5th. Topcoat creeps round to the front.

5th.Battling a path through rampant vegetation.

6th. The unintentional 2-tone grey effect is due to the fact that my friendly bus-fairy absentmindedly picked up dark grey instead of mid-grey for the second tin.

8th. DM1051 waits its encounter with the MOT man at Luton Borough Council MOT station. The test was a thorough one, taking 1 hour 20 minutes, and the result was, sadly, a failure. The main defect was the front offside brake-lining which was "cracked and insecure", although all the brakes passed the pressure tests with ease. There was also a comment about a rear nearside body panel not being properly secured to the frame "which could be dangerous".

The body panel I can look at myself, but the brakes will need specialist attention.

11th. I prised off the rear nearside panel which the MOT inspector had objected to and surveyed the frame behind it. It is clear that at one time the bus was hit in the side, and the framing panels bent back at this point.

11th. The damaged frame after I had bent some of it, knocked off the loose rust, and applied a coat of hammerite.

16th. Topcoat reaches one of the doors.