Hunger strike !

I must correct one thing, the guy who is protesting at the Arch Bishops Palace in Drumcondra is on hunger strike,14 days now! I had bought him some food for him

but I found out in time about the hunger strike.
When you are protesting don't hold the gun to your own head. I don't think the Archbishop or the Pope give a shit about what went on..Sad fact that. They only care when there is a chance that it might cost them something.

Look I know nuns and priests who work in India and Africa, against all the odds they provide care and hope to thousands of people, all with very little money while the people at the top of the tree are carried around in sedan chairs like some kind of God.

I have said too much, what morals other people have is none of my business !

A red letter day in our house my son David went on my wife's insurance, he has started driving.
If you have read old issues of this crap you will have read this before, so for the rest of you..

On the first big drive I took with my Daddy we went from Bailieborough Co Cavan to Traynors scrap yard near Moy Co.Tyrone.
When we got there my Dad told Mr.Traynor that I had driven up all the way on my first days driving.
Well he told an assistant to look after my Dad while he showed me something.
Crashed cars, steering wheels bent, "look at this, the knees go through this plastic to be smashed on this bracket here" I could see the blood on the carpets.
Teeth on the dashboard, hair and blood on the windscreen.
Remember this was at the time when there was no seat belts or air bags.
"look I know that you young people are fearless, some day think of what I have shown you and just slow down"
He then brought me to a car which was not badly damaged, He showed me a streak of blood on the roof cloth of the car and a knitted baby shoe..2 minutes is all the time that this guy was trying to save, he tried to overtake at a bend, the car overturned and his daughter died..three lives ruined.

SLOW DOWN THINK OF TOMORROW.

I am starting to repeat myself but if I take David to Traynors I am sure that that mans grandson will give my son the same lesson.
Have a happy life

Lesson learned.

Well one guy is taking his protest to the gates of the Arch Bishops Palace, baby shoes tied on the railings.."A wolf in sheeps clothing" the poster says.
The Bishop himself has Victorian mansion up near Bono's house.
People are sick to death with the churches response.. There should be a LYNCHING party sent over. Good luck with the protest.
Worked yesterday until I couldn't feel my legs because they were numb.
So I stopped and got up this morning, a wet and misty day in Dublin

Sometimes you make a mistake and you say I will NEVER EVER make that mistake again,,but you do.
I picked up a couple with a small kid going to Murrays car hire in Ballsbridge.
Loaded up and off we went. When we got there I stopped the meter e12. "I want you to wait for us and drive in front to get us on to the correct road"
So everything was unloaded. Then his wife paid me while he was in the office.
That was the mistake ! I waited loaded up his car and set off. I drove them down to Heuston and stopped to get the extra e16 which was on the meter.
"This is your road straight on" Then before I drew a breath they drove off.."Thank you John, you are so good!"
I have a broad back so I am well able to take these things and it was my fault, I should have said that she should pay at the end..
Well God looked after me,Just as I was in a fowl mood a girl stopped me, A Russian girl with platinum blond hair and (after she took off the sahdes) cobalt blue eyes.
She had great English and she is a student here in Dublin. Trinity college economics!
Years ago Aer Rianta took over the duty free in Moscow, the fitting out was done by an all Irish crew and when they came back all the lads had fallen in love whit the beautiful women...Sadly those exotoc flowers soon wilted in the Ireland of that time, there was no Skype or internet and they became desperately loneley, after a while many of the marriages broke up and they went home. Now it works as there are so many people from so many countries here that no group is too isolated.
I still think its great, we will great looking kids in a few generations.. The old gene pool need some fresh imput.

A young girl sits writing a text before going to work..

Rick Savage

Today was my day off, so in my usual way I worked until 2.pm
I went for a cuppa and when I came back I had a fair to the airport,
Long hair I felt sure I knew him, he was a bit vague when I staterd talking to him, but I found out he was Rick Savage from Def Leopard.
When I mentioned the days gone by when Def Leopard were bigger than U2 and they were the band of the day...The whole feeling of the nation started to lift around that that time. "Do you remember back then?" he said. Well as they say, how could you forget.
I asked him if they still had the recording studio in Stepaside,"yes we have" came the awnser..But Bob Dalyn never recorded there, which is a story I had heard.
He has a Massarati and he was amused when I told him how the air filter is seldom change when they service the car even though the service costs around £2,000.
But it is fun to drive for sure.

So he has gone back to Sheffield

The fair was €20.70 "I will give you a celebrity discount give me €20" said I

Heres €50 give me €20. A nice guy for a rocker !

Holy water

Looking for water in Raheny, with water rates coming most big users are going for their own supply.. What whit the crusafix and all its bound to be holy water.


As Bono of the bad back would say "Where the streets have no name"



This is a building of modern design stuck into a Georgian terrace.

Well I joined the line for Connelly station the other day. I had seen the Belfast train pass over the Clontarf road while I was coming into town.
The waiting line goes around the corner and away back, but I was feeling lucky.
For once I hit lucky and got a run to Dundrum shopping center. Two ladies into retail, not shoppers but shopkeepers.
Well one talked and man she needed a handbrake on her mouth. I was wondering why she was putting Vaseline on her lips as we drove away at the beginning of the journey.
She worked for a UK store and she had climbed the ladder in management.
They gave her a Jaguar XYZ 4.2 open top car and she was hitting the limit with regard to speeding. "If it wasn't for the 2 licence system I would have been gone long ago."
"What do you mean 2 licences" said the other girl.
"I have a UK licence and an Irish one, If I get stopped in the UK I present my Irish licence, I pay the fine and they can't put the points on my licence because I live out of their jurisdiction, In the Republic I present the UK licence"
"How did you get all the points you have on your licence then?" said the other girl.
I loved her answer.
"Sometimes I forget where I am"
I hope I don't meet her when she is driving.

A few years ago Nolans transport in Wexford had a big strike and then they only employed foreign drivers, there were a lot of accidents but no one lost their licence.. I think it is time for a European licence, then this could not happen.

I had a double for Peter Ustinov in the car today going to the airport, we spoke about how you sometimes meet the most extraordinary people when you least expect to meet them. His example was when they were visiting an island in the West Indies, they wanted to visit a special sulphur pool which was supposed to be good for your health. They had to go through a mangrove swamp to get there and on the way the boatman slowed the boat down for a few seconds. would you like to see a special place which is close by? It will only take a minute." The agreed and he pulled the boat into a small cove, He told them that when he was a young man he used to bring a man of the cloth here to pray and think. "this is the place where he wrote the speech, I have a dream, Dr Martin Luther King"
They were very impressed because he did not tell many people that story.
English man living in Florida International lawyer. Nice meeting you sir.
I would often let smart people stew in their own ignorance, People who don't want to learn deserve not to know.
Picked a guy off the Ferry the other day, just back from a concert in Manchester "Black Eyed Peas" over and back for a concert and straight into work..."Thats rock and Roll"
Near the 4 Seasons I picked up a fare going to Baggott St. She runs a French restaurant, one thing among others the French do really well is cook so I took her card. Chez Max in Baggott St.
Food is a personal choice, I would never send someone to a restaurant so I always carry a restaurant guide in the car, if they say these places are very expensive I drop them at a McDonalds (THAT GUY IS DOING REALLY WELL SINCE HE SOLD THE FARM)

Do you know the Dalyn hotel?
They do a tasting menu, thats a sample of every dish that they have on the menu.
This is one thing I would like to try.
Once when a big show was going on I had a fare to the Dalyn, they were the wives of pop stars.They were impressed about what the hotel had to offer.
Still you are all stars in my taxi

J.P>Morgan do you know it?
Well I didn't so he gave me a sheet of paper which directed me to Military Rd Dublin 8 I guess the directions were for the Hilton in Kilmanham..
No it not down there.
IFSC We will go there first I said, so on the way he rang, its behind the IFSC house he said. I knew he meant to say behind Jurys hotel, so I stopped at IFSC house and turfed them out. I had gone 10 yards when I saw it on the other side of the dock, so I turned into where the arch is and walked down to direct them..Sounds more like a whiskey than a bank J P Morgan
Strange to see how banking has gone, I am glad I held on to a few coins of the old money now.

So I have not been well, but I aint been too ill either thank God, but off form all the same.

Milano fashon week !

Dublin Artists "Rashers" work on Harley Davidsons.

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This is the only driving you should be at today.



Today was quite a magical Summers day in Dublin.
First communions were on again and everyone was all dolled up, I watched the people coming out of Fairview Church and it was like a Milan fashion week.
One little girls parents hired a Limo at €800 to take her the 2 minutes from her house to the church, then to the meal in a hotel..That's life .

Peoples mood seems to have improved with the weather.

The young pup of the week got a very small slap on the wrist the other day.
Dublin born actor Jonas Armstrong from the film Robin Hood got into a taxi going to his mothers house in Lytham St.Annes near Blackpool.
On arrival he found out he had lost his jacket with his keys and money. It is said to have tried to punch the driver and spat in the car. Then he started banging on the neighbors doors and shouted in the letterboxes "Open up .Its Robin Hood" The cabbie called for back_up and when the boys in blue arrived he gave them the best of his Gurrier French.

Well the old bill was not impressed he fined him 100 quid and pay the court costs.
If I was the judge I would fine him 8,000 quid or 5 days community service and 200 quid fine..
The law is strange. I don't know if I told you of the guy walking his dog in the park.No dog licence 200 no lead 200 no muzzle 200...600 fine for nothing, while a guy that perhaps could earn 4 mill next year is fined 100 and that as a second offense.

Mad isn't it?

A girl from Howth told me the other day that her sister and her boyfriend got into a taxi going to the airport. Well it was the time the snow was on the ground and the driver wouldn't slow down.
Then he slammed on the brakes and skidded into another car coming in the opposite direction..They finished up in hospital badly injured but alive..
Well the driver was not the guy on the insurance policy..Now they have to fight to get any compensation..
Now did I not mention before that taxis are being hired for around €220 per week and being driven around 24/7 by guys who have no PSV lisence?
Nothing much is done apart from taking away the roof sign when they get caught and then letting them drive away.

Not much of a deterrent for driving without insurance.

If a Garda stops my wife (for example)driving with an expired motor tax, the Garda can and often do confiscate the car..Then there is a fine, back tax, towing charges, storage charges not to mention all the haste.

All this while HUNDREDS yes Hundreds of taxis are being driven by people who have no driving licences, never mind PSV licences..Drivers who don't know where O'Connell St is. I kid you not..."You show I go"

There was 2 serious sexual assaults by unlicensed taxi drivers last year.

Will we have to wait for the first murder before the people in power do something about the situation.

You know I have not been working at the taxi much lately. I used to keep a note book which I found the other, "Italian lady wants to learn how to drive, but she has no money" Now that was interesting to say the least..I wonder if she did find an instructor.
So I will say good luck on this beautiful summers day in Dublin


Or try this one when buses were green and hairdos were big.

Adverts..

Just to let you know.

Expect the unexpected !

So whats with the adverts wheres da blog.

Lets hope we sometimes get the
Xfactor

Perhaps Whitney Heuston could have brought this guy a back-up


then again you are just the fucking taxi driver .What do you know?

Google People of the World

Firemen do a practice rescue on the river Liffey
Most cities with rivers going through them have the problem of people jumping into the river.In Paris when they jump into the river they are inScene

Beautiful house in Ranelagh

UCD University

UCD Church

High speed broadband arrives on Fosters Avenue

When people get into the taxi you have a glance Black Yellow White what build, dress etc.
Why,? Because I am trying to guess where they are from at a glance, Korea, Japan,China,Mongolia.
All so different yet what are the subtle differences that define a race of people?

So get your cameras out and Google people of the world, lets se the look from Java to Jerusalem from Athens to Addis Abba.

You would have to sort them out by sex and age, so blocks of different people at different stages in life.

It would be great if you could give your friends your reference so they could look at your photo without hassle.

I met Eskimos once from Canada and from most countries in the world.

Some people are really stunning looking the Polish Czech Slovak peoples.The strong Latvian and Russian people with those blue eyes, not to forget the Brazilians with the wonderful mix of European native African and whatever you care to mention.
2 girls from Odessa what crackers just like models.
Did you know that there is a group of peole from Ethopia who are decended from the Queen of Sheeba? C'est vre!

So Google get cracking this is a great one !

Better than putting cameras up high to look into peoples gardens !

I had a lady from Finland in the car this evening, wow that must be a difficult language to speak. She was going to Killarney the floating restaurant beside the conference center.When she finished her call she sympathised with my sneezing from my cat allergy. She is allergic to all furs and has to take drugs to deal with it..But now she is breast feeding so she can't take any medication.

The conference center looks open and I saw loads of people walking with those stupid labels on..It will be great for the city. The police were stopping and searching loads of the drug dealers around Liberty hall. Remember Shaun from the Netherlands who tried to operate a coffee shop then a shop on Amen's St? He told me about what was going on and in Amsterdam the don't sell Heroin on the streets...Though there are more and more drugs shipments being intercepted.

One thin g of interest I did overhear 2 girls heading to the Dundrum shopping center.
One girls boyfriend was working as a long distance driver and was completely exhausted so He handed in his notice and on the last day he was offered a job where he only has to work one week in three !
He is driving cigarettes from England to Italy under armed escort. They are paid danger money as a truck load of cigarettes is worth millions of euro.Whisky, razor blades all these things are highly prized and are transported under strict security.

Sorry I have not been working, tell Kathleen that there is no work for taxi drivers in Dublin.

Too many taxis.

That is my motto.

First Communion

The footprints of George the 1V cut into stone 1821 Where?

Barges on the Grand canal, It would be nice to see traffic on the canals,like in Holland

Guineys as Dublin as Molly Malone.

Home for some poor individual, just yards from the Posh shops of Grafton St.

Sunday Morning 05.45 home and winding down.
I brought my eldest son to the airport at 7.30 am yesterday he is finished his education for the Summer and he has gone to London in search of work.
My youngest had his last full week at school and over the next few weeks the exams begin.

Exams are important for sure but when you look through the "Rich List" in the Sunday Times you find that people like Richard Branson, Sean Quinn and a guy called Richard Elman from Brighton who left school at 15 only to have amassed a fortune estimated at £1.11 Bn(someone who set that figure could go back to school).
In the rest of the article they value him at 1,550 mill.
Well what I am saying is that exam results are not the end, it would be good to pass everything well. Much better to be a completely rounded person able to communicate, after that a good personality would be a bonus.
Lets say HONEST as well!

So boys and girls as you sit down to exams I wish you all the very best of luck !

There is a teacher sitting the leaving cert for a charity stunt..its 2010 so he is doing 20 honors subjects and 10 pass ones...
Quite a stunt.

When Mother Theresa was awarded some big prize (Like Nobel prize)I told a dolly bird who was getting into the taxi the news, she thought for a second and then said.."Is she that ugly bird that wears a tea towel on he head..Why would she get a prize?"

Inside I'm laughing.
If I couldn't see the funny side/ I would be crying for sure.


So I had an early start worked a bit went back to bed and worked until after 4.am

I went into the Loft for Coffey and when I came out I was asked to bring up a buffet meal to Rathfarnham from the Westbury.
First communion and the house looking great, the people were moving round and as I was coming back through Terenure the Jewish people were going to the Synagogue, I asked a lady if there was Barmitzvah today..Why do you ask? she said. Well you are all dressed up and looking great so I thought it must be a special occasion. No but thank you for noticing, then the lights changed.

So with the sunshine and the promise of Summer I worked on.

It was good, the ball kept hopping all night, Strictly come dancing came to the O2 and we had a rugby match, then the students are all breaking up for the Summer, so there was something for everyone for once.

In my travels I called to the Bretzel bakery and got a turnover batch loaf. There is something about this loaf of bread it is fantastic. If you come to Dublin put it on your "To do list.
The guy who runs the "Bretzel" which is the last Kosher bakery in Dublin has an unusual name "William Despard" Well its not a Jewish name for sure, but your Jewishness comes through the mother, so in theory you could have a Rabbi Murphy..

To get back to William he is of Huguenot decent. They came here from France and set up banks,brewing and a host of other industries. The hallmark of the Huguenot is that they were as honest as the day is long so everyone knew where they stood with them. They are like a backbone in modern Irish history.
There is a Huguenot cemetery just beside the Shelbourne hotel.

Another guy I met worked for Google from the start and he talked of his life working there.
He had holidays booked when he joined 3 weeks inter rail in Europe, he said he would cancel. No "go ahead and enjoy yourself" He was paid as well!
The have a gymnasium and Google believes that a fit body gives you a fit mind, so you are paid to exercise.
He spoke of how many big businesses are run with a gentle hand on the tiller. The owner of Ikea came to Dublin town and walked around the new store, he spoke to all the people who worked there.. Then he asked for ideas that could make things better, later on he spoke to customers and asked their opinions.
This guy is one of the richest in the world.
Yet he knows that the biggest nest is built from the smallest twigs.

One of the worlds biggest investors does this too, from the cleaners to the big MD, though when he as spoken everyone from the bottom up he knows a lot about the company.

So that's my 20cent worth.

I wasn't attacked or had any runners, no one nasty but for one lady going to Norhwood from Fagans, They were in great humour and I forgot to start the meter. so I said I suppose it would be around €15 ! well she tie the celling!! She started shouting abuse, So I said "Will I go back to the start and measure it for you again"
So we settled for 10.Then I started the meter and drove back 13..What can you do.

I found a bar check on the seat later.
Mixer 2 €2.49
Martini/Dubone €5.40
Pint of Carlsberg €5.50
Total €13.30

People wonder why the tourists aren't coming back !
Perhaps its the ash? I don't think so.
I wonder what other reason it might be?

I got a nasty shock when I came home, my dog was in a coma on the floor, not blinking and hardly breathing and cold to the touch.
The pooch is diabetic and has to have insulin injected twice a day.
Now had I forgotten to inject last night?
Or had I injected twice by mistake?
I wrapped her in a blanket and injected her before going to bed.
When my wife came down the dog ate 3 bowls of food and was running round the garden when I got up.

Praise be, another miracle.

There is no more digging a hole beside the rose bush in the garden any more.
They have to go to the pet Crematorium.

THERE WAS A DOG WALKING EVENT IN St. Anne's Park today and there was a lady offering the following services. Dog walking, Daycare, Reiki and Bereavement counselling.
I think I will give it a miss thanks

Changing and challenging times

Have you ever tried Mauritian food?
Go to the Moore St mall, very cheap and cheerful, but they didn't smile




An older landmark. 1885

An English brickie pointed this brickwork out to me.."That is a total mess, look at the way the bricks were not mixed properly and I can see even from here there are a good few upside down as well" He is right there was a lot of bad work done in the Tiger period.
I got fed up waiting at the rank and went cruising around when I picked up 4 people going to the airport. They had just come out of Dunnes stores head office at Stephens st..They didn't look too happy either."Did Maggie give you a hard time?"said I..
They lightened up a bit and we headed out to the airport..As we approached the airport I noticed a Merc as I thought. Then I noticed the word Barabus on the back. A serious car no doubt. When we went up the ramp the car was in front of us and a guy was getting out with a set of golf clubs."He must be good" said I.
When I was driving out the the airport the left hand lane closes and the arsehole of a driver just cut in front of me. I could have hit him between the 2 doors, no signal and he didn't look either..It must be hard to find good help.
It won't be long before he comes to back down to Earth again, with a bump.
Some of these cars are so refined that you forget you have to drive it as well.

School is out and tomorrow is first communion, so there will be boys dressed in fancy suits and shoes as Admirals and Counts.. the girls will be prancing round in their white dresses all dolled up to the nines.. Mum and dad taking up the rear all proud of their little Johnny or Mary.
I have to ask myself what is it all for?
As for taking photos I think it is not PC any more. I mean taking photos of other peoples kids without permission.
This time we drivers who are not new to the game my badge nr was C1313, but you keep loosing them and have to get a new number each time.
Well as I was saying all the school teachers used to hit the ranks at this time and as the school runs finished for other drivers they also came on to the ranks.
Now it is totally mad the streets are totally dog eat dog, respect for other drivers is a thing of the past. If you were driving in the road with your roof light on (for hire) another car would not overtake you. now you would nearly have to drive at 70mph to stay in front. In O'Connell St today I saw a taxi pick up a girl and the rank at Sackville Place only 5 yards away..Other drivers at Heuston station pull up ahead of the queue and walk over to the passengers and tout for business, while the Garda give tickets to the guys trying to get on to the rank.
The regulator in her palace tells me she can't control it (or is that won't)

"A taxi drivers lot is not a happy one"

Us taxi drivers really suffer from bad backs.
Its all the driving a taxi and the wheelchairs in and out not to mention the onset of old age,

Head shops gone

This taxi was driving around advertisind head shops, today the adverts are all gone.


A country house right in the middle of the city


And what does G B Shaw think of it all?

Well today the government woke up and passed into law a total ban on "head shops".
To be caught selling the drugs will now give you life in prison.

These shops had been springing up all over the place selling "Legal Highs" under names like Methadrone which is sold as a plant food, not to be taken.
This they argued would let them out because it was not sold as a drug.
I had chemists from Cork university hospital testing these legal drugs and they found LSD and other banned chemical in them the drugs were bought by undercover Garda. These Garda asked the shop assistants how the drugs were to be taken. Now they are going to prosecute them for "reckless endangerment"
Some people have died from these drugs and any doctor I have spoken to do not think they are in any way safe.
The funny thing was that they were putting the illegal drug dealers out of business. The drug dealers were setting the head shops on fire, one way of dealing with the competition that.
Still working on other projects and as there is no work out there at present it is goo to have other things to keep me busy.
On the way home I picked up a guy just back home from a big adventure. He was living in Germany and went to Australia to try his luck there, it was great but not what he wanted so he head ed home via Thailand, he had Friends to stay with and he rented a moped to get around..If you have been there you know what happened next, he had an accident and dislocated his shoulder..He had Quinn health care cover and they came to the rescue. The hospital and ambulance were very expensive.
He also has a brother who lives in Brazil, I told him of the girls from Manias who I had met in town today.I spoke about the wonderful mixture of races there was in Brazil, he had been there and said that there are strong German and Italian influences in the country. I had forgotten that many Nazis fled there after the war.

His dad used to knock around with Phil Lynott in the old days.

So when he sees his folks he is back to Germany, where the trains come and go on time.

The Swallows are here

Well I saw 2 things for the first time.

An electric car plugged into a street charging point and the first swallows of the Summer.
Things are looking up for sure, the evenings are bright up to 9.30 and the mood is lifting.

First communions are in full swing and its great to see the people smartly dressed.
Instead of going around in their pajamas.

The other night I picked up a couple coming out of the Grand Canal theater, they had been to see Randy Newman, a good show but he was tired and it reflected in his performance. Kiss was also on that night.

Now to get back to this couple, she was a bit tired but he wanted to stop off for a quick pint on the way home, a compromise was made that they would stop at this pub if his friend was there. While he was out of the car she told me the source of the tiredness.
"I have 5 children under 5 years of age"

Well she has 6 kids in all but she had a baby and then became pregnant with quads!
They are just back in the country and are looking for a house to buy, spoiled for choice they are, but will house prices fall further?

A doctor from the Beacon clinic who came from Slovakia off to get her laptop from Toshiba..she spilled a drink over it, I would have loved to have waited to see how much the repair was..I know the warrenty would not cover tea or Coke, but some places give you a full cover warrenty for a fee or so they say.

Polish guy talked about the Drugs in Dublin, he like me never saw anything like it.."In Poland there is drugs , but not like here its crazey man"
He told me that when he was younger he wasted his life, now in Dublin he started to work in a kitchen and now after 4 years he is head chef. Later on in the year he is going back to university to study food science.
A new life.

The funeral of Gerry Ryan took place and this evening the Sunday independent leads with "Gerry owes the tax man €300,000". True or not it is a worry for his relatives.
One morning I was coming home and as I was passing his house I stopped and took a photo of his beautiful home which was looking great. i guess you never know what will happen next.(I can't find it now but I will put it back up when I get it)

There is a lady who lives 400 yards from my house, she looked after her mother until the mother died.
She was always a bit shaky but now she suffers from full blown paranoia. She can't go out unless she can find a minder to sit in the house. She has a multiplex camera system, but "they have found a way of passing it by."
She has asked the Garda to come to investigate, but they won't come.
Perhaps the think "Shes a nut". Well why are there not people who deal with the Nuts, the results will be tragic in the end.
I have asked 2 district nurses to call, but they didn't call.
The local doctor did call for an hour, but unless she goes in herself for treatment there is nothing he can do for her.
The laws have changed, if someone is in danger of killing themselves you can do nothing unless they volunteer to have treatment.
She is desperate and tells me how they have taken things from the house on a daily basis...All very sad really when she should be off in Lanzarotti in the sun, with not a care in the world.
The Samaritans don't do house calls, you have to call them.

Sad thing of the 3 most recent friends who committed suicide all of them were in an elevated state of good humour at the time..This is explained in the thinking that they now feel the solution to all their problems has at last arrived.
Often in deepest depression they can't act as they are too unwell.

Or to put it another way.

There is only a small difference between a gentle hug and a full blown hostage situation with snipers on the rooftops !

Good taxi driver?

If it was attatude that made a taxi driver then George Carlyn would have been a great taxi driver.

I only say that because he has no opinions on anything!

This woman would also qualify.

Both theese guys are like shiny toilet paper,they take no shit.
But you do know that George is gone....



What makes a good taxi driver?
Perhaps I should read the manual.
Give me 4 things that make a good taxi driver.

Short week

Media circus outside Gerry Ryans house.

Would it not be decent to allow Gerry Ryans body to be brought home and leave his widow and children some time to mourn him without this media circus?
It serves no just cause.

You know when a thing ii right or wrong.
Or as the Quote I got today said .....

"Right is right, even if everyone is against it;
and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it."

~William Penn (Thanks for that Mike)






I spotted this doorway on Talbot St, changing times.


See how someone jumps to help our youth.

The weekend was a non event for me, everywhere I was the action was just around the corner, except for Monday afternoon. I dropped a fare on the Navan Rd and picked up a woman and 3 children. "I hope you don't mind taking us to Lucan"
a nice one e25 we went round by Castleknock and round by the Strawberry beds, her car had broken down.
We make our fortune at the expense of other peoples misfortune.
I had just gone a mile on the way home when I got a lift to McGowans in Phibsboro, another e25..When your luck is in you make the money.
It hopped like this for over an hour until my luck turned again.

Today I picked up a guy on Amiens st with a zimmer frame, he was very animated waving his arms. I stopped and he dived in,I put the frame into the back seat.
"Its hard to get a taxi son" says he.
I told him that without the frame I would have taken him as a mad drunk, even at that hour of the day.
The was not old 45ish he had had a stroke it had not effected his speech..
He was from Hull a nice enough guy once he settled down.
I still feel bad about how I misjudged a guy once he had Parkinson's (like Mohamed Ali)he was a hell of a nice guy though as rough as hell.
In our job you have to judge a person in a split second, It is hard but there are junkies and maniacs walking the streets and no one wants to have a bad day.

I was in a shop today and there was a tall African girl there. Not being shy I asked her where she came from. Eritrea she said.
"Gosh you have traveled a long road to get here, I hope you find piece" I said
"Thank you so much for talking to me" she said and we both moved on.
The war going on in Eritrea and Ethopia plus the famine are killing thousands and thousands of people all the time..I hope she finds another welcoming person, she really needed a welcome smile.

On the other hand Clive Sinclair the inventor on the wrong side of 60(69) got married to an ex lap dancer Angie Bowness 36 years his juniour the other day. He was staying at a hotel and asked the concierge if they could get someone to make his computer run faster, the 20 something arrived in his room and now they are getting married...Nice one Clive !


Well John, this is for you.
For everyone he is a Russian mime and magic act, very well crafted.

May.

I missed May day, that is to say I forgot to give you this.



Nothing wild or wonderful to report I have been busy ferrying the kids round and doing the shopping.
My oldest lad was having glandular problems, wouldn't go to the doctor when the doctor was open. Then he had to spend 7 hours in casualty before they saw him.
They took him and he is on his second day there. They are looking for liver damage, but I would say it is not much.
More of a precaution really.

So happy May

Summer will arrive andd things will improve.


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Things could be a lot worse.