Weird moment

This photo is of a Dutch style house which is on Kevin St, the spire of St Patricks Cathedral is in the background.


Monument for the hunger strikers on the roadside outside Armagh.
New film out called Hunger which explains it if you don't know.

Sorry if these photos are repeated, I must get out more and all my Drougheda photos did not take on the computer.


Well after Saturday night my finances have recovered somewhat.
It was very busy and the new taxi fares kicked in at midnight, I don't know what all the fuss is about its 80c rise on a e10 fare, that's nothing.
The costumes were fantastic but it was cold and heavy rain showers all night.
People were mostly good natured, got in paid when they got home and got out.

One guy in particular still has me perplexed, he was on his own but looked sober and was going to Reubin st in Rialto. Conversation was normal until we stopped.
The street is a very narrow road and when I stopped the meter he turned sideways in the seat and faced me and said that there was a very important march taking place in Northern Ireland tomorrow,the British army who had killed thousands of Irish people were going to march through the streets in a procession to celebrate their success in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You knew I was from Antrim why did you not talk to me about that instead of all the other things you spoke about.

This guy was squaring up for violent conflict with me, I never discuss politics, religion or sport I said. If you feel offended by this march I suggest you take the train to Belfast tomorrow to protest.
As luck would have it another taxi wanted past us just then and I was blocking the road so I just said a few words to him in Irish,which threw him for an instant and took him out of the trance he was in.

He paid me and I said thanks and sleep well in Irish and off he went.

It throws up more questions than I can handle.
How disturbed was he ?
Had he a gun or a knife?
He struck me as a guy who would be a wife beater,he was very disturbed.
(You would have to be in the situation to know what I mean)

The guy needs help that's for sure..Note to myself I must buy a gun.


It was a scary moment perhaps because nothing happened
But the situation had a lot of potential for big trouble.

You can never tell thats for sure, still its never boring driving a taxi.

Last week after my visit to Drougheda I started work on Wednesday morning.
The bus passes my house and I am near the start of its route, so when the bus was going past I rushed to the car, backed out and overtook it at the bottom of the road.
Straight down the bus lane with people waiting at the bus stops, people were looking for taxis, but strange to say none waved me down.
They did wave at the other taxis in front and behind me. The old brain was in a stew when I passed the fire station at Annsley bridge.

Then the penny dropped, my taxi roof sign was in the boot!!!
I had taken it off to reduce wind resistance on the long trip.
The taxi signs are just held in place by magnets.

We have an expression here in Ireland.
"If you had brains you would be dangerous"

I felt a right twit for sure.

One other thing I noticed though.
A taxi stopped and the driver asked me for a hotel which is in Smithfield, he didn't know where that was and he didn't know any of the streets by name so he could not take directions either.
Then it dawned on me that he was a taxi driver from miles outside the city who had come up to take out work for the night. It is very hard on the tourist who was in the taxi, being driven around in circles, meter clicking away.

Next time this happens I will ask his passenger to get into my car if there is an empty seat and I will drop her home if my passengers are near their destination and I will do it free too..the quality of service is in free fall.

Every area used to have their own district marked on their roof sign so you couldn't go to another area you didn't know and work there.

I wish we had a regulator instead of a publisher!
The amount of junk we get through the post from her.