Mike Amos: By far the greatest vehicle registration the world has ever seen

“I’m surprised you missed it,” says Paul but these days I’m lucky to see the little white van.

SH11DON, gold plated if ever, belongs to Graeme Scarlett – bus company owner, brass bandsman, accomplished organist. “Being a good Shildon lad, I just wondered if it might be available,” he says.

“I was at a bit of a loose end one night so I went on the DVLA website and there it was. I couldn’t resist. It’s created a lot of interest and not just in Shildon, though one chap wondered if my name was Don.”

Graeme’s reluctant, however, to reveal how much that magnificent marque set him back. “My wife reads the paper, doesn’t she?”

Paul Ryman reckons that Shildon may be the only town in the UK to have its own registration. Others may know differently.

GRAEME also runs on nostalgia. Getting on 15 years ago he returned to the roads the Eden Bus Company, once greatly familiar around south Durham and beyond, and is now seeking to put the fizz back into Jones’s pop.

Like Eden buses, the Jones’s pop wagon was part of the street scenery. Their dandelion and burdock was particularly good, though Lowcock’s of Middlesbrough made the better lemonade.

Based at St Helen’s Auckland, the company was bought by Gray’s of Spennymoor. Now Graeme is providing 13 different flavours – “mainly to family and friends” – from the back of the Eden garage in West Auckland.

“I just like to see old names resurrected,” he says, perhaps self-evidently, and it’s coincidental that next week will mark the Eden’s 90th anniversary.

The company, affectionately remembered for smiling drivers and canny conductresses, was formed in 1927 by George Summerson with a 14-seat Chevrolet that cost £500. When their Bill jumped aboard, it became Summerson Brothers.

The company was sold to United in 1995, in turn becoming part of Arriva. Graeme bought the naming rights in 2003.

The anniversary will be marked by a lunch in West Auckland Memorial Hall on September 9 at which speakers will be former Eden traffic manager John Godfrey and Charles Marshall, manager of the old OK Bus Company in Bishop Auckland – “a human Google of the local bus industry,” says Graeme.

Everything in the garden of Eden may not wholly be rosy – “it’s not easy for an independent operator these days” – but they’re steady away, he says.

The column, regrettably, is unable to attend the celebration. The toast will be in Jones’s pop.

IN passing, but not as in overtaking, we’d also mentioned a few weeks back that cash-strapped West Mercia police were planning to sell AB 1, held by the constabulary for more than a century.

Ian Cross, a reader, not only suggests that North Yorkshire police might hold AJ 1 but that Tony Jacklin, the golfer, made a substantial, but unsuccessful bid for it after winning the Open in 1969.

A force spokesperson confirms the first bit, at any rate. “We are aware of the value, but have no plans to sell it at this time,” she adds.

Helpfully, North Yorkshire police also point out that when car registrations were introduced in 1903, one or two letters were followed by numbers from 1 to 9999. Letters were initially allocated by size of local authority population, so that London was A, Lancashire B, West Riding C and so on.

AA was Hampshire, AB Wolverhampton and finally they reached North Yorkshire.

AB 1 has now been sold – to a former chief constable – for what’s reckoned a bargain price. It went for £160,000.

IT’S budget cutbacks, of course, which have led to front desk closures in so many police stations. No such constraints at Leyburn, also in North Yorkshire, where a notice in the window is more user friendly: “If we’re in, we’re open.”

UNCOMMONLY in Commondale, last week’s column enthused about the third-little-pig delights of the 8 40am Sunday train service directly from Darlington down the Esk Valley to Whitby.

The following weekend we caught it again – to Castleton Moor, next stop along – to get the measure of the longest thistle competition, an admittedly prickly subject.

Where the North-East grows leeks, Castleton grows thistles. Castleton and Danby Floral and Horticultural Society’s annual show on September 9 also has a longest thistle class, catalogued between sweet peas and asters but on no account to be confused with either.

Please leave thistles outside the marquee,” urges the catalogue by way of pariah commitment.

This one was part of a fundraiser for the local play group, about 20 entries – bristly, thistly – laid low by the cricket club wall.

A couple of teasels, teasing, had also been benched. “If they win there’ll be a stewards’ inquiry,” someone said.

Second last year, Eric Nelson hadn’t again entered. “They counted roots and shouldn’t have done, I lost by about two centimetres,” he said, stung but wholly affable.

Insult to injury, the thistle winner had also beaten him into second place in the sausage roll competition.

Last year they measured imperially, this year metrically. “You have to move with the times,” said Peter Rudsdale, one of the judges, though he supposed this year’s crop on average about a foot shorter than last.

Peter blamed the weather, as folk do. “I think they’ve germinated too early,” he said.

Three, a crowd, watched. Someone talked of customisation. Leeks aren’t customised, so it’s said, they’re peed upon after a night on the beer. Eric doubted if the good folk of the Esk Valley offered such nocturnal nourishment.

“Too couth?”

“Too cold,” said Eric.

Rules are few. Some grow their own, others forage far. The Botton estate could flower for Scotland, they reckon. “We went up there yesterday,” said Rita Rudsdale. “I think they thought we were trying to steal their wood.”

“The problem’s transportation. It’s a bit hard getting a 7ft thistle into a car,” said Peter, a man who knew a sting when he felt one.

The judges were on their knees, clipboard closely in attendance. Rita won the adult section though the overall prize, for a thistle about 2.3m, went to junior winner Beatrice Watson.

Since Miss Watson is reckoned about four months old, it’s possible that Andrew, her dad, had helped in the nursery garden.

It was all greatly good natured. What with that and SH11DON works, thistle do nicely.