Saw Thorndon on film at the Film Archive tonight. I don’t know why I don’t go there more often. It was a collection of clips from 1906 to 1972 and they were fascinating. The non-speaking clips had a live piano accompaniament which was really well done. There wasa little bit of unnecessary commentary – all she did was read out the titles of the clips which were already on the films themselves.
My journey home was amusing. Clearly the students are back in town and celebrating the beginning of their year. I heard one young man complain her kept getting ID’ed everywhere just because he was carrying a skateboard.
Waiting for the bus I had two guys sit beside me and promptly unzip a padded cloth case. From it they retrieved some religious work. One promptly started to read out loud, very loud, to his friend. At this crowded busstop they went on to discuss the meaning of what they were reading.
The bus trip itself was more entertaining. The woman ahead of me spent ages quizzing the driver before she finally got on. It was quite annoying as it took a long time till she finally asked the question she actually wanted answered.
Passenger: Does this bus go up Bowen St?
Driver: No
Passenger: Where does it go?
Driver: Molesworth St
Passenger: How far up Molesworth St?
Driver: The whole way, then through Thorndon.
Driver: Lady, where do you want to go?
Passenger: Railway station but I don’t know where to get off.
Driver: Hop on and I’ll tell you.
Passenger: (Holding a snapper card) Will it just be a dollar?
Driver: (looking a bit confused) Yes, are you paying by snapper or cash?
Passenger: Snapper
Driver: Then just hold it up to the reader, it works it out for you.
Passenger: But how does it know how far I’m going
Meanwhile there’s about 10 people behind her waiting to get on the bus. She sits right up the front and everyone files on. Then the questions start. So many questions about the bus routes and timetables and fares and anything else about the busses you could imagine.
After about 5 stops the driver completely flipped out. He got up and collected one of every different timetable from the little plastic holders. Over and over he kept saying to the woman, “Take the timetables, they’re free, they’re full of all the information you’ll need, take the timetables.” He did it in a way which was half creepy, half helpful. It was really odd but more bullying then anything. The passenger really didn’t want the timetables, she said she didn’t use the bus often. She had a snapper but I don’t think she was a local yet the snapper made her look like she should know how things worked. I thought it was kind of sad, she just wanted reassurance she was heading in the right direction. I’ve caught enough buses in foreign cities where I know my destination but I don’t know the streets or suburbs along the way. You rely on drivers or fellow passengers for help getting to where you want to go. The driver, he didn’t help her, he made her feel stupid for asking for help.
