An American gent in the taxi with his daughter of 16.
He was 84 He had a great wit and was showing his daughter Dublin.
There is truth in the saying that many's the sweet tune is played on an old fiddle.
He was a barrister and was looking for the Dublin of his youth, Where is this? Gone? Then there used to be a book store called Greens? Gone as well?
Then he said that San Francisco of his youth is gone as well. But if you can pick up the pieces if you know where to look.
"Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair"
Ireland is having a heatwave, we were hotter than Rio today.
Do you know what ? We deserve it.
Irish weather is cold wet and dull. My God you should see all the beautiful ladys passing by. Fantastico !
If I wrote about half the people I meet I would be here all night so I give you a few highlights.
Again I picked up an Indian lady who starts and finishes each sentence with your name.
"John, its a beautiful day John"She said my name at least 100 times. But I was not shocked as I came across this a month ago as well. An Indian man told me that this was common practice in some regions of India.
Then her mother rang her on Skype.
"Oh mother this is John My driver, Isn't he handsome?" turning the fone over to me where I addressed her mother who runs a traditional dance school in India.
The World has become very small for sure.
India is a country with a language for every city and a religion for every day of the year.
This in turn leads to many religious festivals.
The beautiful sarees worn by the women and turbans worn by the men have really vivid colors, they lift my heart and make me feel good when I see them.
They can cost thousands of euro for a wedding one.
With the magic of computers enjoy this moment of fashion.
You know that mark on the womans forehead?
I couldn't go without showing you this.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Hurry Hurry More haste less speed
So it happens, you are flagged down by a desperate woman who is late.
She was going to Leixlip from the city center and had to be there as her life depended on it.
She was from Quebec Canada a French speaker, but small talk was not on the menu.
At moments like this mistakes are made, with the panic I put Leixlip on the Google map app ot be sure.
This unsettled her more.
I went along Jameses St and tried to go down for Military Rd but the trams and lights were blocking us.
I just said "What happened that you overslept?"
"My cat was sick and he spewed up all over the sofa a couple of times, I was up all night cleaning"
I didn't ask her why she didn't put the pussy in the bathroom and close the dooor
Shit now we were now motoring past the Liffey Valley shopping center and I knew that there was a left coming up for Celbridge.
Fuck I took the slip road that brings you up to the Balllyowan Rd and I had to wait at the lights forever to get across the road to get going again.
So I floored it again and I was hitting the road in spots as we went past the Weston airdrome.
A few minutes later and we had arrived. She rounded up the fare by €2, still it was a great start to the day for me.
Taxi drivers make their fortune at other peoples misfortune.
Straight back in to Heusten station where I got a job to UCD Bellfield a huge university.
She worked with the poor and we had a really great talk about the corrupt lazy police.
Oh yes they are.
Our conversation gravitated to people trafficking and we both had battles with the police to get help for the victim.
But now people are waking up to the reality of what is happening.
She had come across a Romanian woman who had come to Ireland looking for her daughter, she had sent the girl over to Ireland to get better life and an education but the child vanished and while she was looking for her she got trafficked as well.
They are being helped now but the assistance is inadequate.
I didn't ask if it was prostitution or slave labor.
Twice I tried to help people and response was pathetic.
On the right hand side of my blog there is a link to stopthetraffik.org
Take a look, make a donation.
Once I was doing repairs in a house locally, I fitted locks etc. There was a young African girl there but she had little English, later on I met her bringing her cousins kids to or from school and she would say Hi.
Then one Sunday morning as I finished my night shift she was at the phone box outside my house with a suitcase and she was crying like a slapped child.
I brought her in.
Her English had improved and she told me that her aunt had brought her over on the promise of a better life. She would have free time and she would go to school every day.
The reality was a 7 day week from 7am to 10pn washing cooking cleaning and no school or time off.
She found where her passport was hidden and she found money. Now she needed to get to London where another cousin lived. I made tea and toast while I worked out something.
On the back of a till receipt was a special offer London for £25 I rang the number and they said that the bus was gone. But the boat had not gone, into the car, I gave her cash and paid for the ticket and she promised to ring me.
Five or six years passed and a banging on my front door woke me one Sunday morning.
Ohh My God John I am so happy to see you again.
It was he the little girl had grown up to be more beautiful than Niaomi Cambell
And my confused wife needed an explanation.
She was now a nurse in London and my God I was so happy that my £60 or so had worked for her.
Her aunt had died from alcohol and drugs.
A Mytaxi job in Ballymun brought me a tall Irish girl smiling going into town.
Sometimes the journey is silent and at other times the journey is shortened by great conversation.
Her parents were ill and she had put her life on hold to care for them, very stressful and it took its toll on her, in situations like this other people who should help as well step back and don't help.
Her hair had fallen out owing to the stress.
She wore a bandana.
She had hair at the back but her scalp was bare !
She was pretty around 25 years old.
Today she was getting a wig !
God bless you kid.
You have a heart of pure gold.
She was going to Leixlip from the city center and had to be there as her life depended on it.
She was from Quebec Canada a French speaker, but small talk was not on the menu.
At moments like this mistakes are made, with the panic I put Leixlip on the Google map app ot be sure.
This unsettled her more.
I went along Jameses St and tried to go down for Military Rd but the trams and lights were blocking us.
I just said "What happened that you overslept?"
"My cat was sick and he spewed up all over the sofa a couple of times, I was up all night cleaning"
I didn't ask her why she didn't put the pussy in the bathroom and close the dooor
Shit now we were now motoring past the Liffey Valley shopping center and I knew that there was a left coming up for Celbridge.
Fuck I took the slip road that brings you up to the Balllyowan Rd and I had to wait at the lights forever to get across the road to get going again.
So I floored it again and I was hitting the road in spots as we went past the Weston airdrome.
A few minutes later and we had arrived. She rounded up the fare by €2, still it was a great start to the day for me.
Taxi drivers make their fortune at other peoples misfortune.
Straight back in to Heusten station where I got a job to UCD Bellfield a huge university.
She worked with the poor and we had a really great talk about the corrupt lazy police.
Oh yes they are.
Our conversation gravitated to people trafficking and we both had battles with the police to get help for the victim.
But now people are waking up to the reality of what is happening.
She had come across a Romanian woman who had come to Ireland looking for her daughter, she had sent the girl over to Ireland to get better life and an education but the child vanished and while she was looking for her she got trafficked as well.
They are being helped now but the assistance is inadequate.
I didn't ask if it was prostitution or slave labor.
Twice I tried to help people and response was pathetic.
On the right hand side of my blog there is a link to stopthetraffik.org
Take a look, make a donation.
Once I was doing repairs in a house locally, I fitted locks etc. There was a young African girl there but she had little English, later on I met her bringing her cousins kids to or from school and she would say Hi.
Then one Sunday morning as I finished my night shift she was at the phone box outside my house with a suitcase and she was crying like a slapped child.
I brought her in.
Her English had improved and she told me that her aunt had brought her over on the promise of a better life. She would have free time and she would go to school every day.
The reality was a 7 day week from 7am to 10pn washing cooking cleaning and no school or time off.
She found where her passport was hidden and she found money. Now she needed to get to London where another cousin lived. I made tea and toast while I worked out something.
On the back of a till receipt was a special offer London for £25 I rang the number and they said that the bus was gone. But the boat had not gone, into the car, I gave her cash and paid for the ticket and she promised to ring me.
Five or six years passed and a banging on my front door woke me one Sunday morning.
Ohh My God John I am so happy to see you again.
It was he the little girl had grown up to be more beautiful than Niaomi Cambell
And my confused wife needed an explanation.
She was now a nurse in London and my God I was so happy that my £60 or so had worked for her.
Her aunt had died from alcohol and drugs.
A Mytaxi job in Ballymun brought me a tall Irish girl smiling going into town.
Sometimes the journey is silent and at other times the journey is shortened by great conversation.
Her parents were ill and she had put her life on hold to care for them, very stressful and it took its toll on her, in situations like this other people who should help as well step back and don't help.
Her hair had fallen out owing to the stress.
She wore a bandana.
She had hair at the back but her scalp was bare !
She was pretty around 25 years old.
Today she was getting a wig !
God bless you kid.
You have a heart of pure gold.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Another day another Dollar
 |
| The first sign that Christmas is coming ! |
 |
| A train entering the docks round East Wall Rd, |
 |
| The writing is on the wall |
 | |
| This is a robber who broke into a parked taxi to look for cash. | and was caught on the dash cam |
The big cruise ships keep coming in, some with as many as 5,000 passengers in one go.
I will say it again.
Too many people, perhaps 7 languages among the crew.
As the first world joke went
"Send up reinforcements were going to advance"
The order passed down along the trench only to come out at the far end.
"Send up three and fourpence were going to a dance".
Confusion will follow in case of an emergency.
Still lets not overstate the obvious.
A while ago on Dame St an American couple were coming out of a shop on my right hand side and as they stepped on to the pedestrian crossing the shop assistant ran out waving 2 bottles of water.
They didn't hear her over the traffic. As they passed in front of me I blew the horn, they ignored me.
Then I pulled over beside them and shouted Hi !
"You forgot your water in the shop"
The female shouted
"We are not interested" and walked on.
Then it suddenly dawned on the man why I was after them and he pulled her back.
I was gone at that point.
The woman must have thought that they were in a third world country and she was being bothered by the peasants. Still I hope they enjoyed the water.
Still people are people and that animal is so different that I sometimes think "Thank God that snake is gone at least he was better than the lion yesterday. Where did that viper come from?"
And so my day continues.
Still you often meet remarkable people for sure.
You could loose your mind overthinking the situation.
If I had gone this way or that way ?
How would my day have gone?
Was Julia Roberts around the corner?
Why did I ever pull up at this taxi rank?
You can over analyse every moment of your day for sure.
On Friday night I took the night off and went to see "The last ship" Stings musical.
What a great set and they sung my favorite song before the break.
Then the urge to have a few pints before bedtime and I dragged myself out an half time.
Sorry Sting.
It has a lot going for it.
Monday, June 04, 2018
Fantastic Summer and festivals
the other as I came on to the seafront a beautiful cruise liner drifted into the port of Dublin.
You never saw such a beautiful sight,the sea was like glass and the sun was intense.
Dublin in the sunshine is another place altogether.Click here
The other day coming back from the airport via Northwood I got a call on the app which cost them around €65
It was to "The Lyons Estate"(Click on it) former home of Tony Ryan of Ryanair fame, he spent more than €85 million doing it up and tried to sell it for €25 million.
Now it has passed back into the family again.
What a place, the €uromillions couldn't buy it
I will try to give one chance to the looser from time to time, badly dressed but in need of a taxi.
So the other day I brought 2 guys from Ballymun down to the Autoban pub where there is a methadone clinic, they came back to the car and I brought them back €8 fair they gave me €10 and a present of a scratchcard and wished me luck.
They need lots of luck for sure.
You never know how it might go.
Try giving them a chance to do good sometimes.
That's the way it goes swings and roundabouts.
A cousin of mine died in Killarney and on Tuesday I drove there and back for the funeral.
My wife told me how long it would take and told me that she would have my dinner ready when I came back 192 miles each way(As the crow flies). Try as I might I missed the service by 40 minutes, but I made it to the graveyard in time for the final farewell.I just handed in my card, spoke to the cousins and headed off again.
Two big mistakes I should have left 2 hours sooner and took 1/2 hour off on the way down.
Then I should have had a meal before going back a 400 mile round trip is too much.
I got back safe and sound but my stomach went mental and I couldn't eat after all that.
I had Gaviscon and went to bed.
Willy my cousin was a Gardner in Muckross house for most of his life and lived for nature,
Rest in peace your work is done.
Then back to work, but I took a 1/2 day off as I am cream crackered ! (Knackered)
I kinda hit a lucky streak on Thursday and Friday loads going on
Here is a lucky miss. Thank God I have a dashcam !!!!
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