I was waiting at the Brent Cross bus terminus for the 189 bus when an old lady with an Irish accent (in her 70s; or early 80s?) sitting next to me asked, “Where does Finsbury Park go to?” She had a big shopping bag of food bought at Sainsbury’s.
For a moment, I couldn’t process what she meant. I said, “It doesn’t go anywhere. It’s a place.” Then, I saw that bus 210, going to Finsbury Park, had just pulled up, which must've been what prompted her question. I said, “Oh, you mean where can one go from Finsbury Park?” as she must’ve been trying to establish if she could take bus 210. “From Finsbury Park, you can go to Highbury, or to Stamford Hill.” It was obviously not what she wanted, as she went off to ask someone else before I could give her more place names, entering into a long, gesticulating conversation with a young lady.
Bus 189 turned up, the old lady came back to ask the driver, “Do you go to Edgware Road?” Driver said yes, so she boarded and sat in the seat by the door, facing the rest of the bus. I got on after her, stopped by her seat, and said with a smile, “So, you’ve found your bus!” and sat in the seat the other side of the doorway, facing the front and facing her.
After taking a back route — down back streets, around housing estates — the bus got to Cricklewood, just before turning into Edgware Road, joining it about two-thirds of the way up Edgware Road.
The old lady looked at me across the doorway and asked, “Should I get off here?” I said, “I don’t know where you’re going, so I can’t tell you.” I then got up and went over to her, “Where do you want to go?”
Old Lady: I want to go to Edgware Road. I asked the driver, and he said this bus goes to Edgware Road.
Me: But Edgware Road is a very long road. Which bit of Edgware Road do you want to go?
OL: I want to go to the end.
Me: There are two ends. Which end do you want to go to?
OL: (getting cross and tetchy by now) END END!!
Me: (still trying to be helpful) This bus is heading for the Marble Arch end.
OL: (still tetchy) Oh NO, I DON’T want to go to Marble Arch!
She got off when I did, but wandered off up the road before I could ask her any more questions to try and establish how I might help her get on the right bus. I had to cross the road to change to a bus going to the north end of Edgware Road to get something, so had no time to run after her.
Thinking back about it now, I think she might’ve been wanting to go to Kilburn, which is an Irish area further down on Edgware Road, so bus 189 would’ve taken her there.
I also think now, from her behaviour and her communication style, that she was suffering from dementia. How did she manage to buy a whole bagful of food, though, when her brain was in such a confused state?
(London, 2019)
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