Welcome to 2011

I was talking to a girl called Oskar she is off to live in the far east, she is doing a blog so I will give her a link, look out for Milk and Cookies.


a monument to celebrate the visit of Queen Victoria to Queenstown.


Irish lights HQ.


Buoys being painted etc.







Garda cars parked on the footpath forcing wheelchair users and women with buggies to go on to the road, a fine example



Mabel who is 100 and 10 months old now. She broke her arm on Christmas day, she is a tough one and is recovering well.







This is a motorbike by the artist "Rasher" I met him, but didn't know the significance.
Here we go out of 2010 and into 2011.
The last year has been a helter skelter ride for most people, finances in a mess, jobs not too secure and house prices in sharp decline.

On the taxi front where taxi numbers continue to rise there may be hope in the courts for our situation, a new group of taxi drivers called the TTnH have been granted a judicial review in the courts. This will take a look at how the taxi industry is being regulated and to see if some drivers who invested €100,000 to buy taxi licenses should be compensated for the loss when they became worth only €6,000 from the regulator or €1,000 now second hand.
There are many other issues to be resolved, as you can imagine.

My thoughts are with the many taxi drivers who have killed themselves over the past few years. Though the situation seems hopeless try talking to the Samaritans or to the other counseling groups. Talk to MABS if you need financial help.
Think of those who are left to cope with the mess after you are gone.

I don't see any of the big boys who owe billions being upset as they rest in the Carabean homes of their wives or children.

This storm will pass, Night courses are starting up again. UP SKILL.
I met a Romanian guy last week who is starting a course on making and installing solar panels. He is the kind of guy whose example you should follow.

Well this morning I got up at 5.00am and headed off to meet the ferry. I went down and waited for the ship to come in through the mist, bang on time. Then she swung around and docked. Out came 8 foot passengers one wanted a taxi and negotiated a deal for her taxi fare....Such is life, the rest were collected.

One PM now and it is New years day in Sydney. Happy new year to the Walshes and to Sam who live there.
Now I hear that the worst flooding in 50 years has hit Queensland and an area the size of France and Germany combined is under water. Not a good start to the year.

I want to thank all the people who joined me on my many trips around Dublin, I hope we meet again. I need the money! (Joking)

I will post again soon,once again all the very best for 2011.

Oh yes this will be the year I master the tango.

Delores Keane.Wonderful

Hibernia is the old name for Ireland
Caladonia is the old name for Scotland

And we left home in search of a better future, dreaming of home.



I don't know if you can see
the changes that have come over me
and these past few days I've been afraid
that I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
that make me think about where I come from
and thats the reason why I seem
so far away today

Let me tell you that I love you
that I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me
now I'm going home
and if I shall become a stranger
no it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had

well I have moved
and I've kept on moving
proved the points
that I needed proving
I've lost the friends
that I needed losing
found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas
and left them sighing
stolen dreams yes theres no denying
I've travelled hard
sometimes with conscience flying
somewhere with the wind

Let me tell you that love you
that think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me
now I'm going home
and if I shall become a stranger
no it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had

now I'm sitting here
before the fire
the empty room
a forest choir
the flames have cooled
don't get any higher
they've withered now
they're gone
and I'm steady thinking
my way is clear
and I know what
I will do tomorrow
the hands have shaken
the kisses flowed
and I will dissappear

Let me tell you that I love you
that I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me
now I'm going home
and if I shall become a stranger
no it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had

Christmas day

Well I hope you have had a quiet Christmas.

All I can say that it was a very different day for me.

I got up late and cooked the breakfast and I got a call from my old pal Mabel.
She is aged 100 and 10 months.
She is very young at heart and always up for a laugh.

"I'm sorry to bother you,I had a bit of a fall, could you come over? There's no hurry"

Knowing her I went over straight away.

She had slipped in her bedroom and broken her arm. The bone had cut through the skin. She had wrapped the arm in kitchen paper and dressed herself before calling me.
Her arm was like a dogs hind leg,all to one side.
So off to the hospital we went. And we spent most of the day there people watching.

You cannot believe how tough and independent this lady is they sure knew how to make them back in 1909.

One thing I will say we were well treated, though there seems to be no follow on from one doctor to another because one doctor was going to discharge her as he had not known the bone had come through the skin.
Now poor Mabel is on all kinds of drips to get antibiotics into her.

Anyhow a word to your God would not go amiss.

Dinner for one.

Happy christmas day to you all.
I hope Santa came to you.

The tradition of Christmas is different all over the world.

People gather round the old TV to watch the queen in the UK, Walt Disney in the USA.

In Germany and Norway they watch this.

Dinner for one.



It is a great example of slapstick comedy.
The male actor was in a TV series when I was a child called "Bootsie and Snudge"and "The army game"

Happy Christmas to you all

Well here we are, Christmas eve 2010.
Like a man on a bridge I look forward and I look back.

I have decided that what is happening in the economics of the country is not my fault,so I resolve to look after the people in my care and to try and help others.

But the main thing is not to worry, just do your best.

I would like to thank all my great passengers who rode with me during the past year, you all made my life richer in more than one way.

I really feel privileged to have met you all.
So many fantastic people have made Ireland their home for the past few years, thank you for coming and enriching our lives

Have a great Christmas and I hope that 2011 will bring you peace and blessings.





Here is one of my hero's..She is remarkable because she is deaf.


So enjoy your lives.
Until we meet again.

How do you know if there is a taxi driver on the plane?

The whining continues into the terminal building and beyond

Girl missing

Foreign workers picket Dunnes Stores HQ. Equal pay for equal work.







Our snow covered statue from Easter Island.

Girl gets into taxi and vanishes. read here

I hope it turns out well, but I have written to the taxi regulator, the Garda and the Garda ombudsman about the unlicenced taxi drivers working in this city. They assured me that they are on top of the situation, or that it is not in their remit.
How can someone be driving a taxi with no knowledge of the city and with forged papers be allowed to drive away without being arrested.

I pray it works out well.

On the other hand for my Polish readers.
Garda- Apel do swiadkow zabojstwa Dublin 12/12/2010

Gardai/Policja w swords, co. Dublin apeluja o pomoc w celu wyjasnienia okolicznosci zabojstwa mezczyzny w wieku poznych lat 20'tych.

Gardai prosza o kontakt osoby, ktore miedzy godzinami wieczornymi a 11'go grudnai agodzinami rannymi 12'go Grudnia byly obecne w The Wright Venue, Airside Retail Park, Swords i ktorych informacje moga byc pomocne w dalszym dochodzeniu.

Gardai rowniez prosza o kontakt dwoch taksowkarzy, ktorzy miedzy 3'cia a 3.30 rano 12'go Grudnia mieli kurs z Airside Retail Park do richmond Road z dwoma Polskimi pasazerami. Pasazerowie ci wysiedli pomiedzy richmond Road a Leydens Cash and Carry. Ktokolwiek inny kto byl w poblizu Richmond Road i kto widzial wspomniane taksowki w tym czasie, rowniez jest proszony o kontakt Z Policja/Gardai.

Gardai/Policja rowniez prosza o kontakt osobe/osoby, ktore 12'go Grudnia okolo godzinby 3.45 rano zostawily zmarlego w szpitalu Rotunda.

Jako czesc dochodzenia Gardai sprawdzaja liczne miejsca w tym mieszkania i pojazdy w okolicach Richmond Road.

Sekcja zwlok zostala dokonana i jej wyniki zostaly przekazane oficerom zajmujacym sie ta sprawa. Rodzina zmarlego z Polski zostala rowniez skontaktowana.

Ktokolwiek inny kto moze byc pomocny w tej sprawie jest proszony o kontakt z Gardai/Policja w Swords pod numerem 01- 666 4700, Policyjna Linia Zufania (Garda Confidential Line) 1- 800- 666- 111 lu jakakolwiek stacja Garda/Policji. W szczegolnosci proszeni sa Polscy obywatele, ktorzy moga miec jakiekolwiek przydatne w tym sledztwie informacje.

From the Garda.ie website, it is strange that they do not put it in English as well.


If you are of a delecate disposition read no further.

Drink and office partys can be fun, sometimes things can get out of hand, sometimes with tragic results.

I was heading back into town when w group of excited women came out of a pub in Harolds cross, stopping 3 taxis...Then it was who was to go with whom, "Do you know xxxx Rd?" and off we went.
The talk was normal for a while then this massive beast appeared in the car.
The man said "What t fuck do you know about pressure,I am under pressure, my wife lost twin boys a couple of years ago. Almost full term they died and she had to give birth to them. They didn't even do a section on them, beautiful twin boys identical twins"
We were shocked by this statement and she tried to plicate him.
"Things happen to us all I have had awful betrayel in my life, but you have to deal with it".

But he wasn't finished "my father in law died of a heart attack and 6 months later I was helping my wife's younger brother on the farm when he got caught in the farm machienery.
I pulled him out and brought him back to the house to wait for the ambulance which never came.
There was one ambulance to cover the whole area and they were dealing with some bastard who had a broken arm. There was no method of prioratising the call.


He bled to death in my arms.

So you see my wife has lost twin boys, her father and her brother in less than a year".

After much argument which had no logic to it we arrived at the party.

I said that it would be no shame to look for help as everyone is still suffering.

But no, he was going to the party and he wanted my number to collect him later.

I told him to ring a local taxi company, it was nothing personal but I could be 30 miles away when he wanted to come home.

I took it from his remarks that he did take it personally.

Schools out

Begging in the snow Ballsbridge.


New apartments in Cork St


New post codes By Garmin?


Ready to attack. One side good, the other bad!


The gates into the Kings Inns


A 2CV Dolly looking good


Friday night was a good night for taxis.
The unis ended and most places went for a pint after work.

I didn't go to the ranks. I cruised around like a shark, picking up here and there.
In this festival of excess you have to pick your customers with care.

Girls are worse than men for getting sick, I once had one vomit down the back of my shirt, what she thought she was doing escapes me.
Guys open the door or window, or even shout stop!

Girls falling asleep can be very dodgy. You dare not touch them to wake them up, so you take them to the Garda station where they will oblige you with a wake up call and get you a destination.

Ah, but that is the negative side.

This year on the whole the people were very sober, strange to say I met 4 of the most intelligent women that I have ever met all last weekend.
A lot of people have gone back to college to re skill, now they are looking for a wider view of the world.
I guess with the recession people are not entering into this mad drinking spree that was so much of the "Celtic Tiger" years.

The courts were busy last week too and the case that is being taken by the TTnH was listened to, we now have a date for a judicial review on the 19 th Jan.
We blocked the streets, we marched to the office of the taxi regulator all to no avail.
Now the politicians who ignored our calls are coming to ask for out vote.
Well my dog is ready to chase them.

While we are the subject of the courts. Did you hear the story about the lad from Iran who has been granted leave to stay in the UK ? Well it is because he has established a network of friends there and if he was deported his civil rights might be compromised.
He has been disqualified from driving, then found guilty of driving while disqualified without insurance. Then he killed a young girl and ran off while she lay dying under his wheels....And as that was not bad enough he has been caught driving again.

Ah to be honest I am so fed up with RTE and all the negative spin they give everything.
Nothing I ever did caused this to happen. It was a 3 way golden circle. developers giving money to politicians who allowed huge developments funded by the banks.
I have been saying that this would all end in tears 5 years ago, anyone who looked at the situation would have seen it coming.
So don't tell me that reducing carers for the elderly and reducing the unemployment benefit will solve the problems.
Read my lips "Debt for equity" If those words were used instead of bailing out the banks the situation would be very different, there would be no bankers getting a bonus. I do think there would be people going to jail instead.

Unless, Unless the politicians could be linked into the transfer of millions of euro.
Well if that were the case we would have to pay them off to keep them quiet.

Another priest is off to jail last week, Fr.Tony Ward abused children for more than 20 years,with the churches knowledge.
The church has so much evil inside it now that you might wonder if Satin himself is running the Vatican.
It is very hard for the good clerics to minister with so much evil in their midst's.
I do hope the police will at last prosecute the bishops who failed to pass on information to the Garda.

Here is a clip which kinda shows the lack of respect the youth have for the church today.

Deja vous- again

A bed being carried down Georges St.


Not more suds in the fountain!









Clearing the snow away to be ready for the new fall.


Advert for Canon cameras

So there is more snow forecast.
My daddy told me that if the snow hides around the corners it is just waiting for more snow to take it away !



So be like the boy scouts, be prepared.


If you are like me you wear a watch that costs €30 to €40, but then as long as it tells the time it is good enough.

Then there are other folks who are slaves to fashion.

Bernie Ecklestone is the boss of of F1 the racing organisation.
His Hubolt watch was stolen cost a mere £220,000 Sgt. So what did he do ?
He made an advert.

I wonder if they replaced it for him.

He could have housed a couple of hundred families through Habitat for humanity with that money.

It is strange what some people think is important.

I had a "dolly bird" in the car when the news came through on the radio that Mother Theresa of Calcutta had been awarded the Nobell prize. When I explained to the airhead who she was she said.

"Why did they do that,she is really ugly".

What good is beauty without brains!

The other day I picked up a guy who was trying to stop cars going the other way.
I blew the horn and he hopped in. It is a pity I didn't look more closely before I let him in.
He was a short stocky lad and he was out of his mind. His destination?
Kevin St garda station..Me brother's in trouble on fire arms charges.
Then he started asking me for the telephone number of the garda station.
Then he tried to ring 999.
From a mobile you have to ring 112. Then they wouldn't tell him the number or put him through. He got really agitated and angry, so I slowed the car right down and turned to face him, I told him to sit back and shut the fuck up or I would punch his lights out, I was not one bit impressed with his hard man act.

He came back to earth and we arrived at the Garda station.7.20 on the clock.
I said give me €5 and he handed me €2 and walked off.

Now I should have walked in after and got the rest of the money in the police station.

But when you are tired you make mistakes.

He might have had a knife or worse, you never know, he is a crazy guy he should not be walking the streets, even while on bail.

The police are investigating the death of a Polish man as I write, it is not believed to be a racest attack, but too many people are carrying knives at present.

Once I was in Terenure Garda station when I met the famous "Viper" one of Dublin's luckiest criminals.

He has survived 3 or more hits.

He is really small but I would say he is a really hard nut.
He was running a debt recovery agency at the time, he was at the police station to give himself an alibi while his heavies went collecting on his behalf.

A true gangster will allways look after the taxi driver, they cannot go around in their own cars, so they appreciate the annominity that a taxi gives them.

My wife went shopping the other day and she did not have much cash, she uses cards.
When she went to collect the car she gave €1 to the beggar, then she went to get the car she was a euro short. She had given our son €50 before she went out.
She asked 3 men if they could help her.

The men in suits just walked away.

Then a nice lady helped her and they both had a great conversation on the way to their cars.

Whatever kind of bad Karma the men in suits are storing up for themselves you can just imagine.

I hope Santa was watching.

On the radio today there was an appeal on behalf of a girl who got food poisning while in Vietnam, then she contracted encofelitus (Swelling of the brain) followed by strokes. She is in a private hospital in HoCheMin city and it is costing more than €1,000 a day.

She had travel insurance but the insurance Co won't pay up.

Now they need to bring her home by air ambulance and that costs €160,000.
So if you go here(they said the website was Karenhammill.org but I will check it out}. and donate €2 or €5 she may get home.
Good news she is be flown home in the gevernment jet !


The guy wanted to say the name of the insurance co. but he couldn't for legal reasons.
I for one would like to know why her cover would not pay out.
It could be anyone i the same situation.