• Do you want us to withdraw the Routemaster?
• No thank you, we'd rather you didn't.
• Ok, we shan't, then. Thanks for letting us know.
• Don't mention it.

Simple, right? You could apply the same exchange to invading Iraq - another thing that must have sounded like a great idea at the time to its proponents, and which has also been an utter failure and a disaster that's going to haunt us for ever after.

There are now just 36 hours left of Routemaster operation left, and tomorrow, Thursday 8th December, will see fifteen or more specials joining forces with Brixton's thirteen RMs and 23 RMLs on the 159. I can tell you that at least three of them haven't been seen before, and that they're going to be corkers. The identity of two of the Ensignbus workings is unspecified, intriguingly, and we know their record for spectacular surprises.

A graffiti attack on Tuesday night hit five buses exposed in Brixton's vulnerable forecourt, demonstrating an irritant that has bothered the locality for years, but in some cases the unexpected benefit has been the removal of the posters, which as I said earlier, cynically miss the point that for all the heritage services in the world, the 159 is the real last crew-operated route and no mention is being made of its withdrawal. Demonstrating is RML 2324 (CUV 324C) as BN131 loading up at County Hall at ten past seven this evening.

See you on the front line tomorrow. Stay safe - this is stressful enough without anybody disrupting the hopefully smooth running of tomorrow's and Friday's last special operations.