Tuesdays Euromillions

 A fine display of tools in a hardware shop in Mary St.


ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER DOLLAR!

The Euromillions has rolled over until Friday €150, Million.
No it will not buy you friends, but you will have more interesting enemies.

If you do win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tell no one, perhaps say "I won €20,000" Leave it at that.
A friend of mine won £4.7 million Punts a few years ago (When money was money) and it ruined his life for a good few years.

It is strange how hard it is to get back into the work! My timing was a bit off this morning.
I was asked to put on a wash of clothes last night. Which I did.
This morning I went out too early and came back home to make tea and hang out the wash.
I took some clothes out of the machine and heard a rattle in the drum. Great! there is money in someones pocket.  My surprise turned to horror when I found the new key of my wife's car.
God be with the days when a key was a key.
Now it is a mini computer.
The key cost €150, when she lost the original key and needed a new key the garage told her to bring the car in. "The key is lost, I can't drive it down"
OK in that case we will get a tow truck to take it to the garage, we will have to change all the locks and the immobiliser and it will cost €2500.

Guys are using fishing rods with hooks attached to take the car keys from the hall table, so all this security is easily bypassed in the end.
I have the key on top of the hot tank drying out. After 24 hours I will try it.
You can also put a key or mobile phone into a jar of uncooked rice and put the lid on it. The rice will absorb the moisture in a couple of days. 
Once a friend of mine had a Mrec and her key cost over £1,000 back in the day.

Look     Just be careful...

Nice one I had the other day, on the quays I was heading into the marine port at the time and got a lift to the airport instead.
It was rush hour and we took the port tunnel €10 toll, straight through, he was an interesting guy and when we got there I went to the Flyers cafe for TEA.
The girl who works there from Brazil was there and she was on her very last day on the job.
I had left in an old  Roma pass so that she could see what it looked like.
She was saying how strange it all seems to be leaving her job, going to Italy and Spain with her friends for a holiday and then starting a new job on the day she comes back to Ireland.
She spoke about how much she loves Ireland and the Irish people are so good to her.
(We are not GOOD or FRIENDLY we are just dead NOSY and must know about everyone's business)

When I headed back to the city I reckoned that if I put the boot down I would still make the ferry coming in to the port.
Through the port tunnel ( €3 toll going back)
On the way back an information screed flashed up the number of a car which had overtaken me with his speed !  That's a first.

So I arrived back at the port to see a massive Garda checkpoint for traffic coming out.
I picked up 2 really good looking traveler girls(You have seen the TV show I am sure) with 2 kids who were just going to the filling station within the port complex.
When we got there there was a blue van waiting.
The problem was that the driver was "under the influence"
That is why he didn't drive past the Garda checkpoint.

These people do not give a damn about anything.
Turning up drunk to bring 6 kids and 4 women on a journey.
No seats seat belts or anything.
I asked the woman I brought down if anyone else could drive?
She asked why?
"Work it out yourself"

And off I went.

Did you ever hear of Guggi?
WELL HERE IS ONE OF HIS BOWLS.
It is in the art gallery beside the Westbury Hotel
It is nice to have seen one in person.

If I had it I would put a rubber ball into it and tip the bowl until I could do the "Wall of death" around it.
Tara who runs the gallery told me that I am a total Philistine, she is probably right.
But if I win the rollover Euromillions on Friday
€160 million, and buy a few.
Then Tara would say.
"My friend John has a keen eye for what is good in art and a wonderful sense of adventure"

Another big visitor.

   The road out of Rome 3 lanes each way with 2 lanes on the outside for turning off the straight route.
The lights were coordinated as well.

   Pottery head flower pots, big in Sicily

Just when things started to get back to normal Michelle Obama has come to town and everything has gone into total lock down.
Staying in the Shelbourne Hotel there will be big fun getting around.

My grandson will be one year old tomorrow so I will not be in town for the hasstle.

The law needs help.

A girl with special needs was out jogging with her mother the other day. They got seperated and when they found the girl she had been sexualy asaulted.

Newspaper clip.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses following an incident in which a woman with special needs was sexually assaulted in Dublin.

The woman in her 20s was on the South Circular Road yesterday afternoon, accompanied by a family member, when they became separated.

Detectives believe the victim was taken to a house in the area where an assault took place.

Gardaí at Kevin Street are appealing for witnesses, or anyone with information, to come forward.


We as taxi drivers are thick on the streets 24/7. Nothing can happen without a taxi being close by.
A programme could be st up on  a computer to send out an SOS to all taxi drivers within a matter of munutes of there being an attack.
I have suggested to several oficials in the Garda and the taxi Regulators office that they do this.
One Garda superentendent told me it would be a breach of confadentiality to set up a data base of drivers numbers without their permission.

So there you have it.

Robbie Williams hits town

 The Aviva stadium is packed and Robbie is singing in the rain.
Just in case you never saw this before.



I just had a really good day, one that makes the bad days seem like they never happened.
Its all luck at the end of the day.

On my third attempt to get home tonight I was stopped by a passenger at the Yacht pub.
He was full of drink and not going too far.
"I just went in for my lunch there and got carried away" he said.
"I'm in trouble with the bank, my construction company has gone belly up and they are ringing me up every day to get paid."
I owe €100,000 myself I said.
"Well I owe €175 million, My father owes €300 million and my brother has fucked off to Australia and he won't come back to face the music."
What can you say?
Risks were taken by everyone.
We bailed out the banks and yet they want all the money back and they also want to keep their glorious golden handshakes and pensions.
Yet they knew that they were involved in reckless illegal trading.

Its always worth spending a few minutes working these guys around.

Years ago I picked up a guy on the Coolmine rd. He had been walking and had got lost.
He had been sacked from his job and was in a bit of a state.
I talked him around a bit but the mistake I made was that I let him out at the junction of the village to go home.
He walked down to the river behind where the new Garda station now stands and drowned himself.

No I don't beat myself up over this, I am now more aware now of what might happen, you cannot undue the past.

But folks you can improve the future.
I spoke to the Samaritans back then and they had business cards printed out that taxi drivers could give out to people that they feel might need a bit of help.
So they are at the Liffey end of Marlborough St opposite the Abbey theater drop in and ask for a handful of them.

They might make a difference to someone tomorrow.

When I came back from my holidays the battery in my car was completely dead.
A Hybrid car uses 2 battery's one controls the electric motor the other one controls the computers. I have replaced the smaller one twice and I now found out that the replacement one was the wrong type. So I will get the right one soon.
So the other day I got a run out to Blanchardstown Corporate business park and he asked me to call back and bring him to the airport. He came out and we headed off, 2 miles down the road the engine cut off and a big red triangle appeared on the dash display.
Driving on the electric motor only I had to admit.
"Heuston we have a problem!"
I told him that I had to stop and start the car again for a second.
The engine sprang to life after a 1/2 mile but the triangle warning was still there.
One of the other Prius drivers had a similar problem and drove on a few years ago.
His problem was a broken oil pump and he had to buy a new engine.
But I drove on saying my prayers and arrived at the airport, I pulled into the cafe at the Kesh (taxi holding area) and bought tea.
The staff there are really friendly and a Polish girl who works there asked me why I was not in for so long. So I told her of my journey to Rome and Sisely.
"I really want to get married in Rome" she said.
Within 5 minutes she had asked me to come to Poland and stay with her parents for a visit.
"My parents would love to meet you and you will really love Poland"
Stranger things have happened and I might go one day.

Wow that took my mind off my engine for a few minutes.
I went back to the car and checked the fluids, all OK then I hit the button. Everything A OK !

Older simpler cars had pressure gauges and temprature dials which told you what was going wrong.
Now they expect you to stop and close up the shop for no logical reason.
I think it was a voltage drop from the old battery that triggered the panic.

I bought a tool from America a few years ago I think it was called "Sharp shooter 2" and It could read faults, clear them and when it was mounted on the dash would give you oil pressure and engine temperatures and many other readings.
You know that you can buy advanced tools for doing diagnostics for around €400 and if 4 people chip in it and each person used it only once it would have paid you back for your entire investment.
A lot of guys who work in garages are really bad mechanics, take an interest in your car yourself, save money and know its well done.

One guy who came to me before my holidays via the HailO system he told me that he bought an Aston Martin DB9 with a 007 in the number plate He made the garage take it back because it wouldn't start and they had it back in so many times. Finally after 10 months and only 2,000 miles on the clock he got his money back and he bought a Ferrari, I thought he was messing for a few minutes but no he is one of these wealthy guys that move amongst us other folk.
I remember he used to have a silver Morgan, "Yes that was a fun car"
He is building a new house in Cannes, he has always had a house there, then I suppose he will sell the old one.
Another guy I picked up recently had a really nice XK Jaguar, he said he always liked the cars but in olden days they were so unreliable with the Lucas electrics that it was said that if you bought one you had better buy a second one as one would be in the garage all the time.

Perhaps some day my friends our ship will come in and we will give up Guinness and drink only Champagne

I'm back

I went away.

Now I an back.

3 days in Rome and 7 days in Sicily.

Even though Sicily is probably as big as Wales.
In my mind it was smaller than the Isle of Man.

Yes I visited your cousins there and they told me to tell you that you are wrong, you should never have mentioned family.
They will look after the rest of the business....

More to follow

Hot women

Womens mini marathon.
1000s of really hot women.

Last week I was on my way up to Northern Ireland when I saw this fine lady.
I swung my car around and spoke to the owner.

As you can see by the reg she is 1973 vintage.
I had one of them myself.
My one was right hand drive one of only 40 ever made.
2 cylinder air cooled engine, with a walking stick for a gear change, it was something else to drive.
The problem with them was that there was a misprint in the manual, the wrong Champion plug was shown, I found a Lebanese guy who corrected the mistake for me and went through how to do a complete service.
The suspension was something else, really smooth.
I bought 5 or 6 Dyanes (the car version) afterwards, it was a great concept in motoring history.

This is a bank holiday weekend and there are loads of things going on.
The Cat Laughs comedy festival in Kilkenny and 5the woman's mini marathon, and concerts in the grounds of the Royal hospital Kilmanham.
Oh yes the Bloom festival in the Pheonix park.

Don't forget fathers day.

Drugs are all over this city,,,,
A few days ago I was moving my car and saw a Chinese girl around 20 years old in a very agitated state. Putting 2 and 2 together together quickly I knew that she was waiting to buy a fix.
By the amount of anxiety shown it had to be Heroin she was waiting for.

Heroin reaps a very tragic price for that moment of solace that it first brings

I have to go away for a few days but when I come back I will find out where I can report active drug dealing to.

I know it is all over the city, but perhaps the Garda will act in Fairview.

Poor kid, lonely and sad she found solace..

Now she has only a short step to hell.

House for sale

On the South Circular Road a house has come up for sale.
it is just beside the old Players factory.
This house was the home of a very famous American lady.

Her name is Jean Darling and she was a star of the silver screen back in the Shirley Temple days.
Her mother put her into films and when she rose to stardom whe she was hardly out of nappies.
Then one day she got a massive bill from the IRS, but her mother had spent her money on fortune tellers of all things.
Even though she was a child she had made the money and owed the tax.
So she worked on and paid back this massive debt.

Later on she married a magician called Kajar and toured the world.
When he died she settled in Dublin and wrote children's books.





Here is a clip going back giving a brief outline of the of "The Gang" biographies



She was an interesting person to know, she was in my taxi 6 or 7 times and I looked after her for the duration of a funeral once.
She knew everything about stage presentation and stagecraft.
"What do you think of the Irish magician Keith Barry?"
She once asked.
"Can't you even see that he doesn't even know how HOW TO STAND?"

This was followed by a 20 minute lesson.

She has gone to live with her son in Germany.

Kite surfung contest

 Coming this weekend. Get the 130 bus from Abbey St Lets hope its windy.

   Mary St. Capel St Where the real shops of interest are found.I hate shopping malls

   Sailors from Norway cross Capel St. Bridge

   Where are they from? Romania and Armenia (She speaks Russian).
Both girls speak 4 oor 5 different languages.
Please Google, do a "tribes of the world" so that we can compare the tribes all over earth.
In 10 years we will be completely mixed.

So I got a quick haircut.
She did well and was surprised when I told her that the time before (in a different salon) the lady cut off my eyebrows completely.She was clipping away with her back to the mirror so I couldn't see what she was doing, when she stood back I couldn't even raise my eyebrows in amazement.
They were gone..
 She was even more surprised that I didn't complain.
"what could she do? Put them back on?"

Once I read a book about New York where the writer said that it was just a collection of small villages, this village area has a lot going for it.
Rents in Dublin have been linked to a "Upward only rent review" clause So on renewal of your lease the only way was UP! A few high profile court cases sagainst this law have been successful in the courts.
So now if your turnover is down because of the new shopping mall or because of the recession you can with a bit of luck review for a lower rent.
Sometimes negotiations are not enough however.
Brownes restaurant in Sandymount were coming near to the renewal of their lease.
The landlord stuck to his guns, he wanted xxx in rent.
But there was another place across the green which his present sitting tenant developed,
2 places with the same name !.
When the lease is up in the first place the tenant will be gone, So the landlord will have an empty shop.

And empty shops we have in plenty

You have to move with the flow.

15 0n the 19th

Well I had my birthday on Sunday the 19th.

Horay for being 15 !

Really I am that age on the inside. I never ever grew up.

Thank God.


Tango fiesta del Sol is coming to Dublin Click here to see what is going on
This is your chance to see Julian and Kristina in action.


Who could forget Gereldine Rojas (bad camera work)

Well there really more to life than driving a taxi.


My life is like the life of a fisherman. I trawl my lines along certain shores looking for fish to bite on my line.
Sometimes the really good spots are dead, at other times they are hopping.
.
C'est la vie

I went to Foster place and moved on to the center of the road, after a while I saw this  young lady on the opposite footpath trying to get directions outside Abercrombie and Fitch. She was not having much luck either.
I wanted to cross the road  and give her a street map, but that would involve leaving my car alone on the traffic island. It was cold anyhow, so I sat back into the car where it was warm.
I had turned on the radio when the very same girl tapped on my car window.
She was looking for that tourist hostel place on St.Augustine St..It was not far away.
Maria from Brazil is drop dead gorgeous! Even though she had not slept for 24 hours.
She is meeting her boyfriend from Spain and they are spending some time here in Dublin.

On the trip I made her laugh, she made me laugh too.
"Please give me your phone number" she said  "I want you to drive us back to the airport"
So when we arrived I carried her bag across the road and asked her to link my arm as we crossed over.
I told her that I did this just to make the other guys who were stuck in traffic jealous.
The happy people from Brazil have a song which translates.
"I have no food for my saucepan but at least I can make it play music"

Those girls from Brazil are such a wonderful mix of race that they all look fantastic

By the way there is a sailing ship from Brazil parked near to the Sam Beckett bridge.


A driver from the Westbury hotel rank was beaten up the other day .
Punched and robbed of cash and his mobile phone.
Its part of the risk you take.
There is a good reason to have CCTV recording in every taxi,
In Brazil the violence towards taxi drivers is much higher.
Look at Brazil taxi on the right.
Then use Google translate. It gives you a taste of the story.

Their world is so different to ours.