Happy 20 10

Christmas is a time for Circus.
This is really good if not a bit "Arty"
The guy (A Clown) who owns the Cirque went into space this year at a cost of $18 mill or so.



Still Chris Bliss does well with only 3 balls, not many people sitting down after he finished his act.



Here we are again at the arrival of a new year.

It seems like no time at all since we entered the new millennium,all of 10 years ago.

Remember the big computer bug? This time around it's "Swine Flu"

The old radio is blasting out "The Island" by Paul Brady
(featured on the blog a while back).
Well who could ever have thought that we would ever have a cessation of violence in the Island of Ireland.
A lot of lessons have been learned in the last 10 years for sure, and a load of miles covered in that time. Hundreds of people met, some mean,some bad, some others were fantastic and one or two superstars.
Good tippers,bad tippers and rude gobshites, this year I deal with them better than the year before.
I do still like people in spite of all I have been through and I am amazed by the awnser I get when I ask the question. "Where are you from?" Brazil,Philippines,Hungary,Latvia,Russia,Poland,Checz republic,Wales, all today, I also had a good few Irish.
You have to realize that the people who come over here in the main are the people with ambition,many of them work at jobs where there education and training goes to waste.Most of the foreign people I have spoken to have been through university and need a few €uro to do their PHDs. Many of the others are great people too.

I was born in 1949, At the time when I left school there was no work in Ireland for my school year, we went to England, USA, Australia etc.
(Those times are back again now)

Many of the "get up and go folks" have gone over to London to help with their Olympic effort.

Most of the next Irish generation Irish are heading off.

I can see the decent Irish taxi drivers heading off now too.

The stories I hear on a daily basis about the goings on in taxis would make you ashamed to be a taxi driver.

When I write to the regulator I get a "letter" full of cliches which do not remotely relate to the question which was asked.
Look HERE to see what I mean. I know this is in the UK, but it seems that no matter what you do or say falls on deaf ears.

The other day on the Westbury mall a driver jumped another car when the driver went to the toilet. A few words were exchanged and the driver refused to back into his own place in the queue. Well the gazumped driver pulled in front of the other car when he reached the front of the queue. More words were exchanged.
What no one that witnessed this knew was that someone had called the Garda.
The guy was furious and when he got his own passinger the customer wanted to let the front seat back, only to be met with loads of abuse!
The customer got out (wise man) and he got into the car behind, just as the Garda arrived. The driver as it turned out after investigation had a forged PSV licence.

After a big row they took away his roof sign!

"When you can provide us with valid papers you can have your taxi sign back" the Garda said.

Well one of the lads who had not seen the row told me that he was back on the rank around 1 1/2 hours later with A roof sign(perhaps a stolen one).

Imagine a drunk girl getting into a taxi where the driver has never been checked out.

Your sons and daughters are in danger for sure, and it is all beyond the remit of the taxi regulator.(Or so she says)

9.45 at the Heuston station the rank turns foreign!.
Just like that, 80% of the drivers are now foreign, I have been told that the regulator is go off duty at 9pm.

A few years ago we had a case where a guy was involved in a high profile child rape case,("C" case I think) some taxi drivers reported that the same guy was now driving a taxi, while the Garda were investigating he raped a girl. He was caught when the girl took note of his PSV number. He was caught and locked up..The Garda said that he had given them "A different address from the address he was living at when he committed the previous offence"

Well boys and girls that was a hell of a thorough background check!.

Its a hell of a lot easier for the Garda to give a guy a ticket while he is trying to get on a rank for sure! That's how you protect the public.

Rather than do a proper background check.

Have a look at the Anderson shelter and weep!, this is what is coming for us now.

I met a guy from Phoenix Arizona USA he told me that a taxi company there is owned by a Somali guy. He told me he got into a taxi being driven by a maniac. "You show I go" It was a drive from hell he said.
"How long have you been in the States?" he said. "I came here on Wednesday" came the reply.

It was Friday.

Happy new year boys and girls, enjoy the circus.