With the the lines and coolers installed it was time to add all the bits required downstairs to actually operate as a bar. Here is a rough outline of all the bits still to be added.

• Taps
• drip trays
• beer mats
• optics
• spirit racks
• tills
• cctv screen

These listed items are not even all the bits required. But lets go through them.

Tap wise I went all out and bought Celli Cobras. In my eyes on of the nicest looking taps in the industry and proven to be very reliable. I went for four triple taps and in hindsight I could’ve done with half that. We’ve yet to experience a gig where we need all the taps flowing at the same time.

Most of the rest of the equipment added down stairs was pretty straight forward. Stuff like tills, amplifier and all the other electrical bits to make the music and the cctv work. The spirit racks did need a bit of thought. It’s is quite popular to have a pouring rail these days rather than optics. It helps with the speed of things and stop bar staff constantly having to cross over one another but in our case it was more valuable to utilize the space where the optics are than take away from the already limited space where the staff stand.

I was able to do some excellent recycling by using my old PC’s monitor to use as the CCTV screen. Lot’s of people ask why we have it. It basically acts as a deterrent. Everybody knows they are being watched if need be so people tend to behave themselves. This is the theory and thus far it has been ok.

I spent quite a lot of time figuring out how to have the layout set in the bar. This involved spying on the “enemy’s” bus and simply speaking to people who work in bars. Luckily I’ve been known to visit one here and there so finding these individuals was easy.  The only element that I wish I had added is an ice machine. the problem with that was that there is no water supply so it would’ve been too complicated to engineer in.

The other element I was going to add, which I didn’t was the happy our mobile bus bar bell. As you all well know there are 3 bell ringing opportunities in a Routemaster bus. One up stairs, one on the rear platform and the pull cord in the bottom saloon. With the electrics being split the way they are I actually wasn’t able to have the bell working on the stationary power circuit and I’m glad it didn’t work because the sound of that bell would’ve been fun for about 5 minutes. After that it would’ve become a massive pain in the *****