Thank you

Just a few lines to say a big thank you to all my customers and the many blog followers from around the world.
Its been a good year for me.
No great illness in the immediate family.
My sons nephew developed Leukemia but thanks to all the doctors he is set to go back to school after Christmas DV

We take a lot of things for granted for sure and our health is often the price we pay.

There is a blog written by an Australian nurse who worked in a hospice with people who were dying, she held their hand and asked about their regrets.
I think the book she wrote was called "Regrets I,ve had a few"
I regret I can't find it !!
But google Robin Sharma and listen to  a few of his talks on YouTube and it will help you yo balance your life for 2019

Over the last few days there was an evection on a farmhouse where 3 elderly people were kicked out of their home by a bunch of thugs employed by the bank. They owed a lot of money for sure.
The enforcers were dressed in black and wore balaclavas.
On video one of theneighbours asked
"How do you feel yo be doing this to a fellow Irishman"
His reply was "I'm not Irish I'm English"

Well later that night a group of balaclava wearing people arrived wirh clubs and iron bars,
They used a chainsaw to cut through the front  door and hammered them. Four were sent to hospital.
The rest of them fled across the fields.
They also had an alsatian dog to stand guard but the dog was killed.
All the cars and jeeps which they had used to bring them down to the farm were torched.
The invaders on the night singled out the ringleader and told to him his name and his home address.
So he now knows that HE can be found as well.
The next time he will not be as cockey.

There is no right side to what happened, no matter how much money was owed the actions on both were wrong.
I never saw any of the Princes of the banking scandal having had their property siezed in the dead of night.




So goodnight to one and all, may your God bless you until we meet again. 
Remember if you break wind blame the dog

Mama won't you buy me a Mercedies benz

Sunrise, much better in real life

For this month on my vintage car callender we have the wonderful Ford Mustang

The above car was designed by Lee Iacocca  I put the video of Jay Leno and himself looking over the Mustang now 50 years old.
TheMustang stopped Ford going bankrupt, Lee also rescued Chrysler.
A bit of a legend, there is one around the corner from me.

I am barred from my local pub for 3 years now and a customer today asked me what I did.
Well there was a girl in a wheelchair and the bar man couldn't see her.
She asked me to call Andy so she could get a drink.
Andy was watching a replay of the Grand National, but I called his name 3 times getting louder each time.
Finally I said "Andy! are you feckin deaf?"
He turned around and said. "What did you say ?"
I just said that he could hear me fine that time  BUT
he took my pint, poured it down the sink, he gave me a refund and told me to never come back.

I spoke to the owner and he said that I shouldn't have said that. Not a word about Andy watching TV

The girl in the car works in PR and told me to go back to apolagise when the pub is busy and say in a loud voice.

"Andy I am sorry for calling you deaf.
When you did not want to serve Cora a drink because you were watching TV.
Well she is dead now.
I know you much prefer to watch television and send stuff on your fone rather than serve customers.
I am sorry that you can't do your job like a normal person.

I hope you can accept my apology

So I just called in to wish all my friends who did not back me up 3 years ago a happy Christmas.

I think I will employ her for sure !


 All the amature drinkers are out  and the usual mayhem is following.
There should be a STOP BUTTON on peoples heads which stops them drinking after a certain amount. At least drunk driving seem to be hit on the head.
Or is it ?
1/5 of the cars in my local supermarket are not insured, or so they say !
People on suspended driving licences do not surrender them and just continue driving.
Which is why in many cases when you get a smack from another car the car just keeps on going.

Its a bit mad



I heard this song on the radio the other day.
It would make a great party piece.

A man who never made a mistake made nothing

 I had to do a repair on the mixer tap in the kitchen
"Buy a good one" said the boss.
Then after 2 weeks of nagging I turned off the water and set to work.
Not a big problem really except for the fixing nut at the back of the unit.
I couldn't get it tightnedso after a full days thought I went back to the plumbers merchants where I got a set of tube like wrenches which did the job.
I will share a great secret with you when the book is published.



Today as I swung past the bus garage I noticed there were no taxis there, so I swung in and picked up a young lady who was waiting. She gave me an address then she told me it was in Lucan.
So off we went and as we passed down along the Quays I turned on the satnav.
Now lately the satnav is in a slight state of flux.
As we approached Liffey Valley it put me clearly into the left lane, If I had known then what I know now. (Hindsight is 20/20 vision)
She had her sat nav on and assured me that I was in the right lane.
AROUND WE WENT ON TO THE M50
No escape until we reached Blanchardstown and I took a hit on a toll.
I swung around and back through the back roads to The Penny Hill pub !!!!
Oh it is so much better to give destinations via landmarks.
Provided there are not two pubs with the same name like Slatterys.
I had stopped the meter when we had started to go wrong but it was bloody awful the whole thing.
At least she was not going off on an aeroplane or a ship.

We all can make mistakes this is only natural, this is why God put a rubber on the end of the pencil.

Time is moving on Ho Ho Ho

Graham shoes on Wicklow St closing down

Life size toy soldiers in the Westbury Hotel

A Turkey is not just for Christmas

A very strange pop up restaurant. 

Have supper in Dublin while Jimmy in Australia has breakfast.

Its a strange thing how we go through life wishing that you could change decisions that you made.
A friend of mine who drives a taxi wonders if he had gone left instead of right would his day have worked out better. There is a movie called "Sliding doors" which explores the idea.
As for myself I reckon you make your choices and hope to do better next time.

I had a very toxic lady in the taxi last week
So these pair of women were going into St.Ann St. and as I turned into D'Oleer St the traffic was backed up to let a tram go past.
One of them leaned forward and said."You didn't go the way the SatNav was telling you, so I am only giving you €20. The fair was €25. But what can you do?
Then I noticed that it was on a credit card, so I stuck on another€20 after she left.
I really did it by accident and when it dawned on her that I had taken €40 I could see her running down the road after me.Then the phone starts ringing, so I didn't answer.
Later on I sent a text message to her and to the MyTaxi hq saying that the fair was €25 and she short changed me by €5 and to only refund €15. I went to the office and made my point again.
Guess what the did as I asked.
She was a cheeky smart arsed bitch.

So one of our fellow taxi drivers is Indian looking, though he is as Irish as Guinness stout and he was coming down the Swords road minding his own business when a woman cut across the traffic to turn into the Altzimers place before the Bonnington hotel. Bang and all the airbags explode in the car and he pulls over while they sort things out.
He rang his boss (Hired taxi) who told him to get an ambulance. Then the shock struck him and caused him to vomit on the lawn. When he came back over the lady was laughing and joking with the Garda. They looked at his license for a second and just dismissed him as a stupid Indian.
Meanwhile the lady wrote a three page letter to his insurance company.
The insurance company said it looked bad for him.
So he said the magic words.
"You don't have to take my word, or her word for it. Just look at the footage from my dashcam,"

Her company accepted full liability and he had a months paid holiday.

Never leave home without your dashcam.

New You

 Overall it has not been a great few days, I noticed that MyTaxi took €23 out of my takings without telling me. I went into the office and dropped in my request. As I had not received a call I turned off my App. That is a mistake as well as there are no calls for work coming in any more.
Then later in the day I went out and turned on the app again and went out towards Malahide, not a bad job at all.
On the way back into town I got a job back into the city center.
When the journey was nearly over the customer said.
"I am only giving you €20 because you went the wrong way!!!!!
So they got out.
Then I settled up the Mytaxi payment and BINGO it was on credit and I had charged her another €20.
So I sent in 4 requests that they contact me and that they only credit her €15.
You know what
They gave her back the full €20 and told me to be more careful the next time !

So I am hanging up my saddle for the moment.

Drivers are nothing to the big organizations.
In really I can live without giving them 12% of every job, especally when there is a problem they won't contact me at all.

Here is something.

Look for a book called The top five regrets of the dying.
She had a blog called "Regrets I've had a few"
She worked in a hospice in Australia and spoke to the dying.
Their regrets
"Why did I not spend more time with my kids?
I was a great painter, pianist, author and I just stopped that for my for work"

If you find the blog or read the book.

There is much more to life than work.

When I was in my 20s my father accused me of taking £800 from our family business, nothing would convince him that I had not taken the money.
I went to work in England.
My mother brought in the accountant to go back through the books and  found an accounting error.
He being an Irish father never ever forgave me.

In his mind I had stolen the money, which never existed ,he was shown the error BUT.

He never went to my wedding or played with my children and in many ways we both suffered.

Forgivness is a thing that comes hard to the Irish.

So listen to the following









Tango perhaps



Tango is great !!!!!!!!1

USA Happy thanksgiving

 While today is not a holiday here, it is quite often comes to light.
A lady going to the Gresham hotel to eat PumkinPie.
Friday is BLACK FRIDAY !!!!

Stress can kill

The OLD money, this was worth something

A car nut told me that this car was worth 1/2 £million

Tom Creans pub, that man had anti freeze in his veins instead of blood (look him up)

A number of years I had symptoms which have now come back.
I need to chill out.

I have pins and needles in my feet and when I walk my right leg drags on every 4th or 5th step.
The last time this happened my doctor sent me to a neurologist in Beaumont €120.
She never laid a hand on me and asked me around 30 questions.
"Why did you not just send me the questionare and I could have filled it in on line?"
(A fair Question) "Oh no I needed to see you in person" she said.

Then to the Mater private to the consulting rooms of a bigger conman.
I forget the exact time, say the appointment was for 10.30 am.
The waiting room was full when I got there and then our Hero arrived at 12.30 !

"Sorry to have kept you all waiting, I had to stabilize a patient in Blackrock Clinic and the
wind was against me as I was coming back on my bicycle."
So he had kept me waiting for 2 hours and the others for much longer.
So when it was my turn to go in I let him have it. 
What about getting a taxi back to here? 
Why did you not put your bicycle on the Dart?
Do you think so little of us all that you couldn't phone us and let us know you were running late?
He did not like this one little bit and he told me so, he was going to decline the examination, but went ahead anyhow.
35 Questions and a simple shock testing thing he reached his conclusion.
"At least you don't have multible sclorosis."
"Is that it?"
He told me there would have to be more investigations and to pay the girl on the way out. 
I told her to post me the bill as I thought that the visit was covered by my health insurance.
The bill came, and another reminder.

The week or so after this I had a very clever man in the car.
"Did any of thes experts ask you what you worked at?
Taxi driving is way up there in stress levels with an  airline pilot, more like a fighter pilot.
30 to 70 discisions a minute, to go this way or that way. It is constant and when each job ends the chase for the next job begins.
Stress can kill you John.
How many days a week do you take off?"
"I work every day, not all day, but I work between 5 and 8 hours every day" 
"When did you take a day off ? and what did you do?" he said.
"I took a day off around 6 weeks ago and I painted the sitting room"

"Take 3 weeks off, no driving at all, no painting, take a few walks with the dog, watch a few movies, 
meet a few pals for coffee, that kind of thing."
After 5 days it all cleared up.

The doctor in the Mater sent me a final demand for payment with a threat to take me to court.

I said that his competence was being called into question. 
The account was in dispute so it could not be sent to a debt collection agency and that he had wasted 3 hours of my life, time I could never get back.
Therefore I was not paying him and I looked forward to seeing him in court, if he could make it there on time.
End of story

A multi Billionare also told me that stress can kill you as quick as a bullit.

But he talked me through a few things.
Make a list of things to do.
Do 2 or 3 things every week...the hardest things first. 
Cut the people from your life who demand and contribute nothing. 

Good Night I am off to bed 

World war 1. 100 years on

A statue to the first world soldier, from the second photo you can see that it is made from scrap metal

A first world war recrutment poster. A display in the national gallery.

Today on Sunday we celebrate the end of World war one.
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day on the eleventh month 1918 the guns fell silent.
All the dead were gathered up and buried. The injured and shell shocked were shipped home.

What was it all for?

While the Irish who answered the call were away fighting in France a revolution took place here in Irieland we revolted against the British, the returning soldiers were not treated as heros they were treated as traitors because they fought for the British.
The whole epasode caused a great rift in Ireland and it was the biggest waste of young lives of all time in history
When you visit Normandy there are war graves which go on for miles, very emotional.

I normally only play this at Christmas I will play it now and I will give it a rest this year.










So there you have three of the best anti war songs about the first world war

Peace brother 

So Virginia got the ring

Time for Coffey in Cafe Java in Sandymount

Virginia from Brazil bought a Barn Brack and at Halloween there is a ring in it, she got the ring (She will marry soon for sure ) and went mental thinking that the baker had dropped the ring into the bread by accident.
She took some convincing for her to calm down.
4 Americans were amazed how we celebrate the festival.
"But this is a Celtic tradition not an American one"

Halloween went off with a bang.
Fireworks are illegal here so they buy them in Northern Ireland or from the dealers on Moore St.
It was like the 4th of July in Boston, with all the bangs and flashes.
My poor old dog used to go mad with the noise and the local vet used to sedate some of the more nervous dogs.

There is someone who has a shop in Liffey Valley and she asked me if I could find her someone to help her to work there.
I asked a really decent taxi driver if he knew anyone and his answer floored me.
"I have 3 sons and they are all useless, all drug addicts. The eldest lad is just out of prison again and he broke the terms of his parole, so he is going back down tonight.
God knows I did my best with them, they are 3 skeletons. no flesh on any of them"
He is a very decent hard working guy you would never think he had that kind of problem.

If everyone went to the magic table and put their problems on it.
You could view everyone's troubles.
You could take someones problems home instead.
Then you could see what problems the other people put down, you would be happy to take your own problems home.

There are a hell of a lot of Sex crimes coming to trial at the moment.
A Priest in his 80s went down and a father went to prison for having sex with his daughter from the age of 9. There was another similar case of child sexual abuse as well.
I hope there is a special hell for anyone who would destroy a childs life in  this way.

Anyhoo as they say in Canada.
Here is some simple advice from a fool. (Me)

Magic Convention ??

The Titanic center in Belfast

On sale in MrPrice, hurry while stocks last

Ignorant Irish for sure

Blackpool tower.
Move over Paris

Computers are stupid or is it me?
No comment required.

I had a video loaded and now its gone.

I love magic and magicians meet at magic conventions all over the world from Las Vegas to Beijing to Blackpool.
The Blackpool magicians convention is the biggest in the world !!
Dealers come from all over the planet to sell books, DVDs, and props Blackpool will have 150 stalls.
The comedians in the shows are fantastic.

So take it up as a hobby, after all it's a disappearing art.

Tonight in our neck of the world the clocks go back and hour tonight.

Tomorrow Sunday its the marathon. 

This is the kind of thing that goes on at magic conventions, they carry on into the wee small hours





Look up this movie. Its based in Blackpool and is in my top 10 movies of all time
 

Tallagh

This beautiful garden is 400 meters from my front door and it must be 3 years since I last went in

A few weeks ago I got a job out to the square on Tallagh.
Called in by her job and the journey would be paid by the boss.
So I turned around and got another job around 3 miles away,
Dropping her off I heard someone whistling and this guy with short cropped blonde hair asked me
"How much back to the square?" I said €5 and he jumped in.

Some people will hardly say hello, others will hardly tell you their destination,
But boy did this guy have a story to tell me.
When he was 15 he was walking along in Crumlin when someone ran up behind him and hit him full force on the head with a hammer.
He was in a coma with severe brain damage, for 3 years he remained in a coma.
Then one day he just woke up.
"I was 5 stone weight and couldn't talk or walk or eat.
I had to learn everything again, like new born child".

But look at me now I can't shut up !
He was really great, not looking for sympathy or pity.
I asked him if he remembered anything about the time that he was in the coma 3 years is a long time.
"Just at the time I was knocked out I met my mother, she died when I was 12 years old, I said Mammy I am coming up to be with you.
She held up her hand and said No son, go back its not your time yet" 

You know it is a real privilege to meet people like him. 
He works for a brain injury charity.
One of the good guys for sure. 
Today I met a nurse who works woth brain trauma patients.
She told me that my guy was one of the very lucky ones.
She has a patient who was attacked by persons unknown , beaten and kicked on the ground and left for dead. 
A completely unprovoked attack.
32 years of age and a brilliant electrician.
He sits in the nursing home looking out the window, he cannot speak. 
For stimulus I often read him the children's story of the naughty fox, and he becomes animated at the point where the fox is getting chased.

Boys and girls, say a prayer for the fallen ones. (Even if you don't have a God) 

Today I went to the Coombe and picked up a lady with a cello! 
She also had a big teddy bear. I put the cello on the front seat and put on its safety belt as you do.
She got into the back and she was talking to her teddy bear ?
I was reminded of Mr.Bean!
So we arrived at St. Stephens Green. She was going to the concert hall, but said that she would walk from the corner of the Green. 
So I took out the cello and as she turned for me to put it on her back I saw the face of the teddy bear.. It was a baby in a teddy bear suit.  Off to work with the baby.  

Stats
 

United States	519
Norway	378
Germany	185
Ireland	134
Singapore	53
Indonesia	34
Russia	32
Cambodia	30
United Kingdom	15
India	11

 

No tip !

Dodge 2 door custom coupe 1948

A sign in the toilet at the airport

Crossing the Sam Beckett bridge

Driver we are late!
So they are putting the pressure back on to you.

What do you do?
So the call was to Clontarf Castle hotel and they were off to Dundrum for a funeral.
"We are very late"
I started the meter and then had to explain how the charges were mounted up on the meter.
So I headed for the East Link bridge letting the sat nav take over and at points in the journey I was doing over 70 kph.
We arrived at the church in Dundrum before the hearse arrived.
So she handed me a €50 and then took all her change!

Even a thank you would have been nice. Some people !

Then I realized that I hadn't put on the €1.40 for the toll bridge.

So I crossed back over the city and got a job in Clontarf with a doctor from Soudan going to Beaumount hospital, God she had a wonderful manner and was so polite.
I think I am in love again.
Its a pity I am not 50 years younger or at least as rich as Trump.

Often I think that some people are not people at all

The way people drive is making me mad.
I saw a car have a blowout on the M1 in front of us the other day. he did 360o spin then another 90o and hit the dividing barrier, then yesterday coming back down a police car passed me sirens blaring, then he braked blocking off the fast lane of the motorway.
I turned on my hazard warning lights and then an asshole tried to overtake me on the inside.
He did not know if there were people standing or lying on the road. So I sat on the horn and cut across him until we had passed a 3 car pile up.
He was on my inside and could not even see the crashed cars.

The keyless car system ?
You walk to the car with the key in your pocket, put your hand on the handle and the car unlocks, then you press a button and then simply drive off Danger!
The signal can be picked up and cloned with a Car Relay Attack Unit. 
They pick up the radio signal and then drive off and thieves are having a field day!
So what do I do John?
When you stop your car. Put the key fob into a RF blocker pouch which you can buy from Amazon.
You get out of the car and put on a steering wheel lock which can also be used as a weapon of last resort.
Also from Amazon  
Then you step out of the car and press lock on the door handle.
Holding the handle out you close the door.
Now the car is locked without the key signal escaping. 

On the Times of London newspaper there is a story of a guy who had his car stolen.
He reported it to the police and they uncovered loads of stolen cars..in his possession worth as much as £800,000 All keyless entry high end cars.
I bet he wishes he had kept his mouth shut. 

Time is flying forwards

Holloween

And Christmas

I am still having problems loading up the photos.
Perhaps I need a new computer?

Do you not think that they could sell loads of other products in the space taken up with the Christmas goods?
Perhaps it is just me.

I bought a box of screws in  Aldi 1,000 assorted screws.
I took a screw out to fix the tumbler drier, them coming back into the kitchen the case opened and out fell 1,000 screws of different sizes. It would be cheaper to throw them in the bin than to sort them out.
Life is full of surprises.

I am working away (Don't tell the tax man) The work is coming and it is not like the bad old days when this moment in time would be a slow time.
Taxi drivers cars are being hit by robbers, they smash the drivers window looking for the float and any spare cash.I have a 24/7 recording system on the front and back garden. The video camera in the taxi activates when the car is shunted so I feel covered.
You have to be on your guard all the time.
Remember the girl from Brazil going  to Santry from Northwood?
When we arrived at the bank in Santry she gave me €20 and said that she was going back.
She produced a pile of €20 notes and asked me for 2x€10 notes. So I pointed to the €20 on the dashboard and said "We are all square so ?"
She went into the bank and came back out, I drove her back to Northwood and I asked for €18, "No you have to give me €2 change, I gave you €20"
I said no, I gave you 2x10s for that 20 and I said, and we are all square.

"Lets not argue, I will play back the Video on the camera."I said
Without another word she paid up and got out.

I really don't blame her, Brazil is in a very bad way,why else would so many of them be here. Dishonesty is a fact of life there.

So be careful out there.

My Bandoneon master sent me this from Brazil.
He asked me for my reaction.
"My heart beats faster and she plays well"

Onward and upwards

 You know collecting a debt for a friend creates a bad feeling in my blood.
There are people who jump out of taxis and never pay, other times you have video footage and the name of the guy, with a link to their address and the Garda do nothing for you.
It is frustrating.
So this guy owe around €1800 to my friend and I know people in his line of business, ie. they work with him though not directly.
Next week the word goes out that this guy dosent honor his tab.
I will ask the people I know if this is the right person to do business with?
Then we take the legal route where his name appears on record.

How stupid will he be?

Taxi drivers just know too many people.

My sons car failed the NCT so its €600 of repairs.
But it is a good car and he is my boy.

I wish to thank all the wonderful who have brought me on journeys through this great city over the last few weeks.

You are all great people



Over the last week we lost 2 great preformers Charles Asnavore and Montserrat Caballe



I know Christmas trees.
But it has strted.

I am sure God is enjoying the renunion and a special concert.

All the leaves are brown

This is the driver that is alleged to have knocked down the cyclest

A statue at the Landsdowne hotel"The Line out"

Staff from Brown Thomas return to work after testing the fire evacuation

Its near Grafton St

It must be the season for NUTCASES
I picked up a guy at the Mespil hotel last Friday, other people were waiting and they let him go first.

"Thank God you came. My flight to Toronto takes off in 20 minutes!"

Now you and I and the dog down the road knows that you have to present yourself at the check in desk 2 hours before your flight for long haul flights.
He got a bit of a fright when I got him to the airport in 17 minutes.
I will never tell them to calm down and that they are too late.

Nutter number 2 arrived too late for his flight to Amsterdam.
What did he do?
He ran past the check in desk, kicked open the door downstairs and tried to block the plane.
Now the question has to be asked.
What would have happened if he was a terrorist?
I mean he made it on to the tarmac no bother.
Then the next day he was brought to court and when he came out he dropped his pants and Mooned the press.

Nutter number 3
Was a taxi driver who was having a row with a cyclist on the North Strand. Plenty of shouting and the taxi driver slammed into him knocking him clean off the bike.
Then he drove away with everything on video.`
It is looking bad for the taxi driver.

Nutter number 4
A Cyclist breaks the lights followed by a white taxi, they tear down to Belvadere place and at the bottom of the road the taxi crosses the road to the wrong side and mounts the footpath.
It is said that the cyclist broke one of the mirrors of the taxi.
Still is it worth loosing your license over?

My insurance costs me more that €2,000 for this year
6 years full no claims bonus.
What would it be with penalty points and a crash to settle.

Work wise it has been great recently, this happens when the swallows go and the schools and courts start working again. One theory was that the school teachers would work as taxi drivers during the long holidays, then when school started again business would rocket for the regular drivers.

You could get a headache trying to work it out.

I am chasing money on behalf of a friend. He is a film maker and this money was due to him in the summer. Requests for payment have fallen on deaf ears. So today I posted off all the details again.
A good customer of mine who has a wide number of connections googled the name while he was in the car. He knows people who do business with him.
I will put in a word next week.
It will be really embarrassing for him when the word gets out that he dosent pay his tab.

A story from the taxi was that a young college guy worked for Bill Gates as a caddy, the lad said to himself that he would be in for a good tip. He tried to impress him with advice and after the game he paid him the normal amount with no tip.
The young lad cursed him to hell and the next day he got a call from his university to say that Bill Gates had paid all his college fees and that he had wished him good luck in the future.

Another person of interest in the car was Tommy Tiernan. I did not recognise him and asked him what he did for a living. Then I turned around and recognized him and we had a great trip.
He has a 9 year old son who is mad into magic.



 This makes me feel nostalgic for the old Dublin

A miricle

So we had the big day out for the less privileged children of Dublin, 200 or so taxis a 20 Garda motorcycle escort and then off to a big party with singing and fun in Leopardstown.
It has been going on for more than 50 years and Johnnie Walker our super taxi driver who started it all off is still on the go. Paddy Drax is another long time attendee.

So I was trying to get the photos up but my computer is acting strange.

I have met a few heroes in my day and last week there was a documentary about one of them.

Orla Tinsley got into my taxi years ago and I never forgot her, she was out of breath and turned out to become one of my super heroes.
"No I haven't got asthma I wish I had but I have CF. Cystic Fibrosis"
She went on to tell me about her condition and that the only cure was for someone to be killed and she might get a new set of lungs.
What was on her mind on that day was that she and others had raised money to build a special ward to isolate CF patients and the hospital that it was attached to had filled it with ordinary sick people.
This in turn would mean that the unit could never be used for the purpose intended.

She told me not to be sad when I told her that she was a wonderful brave person.
"I am a fighter, don't feel sorry for me.I never want anyone who met me to be unhappy."
True to her word I did feel inspired.
I told her that there would be no charge for the journey, the only pity was that it was not longer.
"I would love to give you a big hug as well, but I don't want to kill you?"
She laughed "I couldn't think of a nicer way to go"

And she was gone

That was a good few years ago

She is doing creative writing in New York and she crowd funded a lung transplant.

SHE GOT IT !!!!!!!

The eve of the big day

Tomorrow is the taxi drivers big day out, I will take the morning off and hoover the car to get it nice for my passengers. Then drive out to Palmerstown to collect them and bring them all to Parnell Square where the Garda band will play and then they set off down O'Connell St, then the band will stand to one side and the Garda motorcycle escort will bring us to Leaopardstown race course where further entertainment will follow.
Then around 3. pm they will all head home again and wait for another year.

Last year they had to send off for more taxis and those scumbags charged for the trip while everyone worked for nothing.
So if you can make the effort to join in come on !!

Above is the floor of the entrance to the Clayton hotel in Ballsbridge it used to be a school for the children of Freemasons.


The first 3 photos explain a recent plumbing adventure I had a while ago.
The cold water tank was overflowing, I sent up the "plumber" twice
He didn't fix it and in the dry weather you could see just how much water was being wasted.
So into the attic I went and found the water tank and I saw that the ball of the ballcock was under water, so I went to the plumbers merchants and got the metal plate shown and a new stopcock just to be on the safe side.
The small metal plate stops the plastic tank from bending when pressure is applied.
Bingo the leak is now stopped.
All through my life I have learned that you have to rely on your own instincts to get things done.

Like a carpenter that hung a door and when you opened it it hit the ground.
The solution he said was to take a piece out of the door, I asked him to put a level on the door to see if was hung plumb, then he walked off.
I got a level and took out all the screws bar the top one made it plumb screwed it back up and it swung perfectly.
The next day he was shouting "If you knew so much about it how come you are not doing it?"
The builder overheard him and sent him home for good.

C'est La Vie as they say in Google.

Even my Citroen car had the wrong spark plugs in the manual ?
That really took some figuring out but an Lebanese air frame mechanic helped me through the servicing, he had cut a sinew in his hand and spent 3 or more hours showing how the car worked.

So if you buy a 2CV you must use Champion L87Y spark plugs not the short reach ones in the manual.
 Off to bed now and great things will happen tomorrow.

9/11

 Our thoughts go out to the family's of the dead and missing on this day.
Everyone in the world remembers what they were doing when they got the news.
It was an absolute tragedy and still not fully solved.
We cannot forget.
God bless you all, may peace come to you and may you all meet again in the next life.

An old abandoned car takes its last ride

The monument to the Duke of Wellington in the Phoenix Park

A large silo leaves Guinness's. This put the USAs airforce on full alert as they thought they were Scud missiles.

Boys and girls
If you drive a taxi in Dublin this is for you.
The taxi drivers special kids day out is on the 18th of Sept 9 days away and 1,200 kids need to be picked up and brought out Ring 086 3701215 and put down your name.
When you do it and see the smiles on their faces there is no better feeling.
As you drive off in convoy to cheers and smiling faces and when the tourists see what is happening they wave and smile and many of them cry with happiness.

So come on boys and girls take the day off and get a free t shirt and thank your lucky stars for your blessings.
Ring 087 1213344  or 086 3701215 to express your interest.

God I am so lucky with the fantastic people I meet.
Today I met a Nigerian doctor going to Blackrock, she was ebony black and had the brightest eyes and the most beautiful smile you ever saw.
You would just know that all her patients will feel better as soon as she walks over to their bedside.
Sometimes you just know that she is has a really special place in Gods plan.

Taxes are done now for a short rest.

A                                                   Irish People love Brazilians and they love us.

This is a great idea. Put some fruit into a paper cup, cover it in cling film and put small holes in the cling film with a biro, the fruit flies go in and cannot find their way out. Then you pop it in the compost bin.

A nice new Triton shower SILENT IN OPERATION

A TAXI RANK WHICH IS ONLY OPERATIONAL WHEN THE STATION IS CLOSED.

Life happens when you look somewhere else for a second.
The swallows are gone, the Barnacle geese are on the move and the kids are all back at school.

Soon the clocks will go back one hour. But not if BIG BROTHER can stop us.
The EU want to impose their rule on us once more. If you are in France  the clocks one hour ahead of Irish time or GMT. Then as you head to America the clock changes again and again.
A few years we left the clocks at summer time and the children had to go to school in the dark. Quite a few children were killed on the roads and the powers that be decided that changing the hour to give us daylight in the mornings was a great idea after all.
Then if the UK leaves the EU we will have to change our clocks as we pass north and south through Ulster.

Some people will go to heaven
Other people just might not
You decide !

4 guys jump into a taxi and at the destination they jumped out and ran off.
The driver looked into the back of the car and saw a passport on the back seat.
So he brought it home and his son found the culprit on facebook.
What do you know he was going on holiday the very next day. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Taking the passport he threw it on the open fire.
"You're going nowhere!"

Now to my way of thinking a quick phone call.
Negotiations could have yielded €100 for the passport.
So the guy could learn his lesson and go on his holiday.

This way no lessons were learned anything.