Fridays march

The weather vane on the top of South Shields town hall reflecting its proud naval past.


The wearing of the green.



After all that time I spent training those chimps not a word of thanks.
why do I bother?

Taxi protest at 8 am Friday, another drive from Airside and Stillorgan,
Look here

I spent a good bit of time reading through the Goodbody report,its tough work, its just full of cotton wool and jargon.

None of the real problems have been looked at.
Nowhere in the report does it ask why some taxi drivers do not know the major streets of Dublin?

Or how well the new drivers are vetted who are entering the business?

We did have a rape and a sexual assault here last year.

In London a black cab driver may have raped in excess of 100 women.

How well would our present system work?

The regulators door is locked to the taxi industry.

She speaks through a PR company and never speaks until she has a well scripted piece.
Her office should field the Irish cricket team, she is all spin.

One point in the report says there is no reason to cap the number of taxis.
And the report states that new entrants will make a good living.

What planet was this report done on?.

Why have we more taxis per head of population than any other city in Europe?
I would like to see someone try and treble the number of taxis in Paris, there would be blood on the streets.

Taxi drivers can't get on to ranks and face tickets, the new ones are e250.
"Plying for hire in an unapproved Place" He was waiting at Connelly station.

Well did you go to mass on St.Patricks day?



I was heading up towards Lidl in Coolock when she waved me down, a slim girl with jeans and a red top, "Just down to Edenmore to the chemists then back up to Greenwood".

There was something about her that I couldn't put my finger on. You have to listen for the clues and I had missed one.

I'll be back in a minute and she went into the chemist, I stood out of the car to stretch my back, later when I looked into the chemists to see what was keeping her I saw her knocking back her methadone.

Methadone has a bad taste since they stopped giving it in sugar syrup (which is why so many druggies had bad teeth) She came out with a look of someone after sucking a lemon.

"Oh I forgot I need to buy credit for my mobile".

She went into the newsagents, when she came back she said I have to go to the other newsagents their machine is not working. She put her backpack into the taxi and went off, ten minutes later I walked around the corner to see her on one knee dialing her phone "I couldn't see it in the sun mister, well be going in a minute"

A few minutes later 2 kids of around 10 years of age pulled up, she ran over and gave them the money and got her drugs, so off wen went not mentioning anything unusual.

What I should have spotted firstly was her skin it was like a mask, junkies look like that, I don't know why.

The fare? e11.20.... easy money.

Today I was telling a young guy this story, "I don't know why people take drugs, after all they must know what it will do to them.
My own mother went on drugs when I was 6."
A story followed on of neglect and cruelty.
He was reared by an aunt, "My mother turned up once,but her brain was fried, we couldn't get much sense from her, then she went away again, I don't know where she is now"

He is a great young lad, doing sound engineering, recording studios etc.
I wish him the very best for the future.

Success often comes from a rocky start, sometimes it makes you focused,try harder and concentrate better.
Other times it destroys you too.


Did you hear about the dislexics who marched on the Dail to protest about the cutbacks ?


They finished up in Aldi.