A sad week for Paris

Thinking back to the Paris terrorist attack it would be wrong of me not to comment publicly.

What an awful thing to happen, so many innocent beautiful people cut down in their prime.

May God comfort the injured and bring peace to the bereaved and comfort to the left behind.
They may find peace in the knowledge that the departed are in a place where there is no pain.
As for he the terrorists there is no hell bad enough for them.


There was a "Freedom fighter" in my taxi a few years ago called Sam, he had written a book a few years ago called "Soldier for a Summer". There was also a video made by French TV about his campaign against Gadaffi in Libya which won an award.
He explained to me how Gadaffi controlled terrorism around the world, how he trained supplied explosives and arms to the IRA and many other terror groups and how his intelligence service would hunt down his enemies around the world.
There is no doubt in my mind that what he was trying to do was just the right thing to do at that time.

Then a British soldier who had served in Iran and Iraq told me that the problem over there is bigger than you might think on many levels. It is a tribal country and like in the ancient fables if you cut the head off the dragon it just grows 2 more heads.
Meaning that the big leaders were just keeping all the different factions at bay,
"When you take one leader out there is total chaos"

And so it happened.

Islam means peace but like many religions it has more than a fair share of evil prophets who preach their evil gospel  from the Mosque they take young minds twist their logic until they are prepared to die for the cause.I don't know how they do it but there are training camps in Pakistan and Syria where they are trained to hate and to die.
There is a huge Arabic ghetto on the outskirts of Paris, one commentator spoke on the 
 radio of how unemployment and lack of opportunity leads the young Arab people onto the path to hell.
The British government have a great intelligence service, its the only good way to beat them.

But the won't stop me from going to London, Paris or anywhere else.

Below is Sam from Dublin

RMS Tayleur

I was in Howth Harbor the other day buying fish in Nickys Plaice when I saw this poster.

The talk is on tomorrow and the ship was the White Star shipping lines first "Titanic"
She sank on her maiden voyage and out of 650 passengers only 290 survived.
Howth is hoping to open a maritime museum soon.

Click here to read more about the ship.

Well the temperature has dropped and they say it will be 2c tonight.

Christmas cactus is in bloom

                              This is the entrance to Herbert park from the Herbert hotel

             Part of history is Walter Scotts voyage to Antartica and Tom Crean from Kerry.
The exhibition is at the ferry terminal building in DunLaoighre.

           Christmas is coming as the first flowers has arrived on my Christmas cactus.

Well the Web Summit has gone away, off to Portugal for the next 3 years.
There was many words spoken on both sides about its departure, each side was saying it was the other sides fault.But €20 for a bottle of water and a hamburger caused a few raised eyebrows.
Also they asked a few celebs to MC some of the gigs and they stated that there would be "No fee"for the job.

As for work, there was jobs in the morning with people going there, but you couldn't get near the place in the evening. Hailo was encouraging us to turn on the app. But why would you drive past 50 customers just to pick up someone who had called you on HailO and then give them a 12% discount on the fare?.
They could have done more by streaming the taxis in and out of the venue.

There was a lot of bullshitters there for sure. You could hear them in the back of the taxi setting up "Complex deals"
If they really were able to take over Google or Microsoft they wouldn't be talking strategy openly in a taxi.
It would be something like. "Mike I have one! I am texting the name, usual plan of attack."

Taxi drivers have heard it all. I was not impressed.

One guy who said he would never go again said that it a great place to meet 2 or 3 people and avoid the rest, he had his own company. The really important ones are the quietest

Really rich people are strange anyhow.
I knew a guy who bought the debts of a hotel in London just to sack the receptionist and manager.
A hard man to beat for sure.
But he hates paying tax he is worth around €25 million..
He detests living in Monaco but he won't pay Irish taxes so he can't live over here..Poor man.
I told him to grow up and give it to a hospice and come home to live among his pals.

"Its easy for you to say that, you have no money"

I still think I get more enjoyment out of life than him.

Stop press  Uber pop may be coming to town
 
That means that Mr.Brown driving his car might get a call on his Uber app and be able to pick up miss Jones who is going his way.
Uber says that Mr.Brown is sound but I know he is a rapist and a very violent person. Uber says that they checked him out, but I don't know about that.
They also say they will cover him for public liability in case his passenger gets injured in a crash.
I was checked out by the Garda a long time ago.
 

The web summit 2015

              You are never lost with a Garmin ?????

                                Filming Penny Dreadful in McDaids

                              A HailO taxi on the roof of a pub at the web summit

                      This fantastic building is the HQ for Irish lights (Light houses and Buoys)

This year is the last year that the Web Summit will be held in Ireland.
They move to Lisbon Portugal for the next 3 years.
Why? You might ask.
Well it is all coming out, like 2 guys having a fight in an old western they fall out on to the street in the end.
The government seems to be very much at fault, no minister has come to shake hands with the World leaders of the HiTec world.
It seems that they were watching the spectacle like tourists watching the sunset and not thinking that they should be taking part.
2 guys in my taxi told me that the WiFi had broken down again today.
I had a speaker in the taxi and when I asked his name he said "No one important" and what is your subject? "Gibberish" I guess that put me in my place.
A lady in the taxi told me that there was a smell in the back ! Like stale sweat, I almost said that she should have cleaned herself off before coming out.
Time to sponge the seats down and get out the old Fabreze.
"Wow! your taxi smells so fresh!"
3 Guys from Israel going to the summit, the guy beside me looked like a real gangster for sure, we had great banter and he told me that he was sitting in a restaurant on the Golan Heights yesterday, the view was fantastic and the lovely lady noticed the noise.
She didn't know that it was anti aircraft fire from Syria firing at aircraft overhead..
We all agreed that you are never too far from fanatics wherever you go.

Then I spoke about a wonderful Israeli singer from Yemen called Ofra Hazza who had the most fantastic magical voice.




But as is the way with things she died from Aids. If she had gone for treatment she might be alive today. What a waste.

Happy Holloween

Its the bank holiday and 1/2 of the city is  in lockdown  thanks to the marathon.

I am in a bit of a rush at present, so I will just share a few small  things with you.

I had a guy in the car that I was sure I recognized, when I said his face was familiar he said that this was the only face he ever had. He was with 2 or guys who were as pissed as parrots he was stone cold sober. I knew I knew him from somewhere.

70 last weekend Brush Sheils of Phil Lynott fame and many top line groups.

Brush would not drink or take drugs and Phil Lynotts love for both lead to a bust up in their friendship.
Click here to read about him .

In reality he is like a Honda 50 doing 120 mph.





Holloween you may know is an Irish tradition, exported to America and back home again


Here is a tale from Uruguay sent to me from Argentina (Don't turn off the light)

Junkie life

                                              A flower display in the Westbury hotel

                                 Homeless Jesus a statue at Christchurch

Driving a taxi is a very strange occupation.
You don't know what is coming next.
How much will I make today?

One guy could leave the house 2 minutes before another car. One would be picking up passingers one after another...The other guy might get 1/3 of the work.
Thats life.

Today I was out at Liffey Valley shopping center and I got a lift which brought me to Whitehall, it cost him €23.. Now compare that to the girl going to Celbridge who insisted on me going on the M50 Her taxi fare was over €65 even though I told her it was not the way to go

So today I was coming home on  the North Circular Rd and I was hailed by 2 great looking girls, the first one in jumped into the front seat and my heart sank....Junkies! the poor girl was so thin, not so thin that her skull was showing  but .by God she was thin as a model.
We stopped to buy smuggled cigarettes and when the girl in the back was out the really good looking one told me that they had been to see her doctor to get "Ensure" drinks and she was being cut from 3 bottles to 2..The doctor said she was fine at 7 stone and 5ft.7ins.
That doctor needs a good kick in the arse I said.
We continued and my mind wound on through her life???????????????????

In another time men would fall at her feet, she was as clever as a fox and at the risk of wearing you out she was really really beautiful.

I hope the guy that gave her the drugs dies in a lot of pain.

I hope she turns her life around.

There was €14 on the clock "Take 15, you've been great"

Say a prayer for the people addicted to drugs and the homeless on our streets.

Changing Dublin

                                Last of the graffiti around Windmill Lane studios, now all gone

                                                Smithfield beside the Cobblestone pub.

                                    Rialto cinema soon to feel the wrecking ball ?

Once upon a time everything was logical or so it seems. 
Today I am not so sure.

I went to Lidl in Coolock the other day and the security guard was blocking 4 kids from going into the supermarket the oldest kid was around 15  and he had 3 younger kids with him who were under 12 years old.

The oldest kid was high on drugs, but the security guard had him spotted and he was not letting them inside.
Later when I puled over to the filling station they came over to me to find out how much a taxi to Donabate would cost. I told them that I would have no idea but I was on my way to pick up a customer anyway.
Looking at them you could see 4 lives going down the tubes rapidly.

Where were their parents?, where are the people who should step in before everything starts falling apart?

Later I saw a guy stealing a bicycle, in the act but there were Garda checking for motor tax.
"No we can't do anything about that we are doing car tax."

A 15 year old boy comitted suiside, where was the help?

A 12 year old girl in Belfast felt unwell and the doctor told the parents that she was pregnant!
The parents are devastated and a 19 year old has been charged.

10 people died in  a fire on a traveler halting site. 5 adults and 5 children.
There is war about where other travelers are to be put until the situation is resolved.

A sad day for the people near Dundalk as they bury a Garda who was gunned down when he tried to intervene in a domestic situation.
There is a lot of sick and violent people around for sure.

It has turned out that he was out on bail while on a charge of supplying guns to criminals to be used in robberies. Hardly a charge that would allow for bail.
So the guys partner arrived at the house with her father and the garda they go in and the father waits outside.
All hell breaks loose,the partner shoots the unarmed garda and then shoots his own partner 6 times and then himself.
A lot of questions will have to be explored for the future as our police force is unarmed.

A gang of 6 crooks got jail totaling over 100 years for assaulting a family in their home, It was a horrific crime and the gang had hundreds of previous convictions, a few of them were out on bail.
As they were being transferred to prison their jail terms were being reduced.

I know a prison governor from way back and I asked him if he would help me to form a company to build a proper prison. A prison which would punish people. A prison that they wouldn't want to go back to.
"Every do good-er would close it down for infringing their rights"He said.
Its true...The victims have no rights.

Here is a really happy and positive girl.

Christmas around the next bend?

                                              Freshers week at Trinity College

                                                Octoberfest in Docklands

                                                    Santas in Lidl

                                             Christmas trees in Woodies.

I have been having trouble uploading photos to the computer, I reckon it was the lead as it worked when I tried a different lead.

All this talk of Christmas and its not yet Halloween.
On the radio they are advertising Christmas partys.

The new year for the third level students arrived, they are getting drunk, loosing their fones and giving themselves food poising as they don't have a clue about cooking.

The Autumn is really hear and the leaves are turning to many colors, be careful and don;t skid on them.

It is a time to rest up for the mad Christmas rush, until then many people are going mad for the rugby world cup..
Poor old England is out.
Sport plays such a big part in peoples lives.
Remember the guy guy who flew over from New York for the GAA football final. He had €1,000 for 4 tickets and his team (Kerry) lost to Dublin.
People come from Australia for it as well.

I had the manager of the Celtic football team in the taxi a few weeks ago, the guy behind me told me who he was.
"There's someone else coming, my taxi didn't arrive"He nsaid
Then as his beloved came out the door another taxi came along."Thats my taxi" he said and he got out.
He didn't say sorry or toss me a brass farthing or anything.

The 2 cars behind me got airport runs, the next job out turned out to be mine to O'Connell St. €7!

Ah well shit happens and other times you get 3 or 4 jobs when someone is jumping out someone jumps in.
The thing is not to take it personal.

I went to a thing in the lord mayors reception rooms celebrating Dublin 2020
Its about Dublins bid to be City of Culture 2020.

They made videos of ordinary people talking about Dublin and life in general.