Schools are back

The lions at Clontarf Castle are waiting

The gasometer down at Google

I just thought I would stick in a video clip.
If it works I will give you more.

Well it came all too fast, summers over and the swallows will soon be gone.
I was in Holland a while ago and now I am off to Barcelona for my break.

While I am gone behave yourselves.

On Sept 12th the taxi drivers big day out takes place.
This year take part..Ring 087 1213344
or 086 3701215  Its the very best thing 
you could do.  
An unlikely lady in the car the other day, she is devorsed from her husband and the row over property
and other assets from the marriage.
 "He was and is a bully, so ind I went to a solisator who was recommended. After a while waiting she came in in a sharply cut suit and stiletto shoes and fishnet stockings. All she was short of was the whip to put manners on the bastard.
I had found my warrior" It should be an interesting battle.
"He was Ok until I found my present partner Antonio an Italian, romantic and passionate.
It was like trading in a Fiat Panda and getting a top sports car, Tom is really scared of him which is great" 
I wished her well for the future. 

I met a senior driver the other day. New 2017 car as well.
He didn't exactly land on his feet though.
He was coming along on the motorway when the car in front of him stopped dead.
He had no brake light warning  and he smashed into it. Both cars a write off.
The insurance company said that the taxi was at fault as he should have had a longer stopping distance...
I wouldn't like to be paying his insurance.
Then he found that he had bowel cancer, it has been a long road back to work.

He had one of the strangest things happen to him a few years ago,
Someone won €9 million in his area and the press were snooping around the shop looking for the winner. He went into the shop for a pack of mints and a young lad said. 
"Hey mister did you win the Lotto?" 
He said yea sure I did and then the press landed on his door and hounded him for months,
So be sure to keep it under your hat, 

Something a bit different

While I was in Kerry visiting the cousins I photographed the old Irish language Bible.
Printed in 1827 it was before the great famine.
The fonts were very different and you would have to travel a few miles now to find someone who could even read the old script.
My forefathers as it turned out were protestant missionaries on the most remote tip of Europe back then.
If only that book could talk.

I am only getting used to the new 3rd generation Prius.
The "Proximity" key is a bitch. You walk up to the car and when you clasp the handle it unlocks,
(Big deal)
you put your foot on the brake and start it.
Where did you put the key when you got in?
You need it to lock it.
In a normal car it would be in the ignition, right?
Now it can be anywhere and you need to have it to lock the car.
So you look on the dash, on the cup holder, the glove compartment only to find it in your pocket !

Still its not as bad as the customer who bought a used Ferrari in California.
"Wow I was a real bigshot.
I took a call on my mobile (A big thing back then)
I put my coffee and keys on the roof of the car,
took the coffee and drove to my important meeting.
I didn't make it.
The keys fell off the roof and the car stopped.
The replacement key and towing charges nearly broke me.
Don't live beyond your means my friend"

Still in a month or so I will figure out on which side the wipers and the lights are, and the horn too.

Death and taxes..

Today and over the weekend I will be doing my income tax.
A very wise and successful man told me many years ago to do it weekly, monthly, quarterly.
Then do a review of your activities after that carry on and its done.
He turned out to be a billionare and I still did not take his advice.
His name was Chuck Feeney
So now its panic stations once again!!!!!
I was in Kerry last week, God the music is great. In Dingle we went to a concert in St.James church.
The folk concerts are so professional, better than TV.
The performer asked if anyone could do a jig, "I will give anyone who dances it a CD"
This girl danced like there was no yesterday. 
As it turned out she was German.
She was a wonderful dancer, typical that foreigners can do our stuff better than we can.
A fantastic night for one and all.

I have to get this photo thing sorted out, after all they say a picture says a thousand words.

As you go on in life things come across your bow which  you cannot avoid or solve,
A girl from Brazil learning English has a sick father at home. 
Not good at all.
So she has to go home without finishing her course.
Now the air fair to go and back to Brazil is expensive plus her job and her flat will be gone when she comes back.
God she really is a really nice kid... But she has to go. 
The future for her is difficult for sure.

So there was me saying how my income tax was a pin in the ass

Perhaps if we knew someone who was a little bit mad it would help.
 





Here is Chuck

The Dublin horse show

As I am an idiot when it comes to computers I find that the photos will not load.
Tomorrow I will go to Andrew to ask him why. So we will continue with sound and no vision.
The Dublin horse finished today, thousands of horse lovers from all over the world gathered in Dublin, a fantastic event. America won the jumping trophy and great fun was had by one and all.
There was an armored BMW heading over to the event. I know the car it gives 8 mpg!!!
I spoke to the driver once after driving 2 miles on my battery after I had run out of petrol.
It weighs 3 tonnes (Whatever that is in new money)

I was in Kerry visiting my relations and we went to the Blasket Island to show my brother in law where my ancestors came from, the island of writers and story tellers.
Irish history is strange.
Driving back to Dublin in around 4 hours.
My back decided to go into spasm.
Taxi drivers should own a 4 mile dog.
4 miles every morning .
4 miles every evening.
My 3 mile dog died a few years ago.

Anyhoo as they say in Canada things progress.
Today they had a road race and closed off the Sam Bcekett bridge and the Quays, I got a MyTaxi call and the location was wrong, she was not helpful at all, then she didn't believe me that the bridge was closed.
"Its not on the internet"
So I offered to driver her towards the bridge to show her, "Whatever".
I made a minor detour and crossed through 2 red lights. Then another one through Abbey St.
The car behind me pulled along beside me. 2 armed Garda and it became 20 questions time.
Look Nothing was coming! ++++++=
No I don't drive through red lights all the time.
No I am not blind.Etc Etc

Look! this lady thinks that I am trying to scam her, tell her that the bridge is shut and then you can take her to Dundrum yourself while you are at it.

He gave up at that and drove off.
She the grumpy bitch held on to her grudge and gave me the exact fare at journeys end.

One other job that sticks out was a Canadian lady heading out to the Clayton airport hotel (Bewleys)
As I went in to the hotel to validate my parking ticket a flock of flight attendants came out and I said
"Its SHOWTIME"
They stopped and laughed, Japanese girls, they were all around 5'9 and looked great.

Next week I will bring a note book. Promise.
Then came the sad news that Eugen Burger had died. I love magic and I have met Eugene a few times
RIP Eugene



Have a great week.

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Galway races

This week we have the wonderful Galway races, a great occasion for one and all.

Two taxi drivers decided to take a bit of time off and they drove the long road to Galway.

They had hot tips and blankets to spend the night in the car.

Coming home they were in a very sorry state, they had lost all their money and they also had dreadful hangovers.

As they joined the long snake of traffic heading for the N4 a time of narrow roads and no motorways they were in despair. A young guy with a long coat was up ahead with his thumb up so they stopped.

When he got in he told them that this was the best Galway races he had for years.

They moaned and groaned about their losses, he told them never to follow horses.

He made them laugh all the way and just when they had forgotten all their problems they were stopped by a Garda in Kilbeggan.”You only have one headlamp working” on closer inspection he found a tax disc out of date and a bald tyre. When he inspected the drivers licence it was found to be a year out of date. Out came the notebook and pencil and the officer started writing and taking note of everything.

When he had finished the young passenger got out and went over to the Garda. He put his arm around him and patted him on the chest, he pulled the tail end of his uniform and said what fine men the boys in the car were, You should give them a chance.

No No No the Garda said so he patted him on the chest again while the men in the car felt that they would be locked up.

He gave up and came back to the car.

“lads I don’t know what I was thinking about, the traffic is very heavy, take a left here and I know a quicker route to Dublin”

As they approached  Crumlin in the early hours the hitchhiker pointed out where he wanted to get off.

“Don’t worry about that Garda and his summons, unless he has a fantastic memory you are home and dry. That tunic was very tightly buttoned and I nearly didn’t get it, but I did get it.

I am a pickpocket, one of the very best there is. Here is the Gardas notebook and that is why we had to go cross country, every Garda on the road was looking for us.

I might see you at the races again next year.”