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'' cartoon shows UK government ministers in a charabanc.]] A charabanc (pronounced ''sha-ra-bang'') spelt "char-à-bancs" is a kind of open-topped Bus common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It was especially popular for "works outings" to the country or the seaside that businesses would hold once a year. The name derives from the French ''char à bancs'' ("carriage with wooden benches"), http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cha1.htm where it originated in the early 19th century.http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9022495 It is mentioned in Ian Anderson 's song, "Wond'ring Again" from the Jethro Tull compilation '' Living In The Past '', as well as tangentially in The Decemberists' song "The Legionnaire's Lament". From what is gathered from the context of the Song , a charabanc ride is nothing but a joy-ride for the nothing-to-dos, and finds use in guiding Tourists around a Town or City . Also mentioned in the Stranglers song "Peaches" - ("Oh shit! There goes the charabanc. Looks like I'm gonna be stuck here the whole summer. Well what a bummer") The charabanc tour is also the (admittedly vague — see ''The Beatles Anthology '', episode 6) premise of The Beatles ' 1967 television film '' Magical Mystery Tour '', in which a group of characters ( Spotlight 'oddities', 'lovelies' and The Beatles themselves) toured Southern England in a mix of Music Hall tunes/comedy, contemporary Psychedelia , and musical set pieces by the Fab Four. The charabanc is also noticeably mentioned in Dylan Thomas 's short story "A Story", also known as "The Outing". In the piece the young Thomas unintentionally finds himself on the annual men's charabanc outing to Porthcawl. Within the work the carabanc is referred to as a 'chara' by way of colloquial Welsh slang. The book, '' Magnolia Street '', a 1932 novel by Louis Golding , notes that the family went off on their holiday in their char-à-bancs. Also the name of a theater company co-founded in 1983 by Belfast native and playwright Marie Jones (b. 1955), who went on to write '' Stones In His Pockets '', an Ireland-based play with a two-man cast that ran successfully locally, and in London, and reasonably successfully on Broadway. Although not common on the roads for several decades, there are still a few signs that survive from the charabancs' era. A notable example at Wookey Hole in Somerset warns that the road to the neighbouring village of Easton is unsuitable for Charabancs. EXTERNAL LINKS
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