During the past few weeks, our folks have been taking time to clean up around several bus stops in the Devonshire area. With tonnes of rain having fallen recently, the cane grass has taken a life of its own across the island. Not one parish, not one road, has been spared.

So the first course of action was to cut down the cane grass. No, as a matter of fact, you can’t just cut down cane grass — you have to actually pull it up by the roots. Barring that, the reborn cane grass will be towering over you within a few days. So at the bus stop across from the squash club on Middle Road, an operation took place in order to allow those using public transportation to no longer have to traverse the “Serengeti”.

Razor lines

Five minutes’ drive away, the bus stop next to the Collector’s Hill Apothecary was fortunate not to have cane grass surrounding it. However, with high volumes of people using the shelter while waiting for the No 1 bus or just a hangout spot during the day, the walls and floors quickly become multicoloured and a bit unhygienic.

Many users have actually opted out of actually going into the bus stop versus standing outside of the structure. This week, Gary Ascento, born and bred in Devonshire, spent a few days working some of his Loyal Hill magic.

On Day 1, he cleaned the walls then applied one coat of semigloss white paint. As the floor was to be a different colour, he left the last two inches free for cutting via paint brush.

Day 2 saw him put on the second coat of white paint on the three inner walls and a few spots on the outside. The next day he had to apply a wire brush to the floor in order to remove a lot of the build-up on the floors.

With that being done, he was free now to expertly apply not one but two coats of grey flooring paint.

The final product, as seen in the photographs, was not just a bus stop with a fresh coat of paint. Mr Ascento is a master painter of more than 50 years’ experience. His craftsmanship shows in the sharp cuts between the grey and the white. One could very easily take a wooden ruler and see how straight his lines are.

Those loyal No 1 bus users can feel free to actually stand or sit inside the shelter. Next week we move on to two more shelters in Devonshire. If you happen to see our folks working over the next few weeks, please honk to them.

It would mean the world to them and their pride in our parish.

• Christopher Famous is the government MP for Devonshire East (Constituency 11). You can reach him on WhatsApp at 599-0901 or e-mail at carib_pro@yahoo.com