Bus drivers turn their hand to writing

Chester based driver Dave Jones was unveiled asthe winner and was presented with a brand new lap top computer fromArriva.

Next time you board your local bus, there is a chance you mightbe greeted by a published author!

A recent competition organised by Arriva, with the support ofKnowsley Community College, challenged bus drivers to become thenext JK Rowling or Nick Hornby by writing their own short story orpoem.

This week, Chester based driver Dave Jones was unveiled as thewinner and was presented with a brand new lap top computer fromArriva bosses. Dave’s winning entry revolved around aday in the life of a bus driver.

The two runners-up were Bootle driver Michael Hamton and TonyThomas, who was a driver in Birkenhead but is now based at theAintree head office. Both received £50 of booktokens.

The competition was the brainchild of Arriva revenue inspectorSheldon Barnet, through his work as a Trade Union learningrepresentative.

Mr Barnet said: “My role is to promote skills for life toour workforce, such as literacy, numeracy and basic IT, and that iswhere the idea for writing short stories came from. All theentries were of a very high standard and we are grateful toKnowsley Community College for their support in helping to judgethem.”

Vicky Deakin, Director of Employer Engagement at KnowsleyCommunity College, added: “As a Grade 1 Skills for LifeCollege, we welcomed the opportunity to assist Arriva in judgingthe entries and it has been an extremely interesting and valuableexercise. Hopefully it will encourage more writing andcommunication in the workplace.”

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