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Stan Butler buys himself a second hand green Ford Capri Mk2 which looked just like the one his celebrity hero David Jason had in his favourite sitcom Only Fools and Horses as Del Boy.
Stan shows his family around his car, but as usual his boring brother in law Arthur makes an unnecessary comment about the wheels he picked.
"You've just picked a prat mobile Stan, it looks awful!" Arthur Rudge replied rudely to his younger brother in law.
"What? But it's similar to the one David Jason drove in the classic sitcom Only Fools and Horses and if I'd have been treading the acting boards instead of driving buses and painting town landmarks, I would have probably appeared in the later episodes of my favourite sitcom and taken his character Inspector Frost's place from when he left the detective show." Stan Butler attempted to explain to his brother in law.
"You as an actor? Ha, ha don't make me laugh!" Arthur sneered folding his arms.
"Mum always said I looked a bit like David Jason only chirpier, with a talent for painting art, music and my humour would have definitely made me well known sitcom and detective shows material." Stan Butler felt a bit hurt by Arthur's comments, however he doesn't let his brother in law get to him.
"Arthur, don't be rude, that's my brother you're talking about!" Olive told her husband and pulled up his boorish behaviour towards Stan.
"What a lot of rot you do talk, Olive." Arthur snapped at his wife. "The only bit of acting you're good at is playing Sal Mitchell in Eastenders."
"You're a fine one to talk, Arthur maybe you should have stuck to being a bank clerk and that so called vintage motorbike of yours is always falling apart!" Olive gave as good as she got to her husband as they've been married for 9 years.
"I was made redundant from my bank because of the credit crunch recession from last year." Arthur Rudge answered his wife in a stuck up manner.
At least Stan Butler had a reliable car of his own to drive.
Mabel Butler steps in to stop her son in law's cruel remarks.
"At least Stan has a car he wanted and it'll make shopping in town much easier when he's not on the buses and then that leaves the Internet only for things I need delivered or can't get hold of on the high street." Mabel Butler stepped in sticking up for her son.
Jack Harper tells Arthur straight about his poor and outdated attitudes towards Olive. "What are you playing at mate?" He hissed. "You can't talk like that to your wife! This isn't the 1970s you know!"
"She's my wife and I'll address her how I want." Arthur argued with Stan's best friend Jack.
"You chauvinistic throwback!" Olive added in turn.
Stan was born on 11 July 1985, he took considerable lengths to get his public service licence and insurance so he could drive the famous blue and white Luxton District buses as soon as he applied to be a bus driver.
He was finishing up one of his oil paintings on local landmarks after he had his dinner so he gets some of his art to exhibitions in London who are taking artists interpretations about England's towns history.
"My Stan does oil paintings on landmarks around England's towns, at least he has some other talents, is musical as well as driving buses." Mabel Butler despaired at Arthur never finding another job since his redundancy as a bank clerk.
Mrs. Butler was right, Stan as a child even enjoyed his music lessons on piano, could sing and introduced his colleagues to his own drag act called Clara the Clippie.
"Would you like a ride in front mum, seeing as you're going to town?" Stan asked his mum as he sets off in his new to him bright green Ford Capri.
"Ooh, that would be lovely, Stan, you're a good boy."
Stan Butler takes his mum out in his bright green Ford Capri fumbling around the traffic jam for the shops and out of town supermarket she wants to go to.
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Back at Luxton District Bus Depot, Stan Butler drives his classic Capri into the staff car park behind the station. The buses both single and double decker were the very latest models amazing, modern, space age, gleaming white and blue, streamlined and futuristically engineered.
The Inspector Cyril Blakey was curious about Stan's Ford Capri Mk2 in bright green with red mirrors and wipers.
"Does this mean no more borrowing the buses for personal reasons and your high jinks?" Blakey asked his pair of mischievous bus drivers Stan and Jack.
"Yeah, now I've actually got a car, people have wanted a photo with me because I look a bit like David Jason from his Del Boy days." Stan Butler told Inspector Cyril Blakey about his lookalike connection to a wheeler dealer character from his favourite 1980s sitcom Only Fools and Horses before he changes into his ultra smart but casual Luxton District Buses uniform.
"I just want to get my bus out... Blimey, hark at me, eh?" Jack and Blakey looked at him without comment.
"You'll be driving the number 30 to the cemetery gates." Cyril Blakey told Stan his first route and he gets into the driver's area and turns his ticket fare machine on.
Stan turned round and noticing a bright rainbow coloured bus in front of him "Blimey, that's a fancy bus, isn't it? Look at that, painted like a rainbow."
"Yes," said Blakey "We're very happy with that paintwork, that bus will be leading the Luxton Pride Parade."
"Driven by Henry, cheerful kind of bloke like me but gay I presume?" Stan asked the Inspector.
"It will be representing the Luxton District Pride Parade and yes Henry will be driving our rainbow painted bus on the day."
◇◇◇
Jack Harper finally gets to see his friend Stan's Ford Capri Mk2 in bright green is all about.
"I bet you've been pulling the birds in that classic 70s Ford car of yours?" Jack Harper asked Stan taking note of the interior and bright green colour with a Californian plate added on the side just for fun.
"Yep, a few said I could be mistaken for a younger David Jason." Stan Butler pointed out.
"Really? I can't see you wearing a tartan cap but everything else of the Del Boy character fits." Jack replied imagining Stan in a tartan cap on top of his hair. He had to have dental work and braces fitted to correct his crooked teeth.
Stan clocked off and went home in time for his tea.
He watched the six o'clock news then realised that there were a hundred other channels to choose from. It was all he could do to pull himself away from it for his tea that Mum cooked especially.
He noticed Olive and Arthur were late for tea, no change there.
"They're hoping to have a couple of little boys and girls after little Arthur and then I'll continue being a granny and you as an uncle." Mabel Butler said.
"Arthur Junior has only just been born, Mum." Stan replied mind blown. "I know he leaves all the parenting stuff to my sister and doesn’t do his bit to muck in."
At that moment the living room door opened and Arthur walked in - the same old Arthur, with his receding hair and his permanently pained expression due to his 'operation' and Olive walked in carrying a baby boy feeding little Arthur his bottle of formula milk.
Later on he was in his own bedroom but it was different, more modern and full of his art and music things. He decided on going to bed saying goodnight to his Mum and sister.
◇◇◇
"Why are you still driving that prat mobile, I bet it has a hideous novelty horn!" Arthur complained to his younger brother in law.
"It's my car and I can drive it where I want to." Stan Butler got fed up with Arthur's remarks about his Capri.
After breakfast with Mum, Arthur and Olive, Stan headed off to work with Jack in his green Ford Capri. They talk about the latest case for the police.
"There's something going on about one of our dodgy drivers arrested flashing at little kids outside a primary school. Probably true I suppose?" Jack Harper asked.
"I can't comment on that, Jack due to confidentiality." said Blakey "The situation is what we knew well before he flashed at little kids. He had been released on bail and the police officers are currently interviewing the parents of the small children involved and reviewing all the evidence."
"May I take the bus for the town out please?" Stan asked relieved to know the police are doing their job.
"Of course you can." said Blakey. "Don't forget to fill out your statements for the police though."