckily, Stagecoach offer another means of getting to Ely, albeit somewhat counterintuitively via Newmarket (for the geographically challenged, Ely is north of Cambridge, and Newmarket is east of it. But, it was due in twenty minutes, so I settled down with my good book, a history of the Peninsular War (we won, the French didn't) and waited.

And, sure enough, another shiny double decker arrived, ready to whisk me off. An on-time departure, and we were on the road, past the Abbey Stadium where, coincidentally, my beloved Luton Town (come on you Hatters!) were locked in mortal conflict with the locals on the football field (we seem to play Cambridge United quite a lot). I was reassured that it was 2-1 to us, that Cambridge were down to ten men, and that we might win a game.

The Rowley Mile is further back...

The route to Newmarket is, once you've escaped the Cambridge suburbs, a fairly quick one, with little in the way of population to serve. Unlike Mid Suffolk, West Suffolk is predominantly heathland, and doesn't support quite such so many people. It is, however, famous for horse racing, and the route took us past the end of the July Course, with excellent views from the top deck.

I've never been wild on Newmarket itself, as like too many Suffolk towns, the planners and developers have conspired to obliterate much of its charms. The bus has no time for architecture though, as we're off to the north-west.

The only significant stop en route to Ely is Soham, which is reliant on buses despite having an active railway pass through the town. The line from Ely to Bury St Edmunds, with its two-hourly service between Ipswich and Peterborough, hasn't stopped here for years, although it was the scene of one of the most famous instances of railway heroism.

On 2 June 1944, the leading wagon of a train carrying high explosive bombs caught fire, and the driver and fireman managed to detach the burning wagon (itself loaded with ten tons of general purpose bombs) and hauled it about 140 yards before it exploded in the station itself, killing the fireman and a signalman as well as badly injuring the driver.

It has to be said, Soham isn't that exciting now, and it was soon behind us.

Finally, the approach to Ely. The thing about Ely is, it has an incredible cathedral which dominates the skyline. Pictures were required, I thought...

#busride - Saffron Walden to Cambridge, a bureaucrat sleeps in the face of calamity...

The rather late Stagecoach bus 7
to Cambridge...

Saffron Walden. Very nice, but I've got places to be, things to do. And where is my bus? Not here, on the High Street in Saffron Walden, and that's the problem. I've got a seven minute connect in Cambridge, and time's a wasting.

It arrives, six minutes late, heading in the wrong direction, which means more delay and the possibility of a missed connection, and when it does finally arrive, prospects of making the bus to Ely have receded further. Ah well, nothing to do but get on the bus and keep my fingers crossed.

Stagecoach in Cambridgeshire offer a Dayrider Plus ticket, allowing unlimited rides in and around Cambridgeshire, which costs just £6.40, and, given that I have three rides on their buses planned, it offers better value than anything else today. I've spent £25.60 on fares already, but my bus expenditure is at least at an end.

This bus is rather fuller than the others I've ridden on, and has an upper deck, so I can pick a seat at the front and admire the view. Our route takes us through the two Chesterfords and Duxford, before heading for Sawston and Trumpington, as we weave through the Cambridge suburbs.

As is typical when you're running late, fate takes an unhelpful hand, as we're caught at a level crossing on the line from Liverpool Street to Cambridge, whilst a man on a mobile phone complains about the behaviour of his ex-wife. He does, at least, give me reason to guess why she's his ex-wife...

The new car park at Addenbrooke's.
Not a car park as we know them...

Sadly, this useful bus service inexplicably avoids the outpost of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and then, I fall asleep. It's warm, the scenery is uninspiring, and the pint I sank in Saffron Walden has its usual soporific effect. I awake at Sawston and look at the time. We're aren't making up any, and I'm going to miss the next bus.

The bus weaves through the southern end of Cambridge before heading to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, with its particularly funky new car park. And, as usual, the traffic is less than wonderful, so my connection is doomed. I slump in my seat. What next for the travelling bureaucrat?

To add insult to injury, as I step off of the bus on Emmanuel Street, my planned connection pulls out of the Drummer Street bus station. It's late too...

So, what is going to happen in Cambridge, now that David Howarth is standing down?

With the announcement that David Howarth is standing down, there will doubtless be some urgency to select his replacement. So, how will this work?

The first task is, technically, for the Local Party to approach the Regional Candidates Chair (RCC) to appoint a Returning Officer. This shouldn't be a lengthy process, as Catherine Smart, East of England's RCC, is a Cambridge City councillor. She will be responsible for the appointment, and might well be the first RCC to have to appoint a Returning Officer in such circumstances - held seat, own constituency. She'll be looking for an experienced Returning Officer and, whilst there are only two senior RO's in East of England to my knowledge (Catherine and myself), there are others who are more than capable of taking on such a role. I'm not available, which rules me out...

Meanwhile, the Local Party will be seeking to nominate a selection committee. As this is a held seat, it will be expected that all members will have undergone the formal training available, which includes an element of diversity awareness. They will also have to, as far as is possible, reflect the membership of the Local Party. The Returning Officer will have to agree the composition.

The Returning Officer will seek a meeting with the Local Party Executive as soon as possible to discuss the process and outline a possible timetable. Bear in mind that Christmas will intervene, and that this is likely to be contested, and one will realise that the process is unlikely to be completed until late February at best.

So, much to do in Cambridge, and we await news as they work their way through the Selection Rules...