Axminster's 'shop local' champion releases new children's book

Colyton resident Barrie Hedges has released a new children's book, with drawings by local illustrator Mike Ilsley.

'The Bus Crew' tells the story of a small fleet of country buses battling to deliver their passengers in a snowstorm.

The book is set in the late 1950s and is drawn from Barrie's own childhood when his family ran a bus company in Berkshire.

He and a friend from the time have already written a social history around the contribution made by the business, Reliance Motor Services.

"A children's book was never in my mind until I got talking to Mike and realised just how capable he is as an illustrator," said Barrie, who lives in Colyton but is also heavily involved in the Axminster community, leading the Totally Locally movement to support local businesses

Mike added: "The challenge for me was how to make the look of the buses fit the personalities I had been presented with whilst trying to preserve the character of the buses as people might remember them." 

To date, they have only produced five copies but if interest is sufficient they will commission a full print run early in 2023.

With thanks to Colyton Parish Newsletter