200th

A house on Oakley Rd,
A neighbour told me they would accept e5 million...Down from e12 million

A little bit of Liverpool. A Liver Bird



Well here I am at posting 200.
Can't say things have become better in the taxi industry since I started the blog.

But it got a load off my mind by sharing it with the 2 other people who read it.

Saturdays lotto was e18 mill or so and I picked up this shakey couple from Donegal who were going to RTE, they were, as it turned lottery winners themselves, they were doing a show about big winners.
I wished them the very best of luck,
I think anyone who declares they have won the Lottery is a fool.
Perhaps tell your mates you have won e5 grand and leave it at that.
People get very jealous,they would even kidnap your kids.
There was another great piece om the radio from a Lottery winner in Sheffield. How they had won the Lottery and after buying better houses they gave away most of it.
They built a cancer unit for teenagers on to the local hospital. Money for Meningitis trust, made a large donation for a scanner at the local hospital etc. etc.
This has encouraged others to donate.
We are just plain folk, but it has been great to do so much good with the money.

John Steinback wrote a great story called the Pearl, goes into greed and desire in a great way, told as only he can tell it.
Bring it for the hols..

I have spoken about how people who organize events should be taken to task.

Neil Young was in concert in Malahide castle on Sunday.

First Dart train from Malahide stopped in Connolly station and kicked everyone out at 11.20pm.
Most taxis had quit as Sunday is early closing for the pubs.
Anyhow with Dublin playing and the Euro finals a lot of taxi drivers had taken the day off.
Thousands decended on to the streets and we all got fares for the next 2 hours,
the later trains stopped at the stations along the way, but for many it became an expensive night out.

The Spanish went mad in Temple Bar, they were so happy, they were so many of them too, they blocked traffic on the quays.

I have raved about it and now I will take the advice of the mad DC cabbie.
(On second thoughts it could have come from another great blog "Cabs are for kissing")

When they say they are in a hurry to get to the airport,opera etc I drive at the normal law abiding speed, I stop at amber lights.I totally abide by the law even if they say I will make it worth your while.

If on the other hand they say something like here is $50 its yours if you get me to the airport before xx time.

Then I will put the pedal to the metal. But only then.

All the other things mean nothing, its cash on the dash.
Money talks, bullshit walks.

I picked up a manager from the Westbury hotel (5 star) He had to go to Stillorgan then on to the airport.

He had forgotten his tickets and was pressed for time.

So I could have picked up a score of speeding tickets getting him there.

We made it in time, the fare was e54.70 including tolls.

He gave me e55 and kept his hand out for 30cent change.

I think I did myself as I only charged e1.50 for the East Link.

Now I ask you...he works in the service industry, he must have worked his way up from the bottom,when he was a porter he would have expected $5 for calling a cab, he should know better.

Still I will be keeping my eye out for him the next time.

Remember I picked up a lady in Cabra a few weeks back?

She was in a hurry too and she objected to the route I was taking, so I said you have 2 choices. Give me directions to go your way.

Or I will take the quickest route.

If I am late by my route you get the ride for free.

If we are on time you pay me double whats on the meter.
She agreed and she shook on it.

We arrived with 10 mins to spare. Here you are you can keep the change.40cent or so.

And out she got.

So the next time you miss your flight etc..

Don't blame the taxi driver.

BLAME YOURSELF.

Too much pressure.


A small boy swallowed a camera, his mother brought him to the doctor.

Well Well said the doctor.
We will just have to wait and see what develops won't we?

The kid says.
Don't be so stupid, see what develops?
its a digital camera.

Romance

Hermitage medical centre beside the Dead Mans Inn of all places.
If you survive your illness the bill might kill you.

Its an advertisement for a taxi co is painted on the side of a tour bus.


Romance was in the air on Friday.
I picked up this guy going to the airport, going anywhere nice? I asked.

Well believe it or not I am going to Paris to propose to my girlfriend.

She has no idea I'm coming!.
He was trying to book a flight on his mobile, then bang his credit ran out.

He had passed his mobile number and Ryanair didn't ring him back.

Wonder how it went?
People don't like surprises, perhaps she was at Disneyland when he arrived, who knows.
Did she say yes?
Did her father and mother say Non!

Well if you are reading the blog the comment box is at the bottom...

Do tell.

I keep trying anyhow and I saw at the airport a letter from the road safety council which gave the figures for tiredness and motor accidents.
Well if you are driving 60 hours a week just to pay your bills(nothing excessive)
Safety takes a hike.
I see another taxi driver has died 51, thats 3 in the last 3 months that I know of.
All young enough too.

Time to chill out.

Last week if you would have seen hundreds of young people on the move with suitcases in hand,school is over,,,,see you back in the autumn.
If you are not happy with your present rented accomadation take a look on www.daft.ie
this is when the cheaper places come on stream.

The old economy is taking a bit of a downturn, there will be more people available to drive taxis and more people less able to afford to take them.
Hope they do something about the rank space, we are very short of places to pick up fares.
Did you know we have a Greek orthadox church here in Dublin.
Do you know where?
And the Russian one?

July 6th

The lord mayor of Dublin.
With a fantastic vintage car

She is really looking great.

A bone shaker,a tiller to steer by.

Well there is only one way to make that car look better.

Yes folks July 6 th all roads lead to Terenure college for their annual vintage and classic car show.

Now I had a wheelchair accessible Fiat Scudo taxi,in that time I saw how hard it is for these people to get transport. The taxi regulator is still dragging her heels about everything including creating incentives to increase the number of accessible taxis for people with special needs. (Don't start me off)

Driving down the Quays I spotted a guy in a wheelchair.

I pulled over and he stood up and got in while I folded his chair and put it on the back seat.
He was heading to Blancherdstown, to Halfords to buy a bicycle!

He explained that it would help him build up his muscles and help his balance back.
I said that there was a cycle shop on the Malahide Rd.plus there was a Halfords in Coolock,plus a bus lane most of the way,so off we went.
The first shop was packed away for closing and he had a few second hand bikes that would fit the bill,so we went to Coolock to have a look.
In Coolock as we pulled into the wheelchair space a woman blew her horn at us to get out of the space.She was in the space beside us. She waved her wheelchair pass at us and started to feck us off.
We have a wheelchair I said as she got out,(without help) and for all I know there is little wrong with you...That pass might even be a photocopy.
That shut her up."yer right he said ,stick up for your rights"
If you go out to Liffey valley shopping center there will be 15 or so cars parked in the wheelchair spaces, most of the shoppers walk back to their cars no bother.
You know they should do a blitz on them with fines for offenders.

Anyhow
He went in and looked through the stock, there was one bike that was near enough to what he wanted.

What will you give me off for cash?.....Nothing.
Would you stick on a carrier for good luck ?.......No.

OK I 'll take it......Call back on Thursday then and it will be ready.
What do you mean? I want it now............Thats a display model, you can't have it.
Why not?......Because we have to assemble one.
OK have you got one in a box?....Yes.....How much less will it be ?....It will the same price.....You mean to tell me that if I took it away in a box and assembled it myself you would not give me a discount?.....NO......Well you can stick your frigging bike....and off we went.

Modern businesses have systems,the young guy got paid whether he sold the bike or not.

I would have given him the display model if I was in charge and built the other bike the next morning before my tea break.

I know with this bad weather they will be wanting to clear floorspace, so they will be having a sale soon.

Perhaps its me getting old.

What do you think.

What was wrong with wheelchair guy?
I hear you ask.
Well he has a muscle waisting disease in which the signal from his brain does not reach the muscles in question..He knew he had this condition and he was fine a few weeks ago, came here on holiday from Wales on his Harley Davidson and was fine.

Then he noticed that he was loosing weight fast,so to hide it from his mother he started wearing bulkier clothes, he said he didn't want this mum to worry and he thought his condition might improve again.
Then a bombshell hit him ,his system shut down completely and he was rushed off to hospital in a coma by ambulance.....The initial thoughts were that he had only about 6 hours to live.

Now against all odds he was getting back on his feet and wants to get back on his bike.

He got the bill from the hospital 2 days after discharge, he knew that the bill should go to Bupa his health care provider, they were willing to argue the point,so he told them that the next call they would get would be a newspaper reporter asking them why they were causing him worry when they knew he was right.

Then they tried to take the wheelchair back from him even though he reckons he will only need it for 2 weeks.

He is a real fighter.

I wish him the very best of luck.

We really don't know how well off we are.
My checkout girl was very upset about the ferry which sank in a typhoon in the Philippines,800 souls lost,women children and babies.
Or the other people made homeless by landslides,so many small babies.

"You don't know how lucky you are John"

You know she is right.

George Carlin

Today I found out that one of natures natural cab drivers has passed away.
So here he is.
Does he sound like your cab driver?.


George Carlin RIP

Here is one I had on the blog earlier.

Eric Clapton

Jewel of the sea.Now in Dublin

Always time for a Guinness.

Well I got a fare down to the cruise ship the other day the photo does not do it justice, you would have to back up by 1/2 a mile to get her all in.
Come on lucky lotto numbers..

We had a morning of heavy rain,great for taxis. With so many cars out we need some extra work to keep our heads above water.
I didn't work last night or tonight but I did OK on both days.

Today was GAY PRIDE day,a big parade and no camera. But a good time was had by all.
I hopped around my usual haunts and got a lady from Heuston going to Skerries over e50 then clicked in Swords on the way home. Its nice when you hit an earner early in the day.
Tonight Mr Eric Clapton is giving an open air concert in Malahide.
I hope the weather picks up
I brought 2 people who came from Galway out to the venue. As I said taxis are not part of their plans when organizing a concert, we are to be pushed away at all costs.
As I approached the turn for the venue a Garda signaled for me to go straight. I rolled down the window but he said I had to take them to the Dart station, from there I don't know what was going to happen.
I drove past him a little, once out of sight I took off my roof sign.
My plan was to do a u turn and return as an ordinary car.

I looked up the road when I heard a crunch.
The Garda at the next junction had stopped the traffic and waved on the traffic coming from Swords without stopping the traffic coming from Malahide and a car slammed into a Maybach
That was a very expensive smack.

Glad I am not the one with a red face there.

You know its getting that only the lucky drivers are getting the work.
Perhaps soon it will not be enough just to be lucky.

Here is a little aside for you.
I saw that the Ulissies ferry was coming in so I headed down to the port, the Isle of Man ferry was blocking the berth so it had to wait for 20 mins to get a berth.
There was a hen party over for the weekend, I was going to photograph them for posterity but they asked me how much it would cost for them to go into the city by taxi. I was well back in the queue anyhow and I told them it would cost them around e4 each but the exact price would be on the meter.
They said they would wait until the bus brought them in.
Now their coach had not come out to the docks from the bus station, so this coach was for the other ferry and that one would not be leaving for around 3/4 of an hour.

One of the other drivers asked me what they had said, when I told him he laughed, the bus costs 6 or 7 euro, so they would waste an hour and it would cost them more.

No matter which way you throw me I stand.

In fairness perhaps the other drivers had quoted them a high price, then they felt they could not trust anyone.

I got a run to Leeson St with 2 Jewish people from Israel, one thing of interest is that you have to fly out of Israel, you can't go by ferry, they are surrounded by Arabs. He was delighted to see so many ferries zooming in and out of the port.
He had a great sense of space and was able to tell me which streets were parallel to the street we were on etc.

Military training you see.

The city center is besieged by Segways and mobile advertising hoardings urging us to visit Northern Ireland. When I was at the cruise ship hundreds of people were getting off on a bleak dockland setting with containers and tankers around them.
If the hoardings had been down there it would have given them a good backdrop for photos and those same photos would go around the world,what a missed opportunity.

Oh yes I remember the car the Stephen Speilberg loves to drive is his Aston Martin.
The James Bond car.

Just to note I saw at least 10 hen parties going around the city with their silly rabbits ears and Tee shirts.They are not too welcome in the pubs and restaurants they cause mayhem and drive out the regulars.

So if you are swinging around Malahide or around the dart stations.....there might be work, good night

Safety notice

A detail of some of the decor at the buskers festival.

Shop window of Brooks shop 136 Baggott St.

Better be more careful.
A post ready to go and it went, so here I go again.

Heading into town when I was hailed at the 5 lamps.
A Buffalo Bill lookalike heading to Dublin port.
He was German.
"I am delighted you Irish voted down the Lisbon treaty, they have too much power as it is.
In Germany electricians were looking for a 2% pay rise and they were fighting them until someone discovered that the polaticans were giving themselves a 27% pay rise."

He had driven from Germany to Dublin with 250 catalogs,an emergency order!
When he arrived he had to wait for someone to come to the place to open up, then he missed his return sailing on Stenna line.
So he had to wait for 1/2 a day for the next one.
If it was me I would have insisted on a 24 hour drop off point or e200 fine for any delay.
So his trip was Germany, Belgium,France England and Wales. Then all the way back empty. There should be a system where he could get a load back, that would be the icing on the cake.

I am showing you this house in Ashington to illustrate a point.
Dishwashers, Computers,Smoldering cigarettes etc. are all a danger in out lives.
Dishwashers have the wiring coming from the switches in the front of the door then the wires pass down past the hinge of the door. Every time you open and close the door you bend the wires. When they break they often start a fire.
Just add to that chip pans and candles...

Don't start a wash before going to bed.

Don't go out after starting the wash either.

You cannot imagine what would have happened if the residents of this house had been in bed at the time.

Check your insurance!

Take care out there.


Today the ranks were fuller than usual,the Garda are writing tickets again, looks like we are in for a long hot summer.

The new guys are very aggressive drivers,

Take a look at the San Francisco taxi blog here to illustrate my point.
I tried to embed the video but it wouldn't work.

Try this domino effect..Here hope it works

Bloomsday 16 June

Elvis the mime

An acrobatic way to enjoy your drink.

This weekend saw the world street performers championships in Merrion square,,all for free. Some great comical lines and 2, 2 hour shows as well magicicans jugglers acrobats all competing.
Not far away there was a taste of Ireland e25 plus you had to pay for most of the snacks, but the rain stayed away for most of the day.

Not far away from that Leonard Cohan delighted fans with 3 concerts in Kilmanham.
A man of 70 + years he serinaded his fans for 2 1/2 hours+, not one had a bad word.
Once more the promoters and the Garda counted the taxis out of the equation, they would not let us pick up and banged on the roof if we tried to stop.
I picked up 10 times or more at Heuston station..All old rockers in their 60s or 70s.
So "the sisters of mercy they are not departed or gone"

I think this is to be our future, we will be like sharks looking for a shipwreck.


Today is the day Dublin remembers James Joyce...
In his novel Ulysses Leopold Bloom sets out for a day through the city.
If you visit the city you can join in the celebrations here
Straw hatted gentlemen and ladies in flowery dresses paraded themselves through the streets today.

I had one extraordinary fare the other day.
I was in Westmorland St in the middle of the road and I noticed a black lady crossing the road. As she passed in front of the car she got in "O'Connell St". Now that was 300 meters. "I am tired I can't walk any more..I have a problem....
My brother died in Mali and I am trying to buy a ticket home for his funeral....There is a place in O'Connell St. Budget travel,they might be able to help me".

They sell holidays, I said you need to go on the internet and book it there.
I don't have a credit card and my husband won't let me use his, he is my brother and I need to be there. She showed me an envelope supposedly full of money she got from the credit union.

As I said the trip was only a couple of hundred yards, so I did not have loads of time to think..All I could suggest is that she find out the cost of the flight on the internet..Then go to the central post office where she could buy a voucher which can be spent over the internet...She got out.
I picked up someone else as she got out, by the time I got to Parnell Square I thought of A1 travel in D'Oleer St who specialise in long haul flights.

Perhaps in my twisted taxi driver mind I suspected a fiddle of some kind, but then taxi drivers don't need to carry credit cards.
One problem with this game is you only catch one end or the other end of a situation, it would be great if you could follow the story on.

Exams

Clontarf Castle, you can get a room there on the net at a good price,sometimes.
Take a look inside,its like Cafe En Scene well worth a look.

Detail over a pub in Ringsend.


Yes the weather has improved so it must be exam time.
Students looking for the RDS in Ballsbridge, Other kids sitting their intermediate and leaving certificate exams.
Good luck to you all.
I will be sure to be off when you all go wild on the last day.
Exams are not the be all and end all, the richest man in Ireland is Sean Quinn who left school at 15, made his money in sand and gravel, later on he made blocks and roof tiles. Then he graduated to a cement factory, then to glass making then to hotels,pubs and golf courses. Quinn insurance is also a big money spinner...He has a lot of brains..Perhaps school would have curbed his style.

One big advantage of the schools being off is that the traffic is lighter.

Once more concerts are keeping up the business up. Malahide had its big day and once more the powers that be made no allowances for a taxi holding area, or even an access route for taxis to enter the venue and pick up again.
Seems a pity that the powers that are in charge hate taxis so much that they make the public suffer, I would love someone to sue the promoters for the inconvenience.
Then you would have to prove malicious intent.

Stupidity is not against the law.

Concert tickets are not selling so well any more and the touts (Scalpers)are finding themselves stuck with tickets, the scam is now reversed on them.
Trying to unload tickets for e50, the very tickets they paid e120 for and hoped to sell for e250.

Tom Waits is appearing in a tent in the Pheonix park tickets e130 plus booking fee.
He moves on to the UK where I was told the tickets only cost 60 quid in a seated area which has full transport facilities laid on.
Prince has canceled his gig Neil Diamond has also failed to sell out. Eric Clapton and Neil Young are also finding it hard to sell out their concerts.
Or perhaps people are getting a bit of cop on, most of these guys are well beyond their best before selling date.

I went down to the ferry a few times, she rolls in a few times a day and there are always a few people in a hurry.
Last week when all the taxis were loaded up a group of Americans approached looking for taxis, We were all heading off so they would have to wait for the bus, there would be no more taxis making the 3 mile drive down to the ferry terminal..They were a bit miffed but in life its the early bird that catches the taxi.

Another place worth swinging past is Croke park, they have a big conference center there,remember last week cluster bombs,this week it was International bar society. Next week you tell me.
Pickd up 3 people, real globe trotters,"Are you going to Nassau?" "No I am going to Istanbul, I have a long standing arrangement to be there."Seems as though the three will meet again in Argentina,,,
The ladies law firm paid a e15 fare with e30 and a big hug for the last guy who was the elder senior guy.
He would have made a great taxi driver,he had a yarn a minute.
He wanted to pay me again, but I said that the lady had paid for everyone,he muttered something about taxi drivers being an honest bunch and off he went.

One of his tales.
A guy from Puerto Rico meets his Irish counterpart. "Seamus in your language do you have a word for Manyana".
Seamus thought long and hard and after a while he drew a deep breath.

"We do in a kind of a way have a similar word,
But in our language the word does not convey the same sense of urgency"

Another one was about John Paul Gettys car had not turned up so he hailed a taxi cab. When he reached his home he gave the cabby the fare +10c tip.
The taxi driver looked at the money.
"Is anything wrong?" said Mr Getty.
"Well I have often brought your son home and he allways gives me $1 tip."

"Oh that would be right, he has a very wealthy father"said Mr Getty

His uncle drove a taxi in New York for 32 years, retired and moved to California after 3 years he sold up and went back to New York, couldn't stand the quietness of California.
He himself had fought in Korea and he later crashed his plane on a search and rescue mission.
Broke his back and spent a lot of time on heavy drugs for the pain before Uncle Sam paid $250,000 for a device to be placed in his spine to kill the pain.
"He sure looked after me" Were his parting words.

He really was a big cog in the wheel of law,friend of Bill and Hilary,spoke of his time working with the government in Turkey.
Well the three will be meeting again in Argentina, where this time they will become firmer friends.

A good barrister knows the law.
A great barrister knows the judge!

Now for something completely different.

Its not what you think so bare with me...



Well I hope you enjoyed that.

I am always on the lookout for unusual cars here is a 1996 Ferrari 308 GTBI QV
I saw it in Ranelagh and you buy it from Michael Tynan motors for e38,000
You can find it on carzone.ie(Photo did not copy)
For my American readers take a look at out car prices www.motormarket.ie

Cars in the states are very cheap,
Perhaps we will have to trade in our cars soon to pay for the petrol

Take care.

Ilac center don't you just hate malls.

The wedding car, its a replica.


This is not from me, It explains what kind of thing will happen and is indeed happening everywhere since the taxi industry has become a free for all.
When the system is not policed properly.
I don't think I could have discribed this as well as she did.

June 6, 2008
Nothing fare about this taxi ride from hell

THE problem with being a journalist is when you’re caught up in your own dramas it’s hard not to see life in headlines.

This week it was a "Sydney woman kidnapped by irate taxi driver" story, by Clare Masters.

One minute I’m hailing a cab in the city, the next I’m in a back seat of a taxi under physical attack by the driver.

In a fight that can probably trace its origins back to horse-and buggy days I wanted to go somewhere and the driver didn’t want to take me.

Arguing with taxi drivers is nothing new if you are used to flagging Sydney cabbies but this wasn’t your average lively discussion - this came close to being a knock down, ear-steaming, eye-gouging, fist-flourishing battle that left me shaking, furious and abandoned on the side of the road.
Every Sydneysider who has stood in the rain, eyes frantically searching the traffic for the jackpot empty taxi knows that great sense of relief when one finally rolls up.

Wednesday night was Sydney at her worst.

It was cold, rainy and my boyfriend and I were already late for dinner when the great cab mirage appeared in the traffic.

A taxi with his light on and his backseat empty pulled up at a set of traffic lights near Macquarie Street.

I tapped on the driver’s window and my boyfriend and I jumped in the back seat and asked to go to Kings Cross.

"No, I am not going to Kings Cross," the driver said firmly.

"Come on mate, you had your light on and we’re in the cab now," I say, equally as firmly in a voice I normally reserve for my cat, or colleague Joe Hildebrand.

He said nothing and, thinking the old argument was over, my boyfriend and I started chatting.

Moments later we notice the driver is not actually going in the right direction.

Me: "Hey mate you have to go left to get to the Cross."

Him: "No I am not going to Kings Cross."

Instead of turning left to the Cross he is relentlessly heading to Western Sydney with absolutely no intention of taking us where we want to go.

Him: "You want to stay in the cab, you’re going to Parramatta."

Me: (mystified) "But we want to go to Kings Cross."

Him: "No, I am not going to Kings Cross, I am going to Parramatta."

My boyfriend, obviously thinking I have allowed what should be a simple transaction only to get out of hand, steps in.

"Mate - you had your light on that means you are available and you need to take us where we want to go," he says.

Him: "No I am not going to Kings Cross."

Clearly we were going around in circles. Actually, no, we’re going to Parramatta, and we’re about to go over the Anzac Bridge.

Now the driver is screaming at us both and telling us he is going to Parramatta whether we like it or not. I’m yelling back and I’m telling him we’re making a complaint and I’m pulling out my notebook to write his number.

The driver whips around, grabs my notebook out of my hand and pulls out a move I haven’t seen in about 20 years and back then it was my mother at the end of a wooden spoon.

He raises his hand to hit me.

My heart is pounding and my normally mild-mannered boyfriend is out of control with anger and leaps out of his seat and reaches over to get to the driver.

He is furiously shouting at the driver not to touch me.

I am yelling at the driver while holding back my boyfriend before we end up on an assault charge.

We’re idling in the middle of the road howling at each other while the wet weather traffic streams around us.

Conveniently, the driver has no identification hanging in its usual place near the rearview mirror but I spy his licence plate number which I commit to memory.

Under physical attack and in shock, and with the car stopped we get out before we end up on the wrong side of Sydney.

I call the taxi company. But no surprises there. Because I don’t have the driver’s name and he is not registered they offer nothing.

We end up catching a train to Kings Cross in record time and there is a stiff drink at the end of the journey to ease our pain.

Yes, driving around Sydney in the rain would be an incredibly stressful job, but it’s a job you choose to do, taxi drivers.

Not only is there no excuse for refusing a valid fare, but there is never, ever any excuse for violence.

The Victorian Government just yesterday released a report calling for an overhaul of their taxi system looking at improved driver training with a focus on customer service and people skills and also regular report cards on performance of the taxi industry released twice a year.

In New South Wales the taxi industry is the largest in the country with nearly 6000 cabs and more than 22,000 drivers, but it is an industry badly regulated and ill-managed.

Not surprisingly, the NSW taxi industry was recently voted the worst in the country.

The industry’s peak body for transport and tourism, the Tourism and Transport Forum, is calling for similar action to be taken in NSW and for a national review.

If my Wednesday night experience is anything to go by, it is well overdue.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23819861-5007146,00.html
Related links

*

Fun run

Bunnies ready for the mini marathon

Green fingers in Ballsbridge


What a weekend of sunshine and events.
Celene Dion on Friday, the Blooms garden event in the Pheonix park, The cat laughs comedy festival in Kilkenny and Boyzone in Croke park, then the womens mini marathon on Monday.
Plus the docklands festival which ran all weekend.

The girls who ran in the mini marathon were mostly sponsoring different charities so other people did really well out of the event.

The work was good but you still had to be lucky to be where the work was.

At a big event you do get extra work ,but you spend ages stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and because the volume of traffic is such there is no short cuts.

I often feel that the day my ship comes in I will be at the airport.

A lady got in the other day and when she gave me her destination I said, "easy to guess where you are from"
"Where is it then?"
"Wales" said I.
"Most people guess Welsh or South African, but I am from Trinidad"
Well I could hear it then in her accent, when you think of someone from there you expect to see a black face.
She told me that the pace of life there is so good, really laid back.

Almost horizontal...

It sounds like the place to live alright, really laid back.
Guess I will keep it on the list of must see places when I win the Lotto.
She is a doctor here in Dublin and she told me that she had never seen coke until she came to Ireland, yes we have loads of hash but that is in our culture, these other drugs are not."We don't really have the money either"

A lot of people under pressure at present, you should have seen the line at the welfare office on Pearse St at 2.pm..Times are getting tougher.

Honestly I pity the guys who tell me how they are buying a taxi and they are going to make e500 every day,just like me!
When they have put in one week they will know the error their ways and get a big reality shock.
One of the guys on the rank told me how he had a back operation a while ago and spent 3 months on the flat of his back. Welfare gave him nothing!

That was at Heuston station where a lady tried to get a handicapped person from her car to her wheelchair. The chair was parked too far away and the lady fell down between the car and the footpath. I got the other driver to move the chair back and hold it steady while I got my arms under hers and lifted her right up and over to the chair.Guess we both got a good cuddle!
You have to think things out when you have wheelchairs, many of the taxi drivers in the UK were never trained in the correct methods in loading and handling wheelchairs, the result was that many of them sued the government for back injuries.

You could try that lads if any of you have a wheelchair taxi..I never was told that I needed training.
One day I was unloading a big guy and as I stepped back and took the strain I backed into the curb and the chair almost came back on top of me.

You would need a heart of stone not to be affected by the sad cases you see in wheelchairs. Children and young people with terreble crippleing illnesses.

I often said a silent prayer to myself after I brought them home.

Thought my luck was in on Saturday night, girl got in from Bulgaria asked me if I wouldn't mind bringing her to Celbridge.
She was just telling me about her job as translator, how she had witnessed things that she thought only happened in books.
She would often have to ask them to repeat themselves again as I would not be sure I herd what they said correctly.....Then her phone rang...."Yes I am in a taxi...no not very far....Are you sure?...Driver back to where you got me, he wants to talk after all"
Thats life, e6.50 instead of e35..

Would have liked to hear about Bulgaria, she was a good talker.Perhaps another time.

Now after working all weekend I am off on Wednesday.

The workers in Las Vegas take that day off too.