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03
Feb
Meet the owner of the Poo Bus, possibly Knaresborough's most unusual vehicle
If you’ve spotted a white minibus covered in poo emoji stickers in the Chain Lane area of Knaresborough and wondered ‘what?’, ‘who?’ and – perhaps most importantly – ‘why?’, meet Barry Busby.
He’s the owner of the Poo Bus, a veteran 16-seater LDV Convoy that he uses for family trips out, fundraising events, and most recently, film set transport.
Barry bought the diesel vehicle as a non-runner several years ago, but soon found it was easily repairable and made it roadworthy again.
Barry Busby's Poo Bus.
He told the Stray Ferret:
It’s basically a laugh. I never do anything normal. I wasn’t going to drive around in a plain white van, and I had a poo emoji cushion at home, so I put it in the van. Then people just gave me more and more things to add to it.
In addition to the big brown stickers on the outside, the van now also has poo emoji cushions on every seat, giant Minions characters, a glitterball and disco lights, a 32-inch TV and a microwave.
The minibus has poo emoji cushions on every seat.
Barry has had several enquiries about hiring the van for stag and hen parties, but for insurance reasons has had to turn any offers down.
He did, however, volunteer recently to use the van to ferry around the cast and crew of They Might Be Monsters, a comedy horror film short made by Harrogate filmmaker Velton Lishke and starring 2006 Big Brother winner Pete Bennett.
And he’s even attracted the attention of the BBC, which interviewed him at the weekend about his unusual wheels.
The Poo Bus was used to transport the cast and crew of a locally-made comedy horror film.
Apart from private use, Barry uses the Poo Bus primarily as a publicity vehicle to sell his self-published books. He has written eight so far, six of them for children. Three of these are based on family trips in the vehicle, such as Poo Bus Goes to the Seaside, and three are about a character called Wiggy the Piggy.
The remaining two books are compilations of Barry’s own poetry, which focuses on mental health and depression.
He said:
They’re really for those who can’t put how they’re feeling into words. It helps them explain to other people what they’re going through.
The Poo Bus even has a topical numberplate.
Anyone wanting to view the Poo Bus, or buy one of Barry’s books, can catch up with his unique creation on May 30, when it will be at the next meeting of the Harrogate Car Enthusiasts’ Club at Harrogate Rugby Club, and event that raises money for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Barry said:
Come along and take a look inside. Some people laugh, some people think it’s disgusting, but it’s just a bit of fun, and nobody’s ever done this before.
Credit for all photos: Barry Busby.
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