May Day

To all the workers
Happy May day.

So It is finished if you go to Amazon and put in eBook "The steering wheel university" you will see it.
I have a few days to make changes and when I get someone to help me to size the cover I will get it printed, still the eBook should keep you busy.
Over the many years of driving I have met many people, some I would not like to meet again.
But others were pleasant and interesting.

Just a small one.
I had an investment manager in the car and I asked him had he any hot tips?
This is what he told me.
"Shopping centers, we believed were a great investment and we had invested several hundred million in them. One day I had a flash of inspiration and it changed everything.
The world has changed, rents are far too high. People now shop on Amazon.
Did you ever notice how shoe shops and book shops are disappearing.
Why?
Amazon ! Everything has changed.
We sold all our retail investments."
So I asked him what was good "Gold is best"

It reminds me of the story of the Polish man whose family had come to Britain when the war began.
They were weavers and settled in Yorkshire and opened several spinning mills making cloth.
He himself moved to London and when the older generation died out he inherited property and a gold tiara. To keep the property safe he got a storage box in a bank.
He put the tiara a very precious family heirloom into the strong box.
The cost of storage was paid by direct debit and he went about his life.
One day he needed to get the deeds of a house out of the box and when he went to the bank and opened the box the cash and the tiara were missing.
This is incredable
He went to the bank manager who said that the bank is not responsible for goods left in a storage box.
After all who knows what is in the box.
The way these things work is.
You go to the bank with your pass and ID a clerk takes you into the vault and he uses his master key which allows your key to open the box. Then you take it to the table and when you are finished the clerk comes back and you both lock it back in, neither one alone can operate it.
So there was no forced entry!
Cash and valuables were missing.
He went to the police, they said that as there was no sign of a break in there was nothing they could do.
He requested that the CCTV footage from the vault be reviewed and the bank refused.

So he took out a full page advertisement in the Times newspaper explaining his plight.
He must have taken legal advice because banks like to sue.

So be like Chuck Feeney, spend your wealth don't hoard it away.

This is why God made me poor.
But he made me rich in other ways.

I knew a Muslim girl who was having a very tough journey through life.
She had marriage and landlord problems and I helped her to move house.
When the final load was brought in I said that of all the people I know
you would be the first person that would benefit if I won the lottery.

Her eyes opened wide.
Never say that If Allah herd you and granted your wish the devil would take away
the one thing you have that is so precious.
Your wonderful sense of humor.

I hope that she got her life back on track.
I have not met her in years

narju 'an tarqud fi 'aydi allah 

May she rest in the hand of God

So in the book there is one very important chapter on the day I met this very remarkable man.

Its coming to get you RUN RUN

If I put what this is about it would be taken down.
Watch it now it will be gone soon.


Its coming  Run Run away

You are locked in so you have to listen to this.

War of the Worlds

This whole thing is mad!
My wife will not let me leave the house except for walks in the park.
Our son is sent to do the shopping which meant that I have time on my hands.

So I got stuck into the book, chapter 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9and10 So I went to Kindle publishing and tried to download my work (To keep it safe) After 6 goes it said I had downloaded it successfully, I went to bed.
I opened up word and my 10 chapters are gone. I hope the nice people in Kindle have it or I will have to start it all again.
It is really strange how the stories which have been held in my head pop out for their moment in the sun.

Remember the "War of the Worlds" how a whole nation were shocked into believing that the Martians were coming? and peole went wild in the streets.

I feel like this whole Covet19 is like that.
But with the complete idiots in charge of government there is no real way of knowing where facts really lie.

Something is not right for sure.

Perhaps it is a foreign power sabotaging my efforts.

There is one taxi book that beats the hat of anything I could write
"Tales in a rear view mirror" By Donal Ruane 

Just a minute the nice people from Amazon are going to help !!!!! 



 

 

Fall back or spring forward

Good manners is the mark of a man as my granny used to say.
Well I was at the Stakis Hilton now called the Conrad in Earlsfort Terrace.
Things were slow enough when the concierge called me forward.
I was getting out to open the boot when the concierge had thrown the suitcase into the boot and slammed it shut.
"Airport" came a womans voice with a heavy English accent.
Nothing else was said.
"They are making a movie over here I wait until you see the cars and buses from the 1920s"
I said. Then she leaned forward.
"Driver we are not fucking stupid, no sightseeing tour, just you get us to the fucking airport."

They were having a huge row, like 2 dogs growling at each other. They had come to con someone and the deal fell apart and each one blamed the other.

That would have been a throwing out offense by any means. But it was a slow morning.
25 Mins later we pulled up at the departures gate. 20p short of the £20 on the meter.
I had the change in my hand.
As I straightened the handle of his suitcase I said.
I hope you left enough time ?
Corse we ave ya feckin moron.
No its the change in the hour, it fucked up my whole day.
Whats ya talkin abt.

The clocks went FORWARD an hour last night.

His face said it all.

I thought it but I didn't say it. (Who is the feckin moron now)

This would not happen any more with our fancy phones.


This virus is tiny but it has killed off commerce and around the world,
not to mention all the dead. RIP

My God daughter Judy went back to China to visit her children and she has been housebound for more than 10 weeks now.
Her wonderful husband died of Cancer and she was left with 2 small children to bring up.
We help out but with a career you can't give children the attention they demand, so she brought the kids back to China for her own father and mother to care for..Ask any Chinese person and they will tell you that the Chinese education system is far better there than here in Europe.
Her WatsApp went dead when her phone ran out of credit, we topped it up and but still can't get WatsApp back on.
The isolation is having a huge effect on everyone.
Then there are the taxi drivers who will see this as a chance to make  extra money.
I wonder if they are considering that they might be bringing home the virus which could kill someone else in the house.

Happy St.Patricks day to one and all

On the 17th of March Irish people celebrate the saint who came to Ireland and drove away the snakes.
He also took up a shamrock to explain the Blessed trinity, 3 leaves to represent the Father,Son and Holy Ghost.
Parades were scheduled to take place all over the world,but something so small that you cannot see it has put a stop to everything.

Coronavirus-19
As it sweeps the world the countries which did not heed the warnings are paying the price.
Hundreds are dead in Italy and Spain.

One day I picked up two girls that I will never forget. They looked different so I asked them where they were from. Canada came the reply. No I am wondering about your enthaincy.
"Oh we are Inuit, you might call us Escamos, but that means snow eater, BUT WE DO NOT EAT SNOW" 
They were going back to the hotel for tea and then off to the airport.
So they got that ride for nothing, and the tea. 
But I did charge them for the ride to the airport.

Did you know that up in the Arctic circle it is dark for months at a time  and the radio and TV signals get distorted by the magnetic north. So this lack of communication leads to drug and alachol abuse.
The other problem is that because they are so isolated incest is common which leads to big health problems.One of the girls was a psycholagest, the other worked for an airline.

So the big question was why have you come to Ireland?
Everywhere we have been in the World we meet Irish people, so we wanted to see what kind of a place it is. 
And there opinion was?.
"Why would anyone ever want to leave such a wonderful country?"

Well it goes back to the trouble with the British, economic missmanagment and a hope of better things across the sea.
But no matter where you go it is never home.

There is a book called "Wherever Green is worn" By Tim Pat Coogan,    
It is about the Irish dyaspria, right around the world.
Did you know that thousands of Irish people were sold as slaves to the West Indies? 
The flag of Montserat has a harp on it and perhaps they are remote enough to be having a parade today. 




Perhaps next year



 This video shows Dublin in such a good light I would nearly go there myself.

 

Cheltinham races

Friday 13th
I hope everything went well for you.
This is the end of week 2 in isolation for me.
I do go out but not in the taxi.
I have been doing plumbing and tiling.
I guess my wife has not checked up on my life insurance policy yet

A bad plumber split the toilet cistern and the new one was narrower, so I had to strip off the tiles and re tile the back wall. I don't know who sent that guy, but we haven't seen him since.
I bought an electric yoke and a kind of electric disc cutter which are useless
So I finished up with a thing called a "Grout rake" which does the job just dandy.

So the races are on in Cheltenham and thousands are mingling, why it was not called off we will never know.

So there was a businessman who would have a lull in his business at this time of the year.
He loved horse racing and he decided to take his entire staff off to the Cheltenham races for the week.
The staff  loved it and he met many of his customers there.
When he was leaving he paid the hotel for food and drinks and he would pay for the hotel for the following year.

Then there was a Foot and Mouth epidemic in England and he rang the hotel.
"Just transfer the booking fee to next year"
The English hotel managers falls into the hall of fame of things not to do.
"The payment will not transfer until next year."

He had a think about it and he rang his brother who was a priest close enough to the hotel.

He rang the hotel.. "My party will be arriving at 5 Pm on the chosen date.
A minibus arrived with the priest and 7 of the dirtiest and maddest people you ever saw.
The manager said that they could not stay, "But they are booked in, and you would not transfer my brothers deposit"
"Ok I will transfer the payment until next year"
After a brief call to Ireland the money was refunded (in Cash)

"What do you want me to do with this cash Tommy" said the priest.

"Take those poor people off to a decent Chinese restaurant and feed them well then use the rest of the money to help the poor.
It seems as though my business was not appreciated in that hotel "

I am sure most of you have noticed that if people don't look after their customers.

Someone else will.

Look at Norway, most fans by far !!!!

Norway	249
United States	166
Germany	133
Turkmenistan	119
Ireland	107
Unknown Region	30
United Kingdom	28
France	19
Indonesia	17
Brazil	11

One man that loves to win at the races is Mister Ryanair Micheal O'Leary

Bahrain

Most journeys you forget and other journeys you hold in the back of your head forever.

A simple run to the airport and on the way I asked him where he was off to.
"Bahrain, I am with the Royal College of Surgeons and we have built a hospital there to train doctors"

After a pause I asked him who qualifies the doctors?
We do. And who oversees your procedures?

What do you mean?

Well if you had the son of a very wealthy Sheik you would be inclined to mark him up even though he is a hopeless doctor. So who looks over your shoulder.

He got pretty hot and bothered and when I turned off the M1 to go through Santry he almost had a fit.

Why the hell are you going this way?
Its a mile shorter and if there is a crash we can turn around and go back the other way.
There is no second choice on the motorway.

At the airport he had come up with a solution to his frustration.

"There are no traffic lights on the motorway"

Did you not see ALL the lights were green.

I don't know where it came from but then I said.

"IF THIS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM YOU HAVE TODAY YOU WILL BE LUCKY."

So a couple of days later I read about the Arab spring uprising and how patients were shot in their hospital beds,
Doctors were told not to treat the people who rebelled and it was a real savage uprising.

Now this year the hospital is going for accreditation and statements of barbaric goings on have come up.

No matter what business you are someone else has to look over your shoulder, just so its done well.

I am isolation doing odd jobs around the house.
God but working at what you are not trained for is hard work.
Plastering and plumbing are finished,
Tomorrow if the plastering is dry I will do the tiling.
I can do most things myself thank God.

I hope the isolation will be over by Monday so I can go back to work.

Never ask a taxi driver how are things for you?
He might just tell you.

SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR MY FRIENDS IN FINLAND.

In isolation

Sad news of another murder suicide a motheR killed her kids and then tried to kill herself.
Remember a kind word spoken can sometimes turn a situation around.
There is no help the psychiatrists are few on the ground, the health board are heavy with administrators rather than troops on the ground.

The corruption in the government of Ireland would make Al Capone jealous, millions stolen before our very eyes.


So John !, what have you been up to?
I think I told you of my God daughter who went back to China to visit her children?
Well she has been isolated for 4 weeks and she doesn't know when she can come home.

Some other Chinese friends of mine and my wife have been at me not to drive the taxi for a few weeks so I am up to my eyes in DIY.

My wife has been saying that if I don't fix the dripping tap in the downstairs loo and tile the back wall or she will GET A MAN TO DO IT.

So to stop all the nagging I will be doing plumbing ,tiling and painting for another week.
Before she gets a man to do it.

There was a hell of a car crash the other day, as much as 15 vehicles involved.
It seems as though a truck driver had a heart attack and things mushroomed from there. 



 I thought you might like the Paris one.
Again this is so typical of a taxi drivers life

The dialogue is brilliant