During the time – several years – that the first book was being written, quite a few ideas came to mind as to a name under which it should be published. It was always going to be self-published rather than be submitted to an established publisher.

The eventual name never occurred to either author for a long while. But when it did, it was so, so obvious! So, too, was the logo we have adopted! Anyone of a respectable age will remember that Mill Lane, in Reading, was where the Corporation Tramways depot had been established in 1903, and, until 1998, was where the buses (and the sadly-lamented trolleybuses) had been garaged. It was also where, further down, that two long rows of Smith’s Coaches, in their distinctive blue and orange livery, used to line up of a summer’s morning, awaiting their passengers who had booked for an excursion, probably to the seaside.

Thus, Millane Publishing was a fairly sensible name to adopt, as it is the intention to publish in the future some more titles, mainly but not exclusively, relating to public transport in and around the town. However, public transport is not the exclusive interest. Providing it is a work which has been properly and extensively researched – and quite possibly one which relates to the social history of Reading and environs, it particularly stands a good chance of attracting my attention.

John Whitehead