Visitors and Fish Soup

Bag search


A floating luxuary city leaves Dublin


Inside the GPO





You know when you are driving a taxi around even when things are normal your emotions can run like a helter skelter ride, up and down rising like a rocket and falling like a stone.

I started off my day easy enough picking up a Polish girl who is a regular, then it was 3 drug addicts with a young kid trying to buy heroin. They were really very fond of each other and when we made contact by fone with their dealer, the mother got out to do the buying. "Tell him you're pregnant and you can't walk far." said the other girl who stayed on in the car. Drug dealers are very wary who they deal with, there has been so many stings and arrests.
The girl who stayed on in the car was hugging the kid and she told him that when he got bigger that she would be his girlfriend and they would all be happy living together.Poor kid living in a junkies den, the whole situation is a sorry mess.

People at the top have ranches in Spain and they own rental properties and bars over there. They do not think for a second about the thousands of lives they destroy through the drug dealing.
Years ago a dealer told me he was just providing a service, they would buy it anyhow without me.
Every taxi driver feels like the guy in the movie "Taxi driver"
Some days you just wish you had a gun to even up the score a little.

Then I was heading down through Inchacore and got a run to Ballyfermot, she looked like an addict who was well on the mend, she spoke about this and that and she told me about a time she had been raped by a guy who gave her Rohipnol in her drink. She was a tough girl and she nearly killed him when she regained her senses.
The fear of aids,VD or pregnancy was horrendous.
The trial took a lot out of her she told me, the fear of infection has started to leave her now. She met a new fella recently, "The best man in the World" and she has great hopes for the future.

You can understand how a taxi driver might have little sympathy for people blow up small problems way out of proportion.

The royal visit will soon be over.
Thank God.


The speeches were good."We cannot change the past, but we can together forge a better future"
So it a new dawn in both our histories.


England and Ireland are big trading partners.
WE do more trade with each other than England does with. Brazil, India China and one other country combined, that's a lot of business.

Stuck in traffic for hours during the visit, we all were.
Her Royal highness has an exclusion zone of of around 1/2 a mile around her entourage, really over the top.
What I do object to is the way things have been planned.
You are inching down a road and you see traffic coming back the other way, so you think the road is open. Only another taxi driver recognised me and told me that the traffic coming back was the same cars going up the road to be turned back down again a mile ahead.
Now even a child would put up a notice "Road closed ahead".

There was a big football match yesterday a well 2 teams from Portugal Uefa Europa League Final FC Porto beat SC Braga 1-0.
I had 2 guys from New Jersey USA trying to get back to their hotel.
Well when I knew things would be hopeless I turned off the meter. Good guys they were they doubled the €10 that I said I would leave it at, we had a good talk while we inched our way through the traffic.
Portugal and Spain are in a very bad way financially. I suppose we all are really.
Except for the people who caused this mess, they are buying trophy homes in Boston and the Bahamas. In their wives name to be sure.

Visitors are like fish soup, after 3 days they begin to stink and need to be thrown out.

So I will leave you with this thought.
Believe in yourself....and everything is possible

Prime time

Well the Prime time programme has ruffled a few feathers.

Take a look here

The Queens visit is going well.

What have the British ever done for us?

Just substatute the word "Roman"for "British"



What is taking place here in Dublin is incredable. The entire city seems to be shutting down.
Streets have been shut off since Saturday. The Queen will not be here until Tuesady.
10,000 Garda and army will be on duty and €35 million will be spent on security!
The British did plenty of bad things to us and we as sure as hell did plenty of bad things to them. It is well past time we drew a line in the sand and stood back from it all.
Imagine killing people without mercy,people going about their business innocent childrenh
One other sad part is that In the Bermingham bombings many were Irish.

So on Tuesday we can open a new page in our history.

The other day I had a botanest in the car, she had just tp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift come back from America where she was studying geese. Nature is all around us and the swallows are around us in great numbers now. Then barnicle geese who have been around all winter long have gone back to Greenland to nest and fly back to us again next winter. I found a Red Admirel buterfly in my garden many weeks ago. They fly from the Med to spend the summer with us. Nature is great.

So I just make this quick posting to wish you all well.
I also hope that the Queen has a safe trip and I look forward to hearing her speeches.


When I went to see the Bueena Vista social club last year a lot of the people were from this group. Look at the old girl on the right side of the stage, she must be 20 years older than me,look at her energy.
Something to brighten up your day.

We seek him here we seek him there !

Strange things are going on for sure !
I had a video lined up and saved to show you all and Blogger went off line for an hour, at least that's what they said yesterday. They are back now and your video is gone.

Manhole covers are still being lifted as the security circus progresses.
30 million it is costing,some say it is costing a lot more, town will be shut down and if you are going to the airport make good plans.

Here is a sample from the AA roadwatch site.

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, will visit Ireland from next Tuesday (17th) to Friday (20th), visiting Dublin, Kildare, Tipperary and Cork.

The following is a guide to the events with a list of some of the road closures and parking restrictions. Due to the high security around the visit, all details are subject to change and many details may not be made available until hours before any closures.
DUBLIN:

Dublin will remain open for business next week. However, anyone travelling into the city is advised to plan your journey in advance, allow extra time for your journey, expect to complete some journeys on foot and use public transport and public transport facilities where possible. However, check timetable and route changes before setting off and there may be brief disruption to transport services at times.

Gardai will direct traffic at major junctions, with the aim to facilitate movement in the city.

The itinerary for the first two days in Dublin, is known to include:

*
A formal welcome by President McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin.
*
A ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance.
*
A courtesy call on the Taoiseach at Government Buildings.
*
A State dinner in Dublin Castle.

The programme of events is also expected to include events at:

*
Trinity College Dublin.
*
The National War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge.
*
The Guinness Storehouse.
*
Croke Park.

On Thursday 19th May Mary Byrne, Westlife and other guests will perform at a special ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II at the Dublin Convention Centre in the Docklands. 2,000 guests have been invited to the event and President Mary McAleese will also be in attendance.
Public Transport:

All public transport will operate during Queen Elizabeth’s visit There but there will be some alterations and diversions in Dublin City. Anyone traveling into the city is advised to take public transport where possible.

Irish Rail:

Rail services will be suspended between Connolly and Pearse on Weds 18th May; 10:45am-11:15am, 2:30pm-3pm, 3:30pm-4pm and on Thurs 19th May; 5:30pm-6:15pm, 7:45pm-8:15pm. During these times, northside services will operate from Howth/Malahide and Drogheda to and from Connolly Station. Southside services will operate from Bray and Greystones to and from Pearse Station.

On Wednesday 18th May, Maynooth services will not serve Drumcondra Station between 10:30am and 4pm. There will also be delays to some Maynooth line services.

Also on Wednesday, to accommodate the Europa League match, Lansdowne Road Station will be closed from 5pm to 8pm. Passengers should travel to and from Grand Canal Dock Station or Sandymount Station. Grand Canal Dock Station will be closed as usual from approx 7:45pm to 11pm.

Detailed updates will be available on www.irishrail.ie.

Dublin Bus & Bus Éireann:

There will be some diversions to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann services during the State Visits of Queen Elizabeth II and US President Barack Obama from Tuesday May 17th to Tuesday May 24th inclusive. For detailed diversions see www.dublinbus.ie and www.buseireann.ie.

Luas:

Details on Luas operations will be updated by Monday 17th May.
City Centre and Major Route Restrictions:

Gardai will aid traffic movement and will also be present at road closures.

A number of diversions will be put in place on a rolling basis throughout the city. Further details will be available in the coming days.

Parking Restrictions:

There will be no parking from 6am Saturday 14th to Friday 20th May on the 30 routes listed below. There will also be barriers along these routes in the city centre over the weekend and into Monday 16th.

Chesterfield Ave Lord Edward St

North Quays Dame St

South Quays Conyngham Rd

Parkgate St Rainsford St

O’ Connell St Christchurch Place

Parnell Square (All Sides) South Circular Rd (Con Colbert Rd to Conyngham Rd)

D’Olier St Beresford Place

Westmoreland St Gardiner St

College St Mountjoy Square

Grafton St Fitzgibbon St

Nassau St Russell St

South Leinster St Jones Rd

Lincoln Place Memorial Rd

Westland Row Castle St

Pearse St Werburgh St

Bridge St Ship St

High St Stephen St

Cornmarket Guild St

Thomas St Sherriff St Upr

James’s Street Crane St

Bellevue

Tuesday 17th:

From 6am, O’Connell St and Parnell Square will be closed.

From 11:30am the N4/Lucan Rd will close inbound at the M50 Interchange, with traffic diverting onto the M50 north and southbound. Non-motorway traffic should divert at J3 Lucan onto the Outer Ring Rd. Access to Palmerston and Ballyfermot will be via Liffey Valley and Coldcut Rd.

From 11:30am to 12:30pm delays can be expected on the N7/Naas Rd inbound and on the M50 motorway as rolling road closures will be in place for a short period.

From midday there will be traffic restrictions in Dublin City Centre, which will primarily impact on traffic traveling along and across the North and South Quays but will also include College Green and D’Olier St.

All traffic restrictions are expected to be lifted by 5pm.

Wednesday 18th:

From 8am the N4/Lucan Rd will close inbound at the M50 Interchange. Diversions will be as above.

From 9am additional traffic restrictions will be rolled out and will continue into Wednesday evening and this will primarily impact on traffic traveling along and across the North and South Quays.

The Europa Cup Final will take place in the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday evening. There will be road closures around the stadium all day and delays can be expected in the evening.
Phoenix Park:

There will be no parking in the Phoenix Park, from 6pm Sunday 15th until Wednesday 25th May.

There will be restricted access to the park and traffic disruption can be expected.

Dublin Zoological Gardens will be closed on Tuesday 17th and Monday 23rd May. Dublin Zoo will be open on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th May and parking will be available in and around the Zoo. However, parking may be limited. From Wednesday 18th to Saturday 20th and on Turesday 24th May the Zoo will open but there will be no parking available in the park. On Sunday 21st and Monday 22nd the Zoo will open with limited parking.

Knockmaroon Gate in the Phoenix Park will be CLOSED to all traffic.

*
Tues 17th to Thurs 19th May inclusive.
*
Fri 20th from 7am to 10am.

Note: there will be further closures the following week for President Obamas visit

*
Sun 22nd and Mon 23rd from 7am to 11pm.
*
Tues 24th from 7am to 11am.

From midday Tuesday 17th May there will be traffic restrictions on some routes in the Phoenix Park.

This is only a part of it all...its enough to make your head spin.

Not bad for a country that's bankrupt.

Today I saw it happen again, I have seen it 4 times now in the last few weeks.
Hobos walking down the street, they feel a call to have a pee and unzip in front of the new litter bins, they stick their penis through the opening which is just at the right height and go. Now that is pretty bad in anyones book.
I just hope that someone will throw a lighted cigarette in from the other side,just for the hell of it.
Readincg in the Irish Times I was happy to see that professor Kieran Byrne from the Waterford instatute of technology defended the €100,000 he spent on taxis as "good value for money".He is right too.
I know, I go everywhere by taxi myself.

WELL KNOWN TERRORISTS ARE BEING LIFTED IN Co.CLARE. Been Sleepin, Been Drinkin and been Shopping have been rounded up they are still looking for Been Working



Someone told me that they didn't see 2 sets of twins in this video.
So here it is again, it's really so well done!
Double click on it to get it full screen.

I often think about who I met and I wonder if I need share, I get so little feedback that I just don't know what to say.
Hows about a girl from France whose mother was from Peru !
"Wow you are so lucky to experience the French quisine." Her reply was "No the flavours of Peruvian cooking are much much better, we have influences from all over the world, there was a lot of African slaves in Peru years ago, many Chinese as well not to mention Irish and Scots as well as others. So with such a mixture we have a very varied selection of dishes. But in France the quality and freshness of their produce is fantastic"
She works for Google here.

Another lady working in retail who just graduated from fashion school taking a year off to see Vietnam, Cambodia, Thyland etc.
Not that I pick up that many passingers, but I respect their right to privacy and after a long day you all become a big blur.

An interesting court case was resolved the other day when 2 barmen gave a customer multiple shots of whiskey in a pint glass. He downed it in one go and died from alcahol poisoning.
In Australia or America the barman is responasble for dispensing alcahol, they would be fined or loose their licence. But over here the respensability in on the customer, even if they are drunk, or so it seems, the charge of manslaughter was struck out.

There will be a TV programme on RTE the Irish TV station at 9.35 pm Monday. It will be about criminal activity within the taxi industry.
When it has been shown I will give a link to the replayer link, so the rest of the world can see it.
But there are criminals at work in every strata of society, I don't imagine taxi drivers are any worse than lawyers for example.

Magic secret for sale. Worth the money?

6 more days

Not respectful at all, the caption reads, Liz Hurley




Just off the terrace of houses on Kerwin St there is a cluster of small houses Kerwin St Cottages.

Photo from inside St Jamses gate.

This fantastic house, owned by the religious it was burned out a few years ago, when restored it will be worth a fortune. Its on the junction of Egleton Rd and Clonskeigh Rd.


Well it is no time at all until the Royal visit.
10,000 Garda and the might of the Irish army will swing into action to protect the Royals. They arrive on the 17th and every manhole cover in town has been lifted, inspected, closed again and sealed shut. It has cost a lot of money to do what has been done so far. Over the coming days Dublin everything will come to a complete halt while the Royal party go around shaking hands with the invited few.
The eyes of the world will be on us. I hope that the hotheads will cool down as I believe that hundreds of potential trouble makers are being monitored and will be lifted and locked up if there is a need to do so.
The press of the world will be here so I don't want to see people throwing smoke bombs or chanting. We may not NEED the British but we need their jobs and we DO need their money for sure. My oldest boy is in London and millions of Irish had to go to Britain in the "Bad old days".
Most of us got on well and came home with a few bob in our back pockets.
So we do owe Britain the courtesy to behave ourselves towards them.
It is time to put the past behind us.

Both sides have the blood of innocent people on their hands.

I for one will be in hibernation for the visit of Mr.Obama and Lizzie Windsor.

Today I picked up an old customer. "Collect me at 8.45, I'm going to Heuston station."
Then the departure time will move forwards an backwards a good many times, then you are outside his house. He comes to the car 5 times, "Sorry for the delay" etc.
So we were off 20 minutes after the final agreed time, down the road. "Stop, go back I have forgotten my glasses" So I couldn't go back I pulled up on the footpath and made him run back.
Poor guy he has a good job and he is way out of his depth for sure. It really can't be easy for him...But he is a real nut case!

I have him again tomorrow.!




You can't hold back nature.

Red letter day

It was on this day in 1882 that the murders took place.I visited the spot today and this cross has been spruced up and one simple flower on the cross. a few years ago there were 2 small wooden crosses and 2 small posies of flowers on the spot. This day when I had a look a guy approached me and asked me what my interest in it was.
You should read the book, he had read it as well.


The resadece of the American ambasidor



The Papal cross erected in memory of the visit of Pope John Paul





70 this month, a swell birthday party is planned proceeds are going to Fr.McVerry who helps drug addicted boys. A hell of a great man.

Just a quick note to say that the banners welcoming the Queen and the USA President have been taken down. I would reckon that the wind has become very strong and they must have been flapping like hell, the noise and the danger of them ripping would give good reason to take them down, I would say they will be back up.

Just an update on the banners, they were put up without planning permission and staff at the hotel had been abused by ner do well people,they may not go back up.
I hope the trip goes well.

One great day for work today.

Hip Hip !!!

What a differance a day makes.

These posters are at the Gibson Hotel 40 ft high.

There is a big treasure hunt here in Dublin at present.
Every manhole cover is lifted,inspected,marked and replaced. Every cover on poles, traffic lights, every building scanned for the "Royal" visitors.

I do hope it all goes well, the eyes of the world will be watching us.

So Osama BinLaden is gone!
Now we will have to find someone else to blame.
The worlds number one most wanted is now an Irishman James J Bolger, believed to be in Ireland

Just an example of how things can go wrong happened here some time ago.
There was a big international hostage situation a few years ago. As part of the negotiations one of the leaders El Magraddy or something like that was sent here to Dublin. The boys in blue put him under 24 hour surveillance.
The poor old sod did not like Dublin very much and was like a vagrant going around the place.
Then one day the special branch got a phone call from the Israeli secret service, "I am ringing about the terrorist leader Magraddy" said the guy from Mossad.
"You don't have to worry about him we have him on constant watch" said the Garda.
"That is as may be but our agents have him under watch in Madrid"

Well I hope the visits go well,I will make a point of being out of town for the occasion.
Someone took away my rubbish a few weeks ago!
Big brother is watching me!


I had been promoting the fooksbarn theater over the last few weeks.
I went down to where they were at the 02 and nothing was happening. I tried to book tickets ...Nothing.

They have gone bust and they are stuck !

Shit happens and this is bad. They are a UK operation and are now completely fu***d.
Very sad that, I wonder what went wrong.
Just looked today and they have moved away.
Another victim of the demise of the Celtic Tiger.

I had a doctor in the car who was giving evidence at the redress commission. This is the clerical abuse scandal which has been going on for around 10 years.
He spoke about the pain of the victims and how the reports which he dictates cannot be given to a young person to be typed up, they would break down if they knew just what went on.They are typed up by a hardned secretary who is retired. The utter betrayel of the victims. He hoped there would be a hell for the bad priests.
He also had a few bad words to say about rogue Garda who beat up young guys in the station."Worst of all is how they corrupt the young people coming in. Young people who would have had a high regard for the law."
You could see he was a champion of the victim, he advised me to be careful when you are stopped by the police, you never know what might happen.

A French girl remembered me. "Imagine that the same taxi driver twice?"
I suppose that is a rare enough thing.
She is missing France as well,the wonderful food and the warm weather.

Talking about France, did you hear about this brand new plane that crashed?I had a pilot in the car and he confermed that it was a thing that really happened, I suppose thay will have to put an extra €1 on every ticket to cover the loss.

There is a new play on this month about taxis, a comedy it looks good click here

Getting of the subject of taxis for a second, have a look at this.


I suppose he makes a living preforming for Red Bull.Or perhaps he is sponsored by Elastoplast.

Magic moment

I love magic, and this week there was a magic convention on, but I had to work.
Illusion and reality clashed.
A number of years ago I was rehersing a magic trick in my taxi.(at the lights). My passinger stopped talking on his mobile phone and asked me what I was doing. So I told him it is the Elmsley count so he wanted to see it all.

then you combine it with this effect, so he see the backs of "all" the cards. and his chosen card has a red back ! etc..


He was flabbergasted and we spoke about the feeling that good magic sturs within ourselves. It was £15 to the airport(old money) and he gave me £20, then he said that he would like to give me some more if Sterling was OK?.
He gave me £80 STERLING.
He was from Bristol and the Bristol day of magic is coming up soon.

Support magic, its a dissapearing art.

Think of the posative, you might just be a fucking taxi driver or a checkout operator to some people.
Its not where you are now, its where you are going to that counts.



Mary Byrn says that low self esteem stopped her all through her life.

Don't let it stop you !