...to think Patrick Stewart was the bus driver?

[Beachtastic]

Anyone from Leeds who can shed light on this?

Reposting here as I got no replies on the "Patrick Stewart RIP" thread.

This is going to sound bonkers, but some time in 2005–7, before I met him, my DH got on the Arriva no. 202/203 in Leeds (going to work early in the morning) and the bus driver was Patrick Stewart. (Nothing exciting happened, PS just smiled and issued the ticket as though everything was perfectly normal.)

DH told me about this in about 2013, and I was sceptical (assuming it must have been a lookalike), but looked it up online back then and found something confirming it (I can't remember the details, unfortunately)

... but now we can't find anything online, and wonder if we're going mad!

Surely we can't both have dreamt it, though?!??!?!?!?!?

YABU = of course this never happened, you are both delusional
YANBU = yes, Patrick Stewart drove a Leeds bus early one morning (if so, would love to know the story of why!)

There was a 202 bus named after Patrick Stewart in 2006, but I don't think he could have driven the actual bus because when would he have gained his PCV licence?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/35759580@N03/4156575436

Surely you were dreaming? Or got your memories mixed up - that sometimes happens.

RIP Sir Patrick - you were an icon. I know now he was 86 but as he's been bald since way back in the 1990s when 'Star Trek:The Next Generation' was coming out, he seemed ageless!

I was a bit shocked as up until recently he was filming 'Picard' I think. And I saw an obit saying very sadly he was suffering from dementia. I suppose maybe it can come on very quickly.

Yes, that's all we can find online now to connect him with the bus route. It says "This is bus is named Patrick Stewart as all buses in this batch have names connected with the local area. The Star Trek actor was born in Mirfield which this route also calls at" ... which is a bit boring! I'm still hoping someone might pop up to say it was his secret part-time hobby and he got his licence, otherwise perhaps DH and I just need medication of some sort 🫣

He was in Leeds around then as he was in a play at the West Yorkshire playhouse. It wouldn’t surprise me. Although I live somewhere else now and I swear his brother works in our Tesco! He is very nice and looks just like him, around 65/70 and a bit shorter. My heart skips a little bit every time I see him!

I think you must have memories of Patrick Stewart the bus mixed up with him as a driver.

If, however, you have memories of being flown on KLM short-haul by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands then it's true - he revealed about ten years ago that he moonlights as a pilot. It started when he flew Dutch-built Fokker planes on trade missions whilst Crown Prince, and he's kept it going to keep his flying hours up. He now flies the Airbus 321neo.

Mandela effect. Your mind has taken two stories and integrated them.

I had it over Dave Prouse (lovely guy met him in the 80s) who played Darth Vader. I thought I'd heard a news story reporting his death....had a conversation with someone who was good friends with him who was going to see him in a couple of days...i had to Google it and thankfully I was wrong

Are you sure he actually drove the bus? Maybe he just did the ticket bit before the actual driver took over.

I just googled it and it says the bus company did employ a look alike driver on the bus named after him. And he did pose for publicity photos with the bus. But he never drove it.