LE WEEKEND

I am sure someone wrote down the word "Job" under the tape


A new store is born!







Every taxi driver who ply his trade at Dublin airport has to pay around e440 for the pass. these were the toilets at 9 am Thursday morning.
I am glad I did not need a crap, I wouldn't let my dog use this place !




Well another week nearly over.

This weekend the huge vintage car show will be held in The grounds of Terenure college on Sunday.
Loads of vintage cars all polished up to beat the band.

So be there on Sunday or be square.

The Tango Del Sol Tango festival will also be on with the superstar Geraldine Rojas taking part

I had a few people who had lucky breaks in the taxi last week.
A guy from Liverpool who had an operation on his colon and the stitching burst letting toxic waste into his bloodstream. He went into hospital weighing 14 1/2 stone and came out at 11 stone and a huge scar.
He is so happy to be alive.
He was a chemist and we spoke about the Polish guy who invented the process for making Nitrogen fertilizer. When he did that it was declared that people would never starve again, there would be no more famine..Then the fucker went on to develop the gas which was used to kill the Jews,he was himself a Jew.On looking it up I find he died in 1873 When his wife (also a chemist) found out what he was now working she killed herself in despair.

So you have this huge good and awful from the one person.

"Science is the future" he said, the worlds population is rising so fast that like it or not we must now rely on Monsanto and other seed companies who are producing GM foods. The clever masterstroke with Monsanto is that the seeds are "dead head" meaning that the seed you harvest cannot be re planted as they won't grow, so you have to go back to the supplier every year for more seed.

The second was a girl who had lost her keys in a taxi. So she was locked out of her house.
The landlord was called up at 3 am. He was in Wexford St. but came over to let her in.So one thing lead to another and she went back with him to have something to eat. On the way back he asked her if she would go to the GAA match on Sunday?
He threw the match tickets on to the dash of the car as he was eating chips at the time (every taxi driver hates the smell of chips and vinegar)
So they each went home, on getting out of the taxi he looked for the tickets, realising he had left them in the taxi he went back to Camden St and spent 3 hours looking for the taxi. Well, the driver told him he had cleared out the car and had put the rubbish into a bin in Kilmanham, so off to find the bin...Guess what! The tickets were there.
She went to the match and she hopes that some honest and caring driver hands in the keys.
One thing I would say is that under the old system there was only one lost and found, now even I do not know where to go.
I hope she gets her keys back.

The third was a woman who got into the taxi in Sandymount, she had a walking aid and a caliper on one leg, not old,50 or so. So she got in and said she was going to Westwood health and fitness club in Clontarf. "Where are you going? Its the other way" !
So I pulled over and spoke to her. It turned out that it was the branch on St.Johns Rd. she wanted.(That's the street the Garda Quest buero could not find !)
She explained to me what had happened. No I didn't have a stroke, although it has effected me like that. She was ill and went to Beaumount hospital. After a week or so they told my husband that there was nothing wrong with me and sent me home. My own doctor was not one bit happy and sent me to the Beacon clinic (private hospital)where thay scanned me and took bloods. They noticed something abnormal in her brain and took a sample. 2 days later the result came back.Inter vascular lymphona.
Not good news, she had a very rare form of cancer which effects the brain itself. 3 weeks to live if they did nothing 6 months perhaps if they were lucky.
Her condition is so rare that there is only one other living person in the world who has it. But she thought that that person had died !
Then an absolute miracle happened !
A reserch group had been doing stem cell research, if a compatible doner could be found they would inject the stem cells into her brain after chemo. Wow she hit the jackpot ! The graft has taken and she is fighting fit once more. She said she would love to go to the tango night, but she doesn't know if her toy boy would be off on Friday.

Dublin women are worth their weight in pure gold, they laugh in the face of death.

Spanish father Russian mother, she is now 41. has been unemployed for 4 years in Spain. She speaks 7 languages !
AND SHE HAS BEEN UNEMPLOYED FOR 4 YEARS !
What a waste of ability. I still cannot believe it.
What chance would anyone of normal ability have if she can't find work?
Google, Facebook, Microsoft,and Ebay all have their bases here to avail of the low tax rate.

Go for it girl.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.

I DO need feedback, what kind of things do you want to read about?
I don't get paid for writing this crap and If there is no rapport from you lot there is no reason to carry on writing it.

So speak up.

Little joke, you know how people hate to waste things?

A Jew found a pair of crutches in the attic and went down and broke his wife's legs.

He hated to see them not being used.

OK this is better.

What is the similarity between a real pony's tail and a 50 year old guy wearing a pony tail ?




Well if you really look under both you will see a real asshole !

I saw this guy in Molesworth St on Thursday...He is a LEGEND !

Tango

A man rides his bicycle along the road with his 2 dogs in a box on the back, click on the photo to enlarge it.
(Camera fone)


Presenting Leonardo and Yasmin

There is a lot more to life than driving a taxi.

Tonight the Tango rains supreme and Yasmin and Leonardo have come from Mexico to dazzle you all.

Yasmin and I will give you all a demonstration of my fancy footwork.

It starts at 7.30 in the Pillar room at the Rotunda Hospital.
For the rest of the events which are planned click here



Some great music, such talent for a kid..

Here is Leonardo and Yasmin dancing.

An angel on the street

Greek Alphabet it spells Christina !


This is an early mobile shop as used in Corfu.




a really old olive tree.



Oh well, after the last comment I might be getting loads of statements about millionaire taxi drivers etc. But no, I don't have another job as a fire man or a civil servants job. But I do have other skills and other investments which keep the tax man happy.
I try to enjoy life as much as I can though.

Do you ever think of money?

I look at the rich list when it comes out every year in the Sunday Times.
I just Googled it there and they want me to pay £1 to look at it !
Who do they think they are?

Americas richest Brit Patricia Kluge has been declared bankrupt last week!
I am a big boy I know Zero status in this big world.
I would not worry about fish knives or the correct china for the meal.
This was Patrica's world !
Everyone who was anyone were on her list and she was on their list until last year.
What an embarrassment.

Dropped by so many of her so called friends, not on many lists now.

I do feel for her. She behaved like a bad child who spent her allowance and expected more to come forever..Then reality came home.

I doubt if she will ever drive a taxi though.

The Mad cabby in Dc had a good customer who worked in the finance sector. One day he saw her driving a cab in Washington. So he paid her back for all the good tips he got from her as a passinger and coached her in the art of taxi driving.I often wonder how people would cope if positions are ever reversed.
Talking about the art of driving a taxi I had a woman going to a place I knew well, "Why are you going this way?"
So she directed me to a spot that took 10 mins longer and put her 400 yards from her destination.


There are so many problems in our work dealing with the public.


Today I met one of my hero's, I would put her on a par with anyone in the world that I might admire her name is Christina Noble she wrote a great book about her life so far. A bridge across my sorrows.Get it and read it.
You talk about great actors or singers they are nothing beside this woman.
I just spotted her as I was parking for tea. then I did a double take and went over. "Christina I love you" and shook her hand. A few years ago she was very ill and I stopped and gave her a free lift, she accepted. Then I recognised who she was. So when I was helping her out of the car I gave her the biggest hug you could imagine. She told me that that was above anything the very thing she needed at that time and she said that I was a saint, I told her that it takes one to know one.
God bless you Christina, you are the total meaning of true love.

Everyone can have this kind of impact. But we all have to take the first steps by ourselves.

We need more people like her in the world for sure.

I see the Irish College of Surgeons are protesting about staff who are being held against their Will since the "Arab Spring" uprising in Bahrain. The college has invested €70 million in a training facility there.
Now just cast your mind back.
Remember the guy who was going to Bahrain a while back? He just exploded when I took the old airport road to the Raddison hotel at the airport. He insisted that I should have gone on the M1.
Look this is shorter and I have a bus lane all the way, there are no traffic lights on the motorway he said. None of them were red I said.

So there you are, Allah was listening and fixed him real good.

Perhaps next time he will have learned a bit of manners.

I do honestly believe in Kismet and Karma.

You sow and reap the seeds of your own distruction.

Birth place of Prince Philip.










So what did you think of Corfu John ?

Well it is like an accident waiting to happen. Loads of dead vegetation all over the place it would only take a spark and the island would burn from one side to the other.
I saw this before in the South of France, you just have to live with it.
There is a place in California where the very rich people live, the fires sweep through the valley every few years burning the houses to the ground. The owners just call up the builders and start over again.
I would tell you who confirmed this story, but you would say I was lying.

There are 4 Million olive trees on the island I was told. Oranges, lemons and wonderful exotic fruits like figs grow on the trees. Butterflies and Swallows are flying around all the time.
But if it was not for tourism the people would starve.
Did I say petrol is € 1.73 per liter.
But on the other hand I bought 2 Rolex watches and a pair of cK sun glasses all for €25
A meal in a restaurant for 2 people pint of beer and water € 17,50

Greek taxi fares,
I don't think any taxi driver would be happy with this and petrol at €1.73

Item Price EURO
Meter starts at 0,73 EURO
Rate per km when using tariff 1 0,32 EURO
Rate per km when using tariff 2 0,60 EURO
Waiting time per hour 7,90 EURO
Radio taxi - simple call 1,50 EURO
Radio taxi - appointment 2,50 EURO
From and to airports 3.00 EURO
From ports, railway stations and bus terminals 0,80 EURO
Night tarif No 2 - 24:00 - 05:00 0,60 EURO
Luggage - charge per item over 10 kg 0,30 EURO
Minimum Fare 2.50 EURO


The Greek people themselves are fantastic people though.

Just think of this.

A single mother of 2 boys, she works in a bar. She told me that she NEVER had a holiday in her entire life. Perhaps a day off to clean the house but never a holiday. She was perhaps 38, she has never been out of Greece. It hammered home to me how bad things are for some people.
Her boss told me he has 20 credit cards,all maxed out. "I can't pay, I won't pay. What can they do Lock me up ?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday we said goodbye to the actor Peter Falk, famous for the detective Colombo.
Going back to 1971 a young up and coming director directed episode 2 of series 2.
That man was none other than Stephen Sipeilberg. It has to be earlier than that but it would take an effort to find out. If you get it for Christmas you will see the hand of the great artist right from the start.

I had a guy from Liverpool in the car yesterday,he told me that Peter Falk had written an autobiography called.

"Just one more thing"

People from Liverpool have a great sense of humour.
So I told him since Peter Falk died from dementia it must have been the reason why he had to keep coming back to say.
"There is one other thing that's bothering me sir"

I was at a dinner with the magician Paul Daniels and the conversation was how to become the part, that, you by putting on your special jacket you turn into "The Magician".
He went on to say that Peter Falk was really very wealthy, but when he put on that raincoat his complete persona changed and he became the poor detective.
I think it was Paul who told me that when they were making Colombo Peter Falk did not get a wage but took a share of the royalties, later he bought up the rights to the series which gave him a fantastic income right through his life.

Back to the rain !

Just in case you thought for any minute that Greece will pay back its debts to the EU.
Let me tell you that Greece is broke !

It's that simple.

There is no money there !
I never saw any country in need of a shake up as Greece is.
(Well perhaps Ireland 50 years ago)

So on the morning we set off we got a taxi to the airport and arrived in plenty of time. Before we checked in I had to eat a sandwich and drink my water. My partner started to talk to a girl who was going to Holland, the conversation went on, then the bombshell hit. Her destination was not Amsterdam but Rwanda !
She was due to do a project there for the summer.
She had missed the first leg of her journey !
I brought her to the Ryanair desk to see if she could get another flight?. NO.
Then a mad dash to terminal 2 to see if Aer Lingus would oblige ? NO

Checkmate ! game over. She would have to wait until the travel company she booked with opened at 9.30. By which time her empty seat would be flying off to Africa.

She had moved her belongings out of her apartment for the summer and somehow forgot about her passport until the last minute.
Thinking about it all the project would most likely have to be shelved unless someone could come up with e 1,500 for another ticket not booked in advance.
Still she didn't cry so I bought her breakfast and went back to terminal one.

2 things which I noticed about terminal 2. there was 12 dirty tables in the eating area! The tables which were cleared had crumbs and smears of gunge on them !
When the lady came to clear the tables eventually she flicked the dirt on to the seats and floor instead of gathering them on to the hand or on to the cloth.

Not a good impression for the visitor at all.
Then to get back to terminal one for me took a good 25 minutes because there are no signs. Now 10 minutes delay at an airport could have a big impact on your life.

Then off we went.
Corfu is 2 Kms from Albania at its closest point.
The runway is small and quite short. You come down as if you are in an elevator.
150 floors, down down down First floor and you shoot forward and bounce 3 times on to the runway.

Everyone breaks into applause!

I am afraid he might take off again and do an encore.

Still I had a great mornings work today and a beautiful Volley ball player from Brazil told me I was the best taxi driver she ever met.
You know most guys love Brazilian volley ball players.Look here

Life is short ENJOY
A good start to my working week.

Greetings

Just a note to let you know I am still very much alive.
I am in Corfu,Greece, its hot as hell.
So I will be back in a few days
Or should thaaaaaaat be DAZE

Exam time.

"May your bedroom window never be near a rocking manhole cover"
(Aincient Irish blessing)
Made by Tounge and Taggart this one will never rock..But a bright young lad once worked for them....and he became Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzie, He really did rock !.

I just want to say GOOD LUCK to all the boys and girls sitting exams in the coming weeks. May I say that the system which is used to measure your worth is a very narrow one.
Please do not panic, we are all verye different, we each have great abilities and talents.
Perhaps this system is not for you.
You may be a brilliant musician, but a lousy painter.
You may be a plain Jane but a fantastic doctor.
You may be a good looker, but be really stupid.
Your worth cannot be measured by just a few tests.

A few years ago the richest man in Ireland was Sean Quinn. He quit school at 14 as his father was dead and he had to work to keep the family going.

His fortune was lost in the banking crisis,I am sure that he will rise again.

So if you are reaching a crisis point over exams please phone Aware on 1890 303 302

Or the Samaritans on 1850 60 90 90


Here is another way to do well in college.



Ont he taxi front the minister for transport has promised to address the errors created by the taxi regulator over the past 11 years,he has asked for submissions and he says he will listen..Then 2 all electric taxis hit the streets, one of them is wheelchair accessible!

Standards have ben falling for years.

Thousands of really hot women !!!

The womens mini marathon took place today and as usual at the finish line all the women were hot!

I don't know why but when I put "Hot women" in the title I get hundreds of extra hits.

I am winding down now as I am off to the sun leaving my son in charge of the camp.

Time to dance !


The Greeks are in more trouble than us, I think the dance could be pepped up a bit like "Riverdance".

Remember Anthony Quinn ?

Have fun until I return.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Yaso !

I did tell you about the Tango Del Sol coming up in July ?

Well Julian and Kristina have done a beautiful video.

Click here to see it

Do you like it?
____________________________________________________________________________________
So back to the glasses!

So here I am a few years later, like a pit bull terrier I won't let go.

I am in Blackpool and there is a Specsavers branch at the Hounds hill shopping center.

I explain my case in great detail, she was shocked. I ask her if she could get someone from Specsavers in Guernsey to call me to settle the matter, she assured me that I would be contacted in a few days, I leave my mobile number.

From this I got no phone call at all.

Now, remember that Specsavers are worth £ billions, their founders are high up in the most rich UK list.

But still they can't be bothered to deal with a simple complaint directly.

So you talk to people in the taxi, as one does and my confidante was a solicitor.

"Write a letter to the small claims court. It only costs €20. They will get your money back"

So I wrote the letter out and sent a copy to the Specsavers HQ, outlining all the steps I had taken to deal with my complaint, I reported the lack of action taken by them to investigate.

I finished up with the line.

"The ball is in your court now.
Next week, depending on your actions it will be in a different court!"

It is hard to believe that after all the shouting and threats no one form the franchise rang me even then.

I mean, bad publicity is very bad for any business, or perhaps I am wrong!.

But the origonal guy from Specsavers in the Omni center did rang me back and said

"Whats all this about? I took care of your complaint ages ago"

I know I must have a good heart, because I didn't drop dead from rage!

But when I cooled down I went in to him and had an eye test,from the boss himself.

"There must have been a misunderstand about the other glasses" he said

I reminded him that at no time did he offer me a re-test, which I was entitled to.

Then he said when the eye examination was complete.

"Your prescription is exactly the same, except the axis of the correction to the right eye has changed, its now going in the opposite direction"

I did say that perhaps that this was his error, not that anything else had changed.
(Except the years)

So I now have a new pair of glasses.

At one point he said he was "Giving me a FREE pair of glasses"


So I almost exploded.

"For fucks sake thicko. I paid you for 2 pairs of glasses which were useless,you are only replacing one pair"

At least every time these people send us reminders to come in for an eye test again the letters wil be shredded for the hamsters bed.

Boys and girls, go to the small independent opticians.

They would be so ashamed if they gave you the wrong lenses, at least they would listen to your complaint.

Still it could have been worse!



Look after yourselves until we meet again.

Festivals are go

The weekwnd brings deaths from motor crashes, last year I went down to Cork and Kerry and saw people driving on the motorway with both elbows on the wheel.
Texting is the one I hate.
If you are squemish or have lost someone recently do not watch this video.



Well we don't always have a chance to see how our actions might cause a ripple effect which can ruin so many lives. I wonder could they do an anti smoking advert like that.!

Just so you know I am still driving I stopped at the lights on East Wall Rd the other night. A drunk indicated that he was going to Swords. "Look I have a pick up to do now, but I will bring you to the fire station, (which is on the main rd) I won't charge you."
"Youse fuckin taxi drivers allways complaining how thers no work, and you turn down a fare to Swords?" Now no amount of argument of how I couldn't be in 2 places at once, or that I would be dropping him on the main road. Idiots like him could put you in a bad mood.
Still the rest of the people were great.

Glasses part 2
So there I was I paid around €350 for glasses which were no good and I had now smashed my old pair. So I went to an indapendant optician who measured me up.
The new specs arrived. They were PERFECT.
So I brought the perscription into Specsavers optician and asked him to compare it with the one thay had for me.
"Well if you have new glasses now so it dosen't matter"
I said the glasses he gave me were wrong and I wanted my money back.

This I was told would not happen !

A good while after that I went to another optician from Specsavers with a letter for the HQ of the orgisation.
In the letter I said that the Specsavers optician in the Omni center would not deal with the problem and I wanted Specsavers to fulfill their promise as stated in their adverts. "If you are not happy with your glasses you get a new eye test and new free glasses"
This had not happened.
A week later the guy who would not budge rang me to say. "If you ever need new glasses again I will look after you"

When hell freezes over was my thoughts.

So you see I am painting myself into a corner here !

Bank Holiday weekend

One of the offices of Facebook...right here in Dublin.






The lady is carrying a harp in a black carrier bag.





The weekend is here again and this time it is our bank holiday, last weekend was the UK bank holiday.
There are events taking place all over the country,the Cat Laughs festival in Kilkenny. In Dublin we are having the World Champion street performers competition, free and well worth a visit. The woman's mini marathon, (plenty of hot women there) The Bloom festival in the Phoenix park. Look here for more.
Plus they are having a big Brazil festival in Galway.
Loads of things going on.

And the sun came out today ! WOW.

So on the taxi front for me business is up. "Herring days" are banished for a while.
I think that some people woke up to the fact that there are a lot of illegal drivers, some of them were taken away and many others are lying low until things cool down again.

Example of a classic scam.
A lady approached me (A plain clothes nun )
"How much to St.John of Gods in Stillorgan ? €20 to €25 it will be on the meter.
How do I know you won't charge me more?
Another lady came up to me, so I said Do you want to go in this car or the one behind me.

She got in and after we were in Ballsbridge she told me that last week the driver had taken her along the M50. Turning a €25 fare to a €55 trip.
So I asked her.
Did you not tell him he was going the wrong way?
Did you get a printed receipt?
Did you note his PSV number and the roof sign number?
Did you report it to the taxi regulator?

So it was no to all the questions.
So he lives to rob another day.

On the other hand in a positive note.
A blond girl got into my car around Blackhall Place.(There is a new traffic camera at the Luas line there)
Well I tried my usual trick "guess the nationality by their features"
Greek !, she took a few seconds, smiled and said. No! Brazil. But I like that you thought I looked Greek. It turned out she arrived here three months ago,alone, with no English.
Now she has a job in Sandymount and her English is coming on in leaps and bounds.
She has loads of personality and she is also very intelligent.
Great people the Brazilians.

I also know what these lady's love.....Football!

The tango event collided with the football last week and football won, but there is another event coming 1st. to 3rd July

Now this event will star Geraldine Rojas and she is more than quite good, they have booking from all over the World including a large group from Mexico.



I just want to share something with you today.
It is nothing to do with taxi driving, but more to do with the way standards are slipping and my fight to correct things, in this one situation.

I will give you part one now, and then drip feed the rest to you.
I have an astigmatism in my right eye, so as not to put too much strain on my left eye I wear glasses.
I went to Specsavers chain of opticians and I paid for new glasses.
When the glasses came I put them on and I said straight away. "These are not right".

The reply I got was that "I would get used to them"

So I went off not able to read street signs or car reg's.

I went back again 2 days later, this time they pulled out my prescription and put the glasses into a machine to check it.

"No they are correct"! I argued that my old pair which I had lost were perfect, so why were these ones so different.
Again I was told "It will take a while to get used to the new ones".

Then I found my old lost pair and I put away the other glasses.

Until I broke them.

Then I had to buy new pair of glasses...AGAIN.