Hi Phil, i did the same thing 10 years after you, 3/4 of us went full round the number 8 many times, both ways.
we lived in Brookfields, we got the bus by the big railway bridge, on the junction with Pittsford st. we always tried to sit on the top, right at the front, or downstairs behind the driver.
we lived in Heaton st at one time, and i went to school at Ellen rd, and Icknield st , and before we moved out of the area in George Street West.