PICCADILLY LILY

2000

For many years, each time my family visited Lake Havasu City, we always made sure to take in not only the London Bridge, but the English Village underneath it. Our kids loved going there because there were activities they could take part in, such as a vintage merry-go-round, paddle boats, shooting gallery, including several shops offering tee-shirts and unusual collectibles for youngsters.

They seemed to like feeding fish and birds best of all, as a sidewalk vending machine offered a handful of fish food for a quarter. My favorite stop was what I called, “Piccadilly Lily.” A chocolate malt from this establishment was my drink of choice on hot Havasu days.

The former London, England, double-decker bus, Piccadilly Lily had been turned into a sort of Café on wheels. It actually didn’t move and was safely grounded. We could get an array of cold treats there including perhaps the best milkshakes and malts in town. They also offered burgers and hotdogs.

There came a time when we visited and the business was not open. Thinking perhaps it was a temporary thing, the next year we returned finding the same. Asking around, I was told the establishment would most likely never reopen. Sadly, the merry-go-round had met the same fate a few years earlier, and was sold to an out of state buyer. That carnival like attraction was a memorable part of Lake Havasu City, especially for our kids.

I’m not sure where Piccadilly Lily is now, but it’s not to be confused with another double-decker formerly owned by Gary Baumkirshner of McCulloch Realty. This one is similar, but I believe in not as good a shape back then. I recall seeing it parked in front of the real estate office.

An article published by “RiverScene Magazine” in 2019, mentioned that the McCulloch Realty bus had been purchased by Scott Stocking, owner of Mudshark Brewery. The magazine mentioned that Mr. Stocking was having it restored by a good friend of his, Richard Perkins. I haven’t caught glimpse of it on the road so perhaps restoration is still underway. Scott Stocking lives close by, so perhaps someday I’ll have the opportunity to ask him.

As far as Piccadilly Lily goes, hopefully it too met a similar fate as the Baumkirshner bus and wasn’t relegated to the scrap pile. Although these two double-decker buses aren’t true artifacts where age is concerned, they are significant antiques in their own right. I always think of how much fun it must’ve been driving them here.

I came across a photo of my wife and I standing in front of Piccadilly Lily taken around 2000. I believe this is the last time we found it open for business. The photo isn’t date stamped so it could’ve been much later.

Joleen found a 17-year-old newspaper article, showing that Piccadilly Lily was hauled out of the English Village in 2007 by Steve’s Towing and possibly taken to the Yucca area, and then was to be towed to Bremerton, Washington, for restoration.

According to this archived story printed in “Today’s News-Herald,” and written by reporter David Bell, the bus’s new owner, Christopher Massey of Yucca, indicated that restoration plans might be put on hold soon after he took possession of it.

Further research was done on our part, with a drive to Yucca just completed. If Piccadilly Lily is lurking amongst the shadows in that sleepy desert oasis, as tall as she is, I didn’t spot the old gal. I’m sure someone out there knows the rest of this story, and hopefully it has a happy ending.