1916 2016 100 years on

Dublin is in bloom for sure

                                                                The Clonskea mosque

As if I ever needed a reminder of how fragile life is we were faced with a tragedies  of Titanic proportions last week.
A car packed with a family out on a day trip slipped off a pier and went into the water at Killybegs.
5 people dead including 2 small boys were in the jeep. A baby of a few months old was passed out through the window of the car and was rescued.

Panic is the enemy when a car enters the water.
The water pressure outside seals the doors shut.

This is what you should do.

Open the windows straight away.
Open all seat belts
Turn on your lights if they stay on it will help rescuers.
Move to the highest air pocket inside the car.
Now when the car fills up with water the door will open as the water pressure is equal inside and out.

People do survive when a car enters the water, but panic is the enemy.

Easter week is upon us, fantastic weather as well.

Big parades are planned, Army,Navy and Air Force.
50 years ago our republic was celebrated in much the same way.

This kicked off 40 years of violence, but there were many factors at play at that time.

So I didn't publish a few days ago.
But what  a celebration we had, the trams (Luas) were on strike for more pay so taxis were kings for 2 days.

More to follow.
 I am busy with something else as I write. 

Paul Daniels RIP

Things can happen in a split second that can change lives forever.
A guy was coming home from his retirement party last week.
He came across two men fighting close to his home in Harolds Cross and he tried to act as peace keeper.
One of the guys punched him once and that punch killed him.
It transpired that the guy who hit him is a martial arts expert.
So he was trained and would have known what damage a Karate chop could do.
Up above is a poster from the Metro in Newcastle.
This deadly punch is a problem there as well.

Sad news about the death of Paul Daniels. The last time I met him was at South Shields I was there about 4 years ago. He had a big work load right to the end and he died at 77 years old.
He had great stories and would entertain magicians well into the morning, not like a good few entertainers I could mention.
One of the guys once asked him how old he was, he answered " I am12 years old.
I jump up out of bed every day and open up my magic box. Then I look forward to a wonderful day.
I never grew up".
Anyhow as they say about great people
"The likes of him we will never see again."

Crossing the river Tyne...

 Looking over the river Tyne. It was once a hive of ship building and engineering.

I shot off last weekend to South Shields near Newcastle. A small magic convention which is a really good gathering.
It is great that you can go to some place and have demonstrations of the most remarkable skillful methods in magic manipulation.
Paul Wilson was there..Look at his mighty works and despair.



 Just so you know Paul has many skills, he starred in the big Hussle TV series and he directed this short movie about the importance of keeping magic alive and passing it on.



Anyhow its back to work and a very busy few weeks ahead.
There is not one empty hotel room in Dublin for the next 3 weeks. 
 For some information click here
Also look here  

So drivers rest up and be ready to hop out on the big day. 

Taxis going everywhere, each taxi has a story.
You will probably have to read the translation on your PC, Its worth it.

 

In like a lion

 A statue to Harry Ferguson he was an Irishman and the maker of the Ferguson tractor

March....It comes in like a Lion and goes out like a Lamb.
Time is moving on, Easter is nearly here with all the events that Easter 1916 / 2016 will bring.
100 years of Irish freedom.
 I have a Martini Henry rifle that was used in the rising. I wonder what it would bring me on ebay? 
But you can't sell guns like that though.
The Garda stopped a taxi on Friday, a fake taxi where the stickers numbers and car did not match.
he had a young lady on board and she had no idea that her safety was at risk.
But the Sunday World had the story of a Nigerian guy who has a 22 year prison service waiting for him in Italy. His PSV license was taken from him in 2012 but he just keeps on driving.
It is really crazy how things work or in this case how things don't work.

Still I remember the man at the center of the X case, a very high profile affair indeed.
He applied and got a PSV license. In spite of being recognized by other taxi drivers he continued to work, he was reported to the Garda who did nothing.
Then he raped a young girl and even after that very little was done when the shit hit the fan.
The one statement that I remember was.
"When we checked at the address he gave us there was no criminal record, we later found out that he gave us a fictitious address"

I reported before how the Taxi Regulator would pull up at the Heuston rank..
High Viz jackets on.
Clip boards, 
Flashlights on 
Laptops turned on
Then 15 or 20 cars would drive away.
The inspectors would just say that the people driving away were nothing to do with them.
They were there to check our first aid kits, fire extinguishers etc.

Ask any night driver how taxis vanish off the street when the Garda set up flying checkpoints.
All the legal taxis then make a good living again. 

So what can you do?

Use your HailO app and make sure you are getting into the correct car..
The driver will have been checked by the company. 

Download the Driver Check app
The car reg ??? or roof sign and the drivers ID  should all check out.

There was a car blocking traffic at the bottom of the Malahide Rd, the customer was being overcharged by €10. I looked at the ID and he was not the driver at the wheel.
I told the people to get out of the car and ring the police. 
The driver went away cursing everyone to hell and back.

Perhaps I am a bit cynical, the big open gang warfare which has kicked off in Dublin between a few big "Well connected" gangs. 

Every dog in the street knew what was going on, these folks live like kings. 3 Impretzas in the drive,
villas in Spain and Thailand all seem to go unnoticed until...bang bang someones dead.

Many years ago a scumbag (drug dealing waster) did a runner from the taxi and later on in the same night I picked up a guy I recognized as being a big main player in Dublin crime world. 
I told him about the other guy. 
"Here forget about him he is dead. How much did he run out on ?.
€15? Here take this €20. I couldn't travel across the city in my own car, so we rely on you guys.
I have a contract on him and I have permission to whack him now."
The guy told me that he would tell him that he jumped out of the wrong taxi without paying.

2 weeks later that really well connected scumbag was indeed dead 

Here is a great British tradition   

 

Feb..flyes out

                 One of Dublins finest houses, home to the Canadian ambassador in Ranelagh

                                                  A ladybug car..

                           All the way from Liverpool a Liver bird in Dublin.

Taxi driving is very much hit and miss. Two people could travel the same route, one might have a crappy day the other the best day of his life.

Two taxi drivers were attacked in Finglas and Glasnevin over the last few days.
You never know the moment when you will be caught off guard. Syringe attacks would be the most frightening as you never know for sure if you are HIV positive.
If I had the chance I would wrap the car around a pole and kill the bastard.

The worst I ever felt was when a guy that had all the hallmarks of a junkie clambered into the car while I was hemmed in at traffic lights..I then found out that he had MS and he was very sorry for freaking me out.

Thank God the new roof signs and the CCTV cameras are off the table.
I had CCTV in my first Fiat Scudo and it is great...But it is another thing to be stolen at the end of the day.Learn how to record conversations on your phone, better than having nothing.

Today I had no float in notes so I went to a pass machine and put in my card, it gave me no cash and spat my card back out.As did the other cash point. The next few jobs has small notes and when I finished up I wondered if the bank had taken the money. So I went up to the bank to see. No luck with the Raheny bank so I went up to the Malahide Rd branch and got a mini statement. As I was walking back to the car a black gentleman asked me how much I would charge him to go to Skerries and back to here.
"You see my wife took my wallet and I am out of petrol"
Shit I know the feeling I said to myself, so I gave him €7 which was in my pocket and told him to drive carefully to Skerries.
What goes round comes round, he was willing to spend  €60 and he got a present of €6 because I was too tired to take him.

Cheltenham races are on and the sporting Irish are back for the fun.
A few years ago Foot and Mouth disease stopped the racing and a guy from Ireland rang his his hotel to cancel his booking.
He had paid in advance from the previous year and the hotel told him that he would have to pay again.
Bad business decision as he had booked out most of the hotel over the last 6 years.
Irish people are not known for being stupid, so he rang his brother who was a priest in England and his parish was near the hotel. He told him to round up 16 homeless scruffy and mad people and they are to have a weekend at the luxury hotel, if we can't come they can have it.
After a full head on confrontation with the hotel manager the priest got a full refund and his brother told him to spend all the money on the poor of the parish.

The Irish businessman rang the hotel and cancelled all future bookings,

Blackpool

                                                            Blackpool tower

                                          Pavement of fame on the prominade

                                               The entire cast of  Punch and Judy up for sale

                                                The bill toppers at Blackpool Paul Daniels 1983

Our flight home was FR557 and at 18/10 we Queued up only to be told that this is FR1557
Fine for us we sat back down. Then later we noticed people running forward, only to return scarlet.
They went for the wrong flight as well only to find that they were on the 17/30 which was now closed.
Thats the airlines for you, catch you out and you pay 4 times what your original  ticket cost you.

A guy in the taxi at the airport jumped in at arrivals. "Quick Dublin Port"On the way the story unfolded, he had brought his old out of date passport and they wouldn't let him on the flight.
He rang his wife and passed the address of the hotel, send the passport "Express post" He would get the high speed ferry and a train to Manchester and he would be sitting in the lobby when they arrived.
His reason for getting there so fast would be that he had chartered a plane Ha Ha

Blackpool is the bigggest magicians convention in the world. The Guinness world records says so.

For me it was a complete fiasco, just young kids jumping in and out of boxes illusions that you could buy. Thats not magic.
This is Magic with a big M


So simple, perfect timing and a big finish.

 Did you ever hear of Cyrl from Japan ?.
A really nice guy and very mischievous



Elections to follow and then the Easter rising celebrations.
It is a total tragedy how this country has been governed since 1916 
One corrupt or incompetent government after another.

Nothing to celebrate

Surge charging XXX

         Yes folks a piece of wire stick in a new tyre €80

                 Who wouldn't vote for a crispy base pizza

                         40 mins after the appointed time our public servants had not arrived.


So we had a meeting talking about Uber with a few of our elected people.
They were evasive and I think they were lying until after the election.

Then they will lie again to everyone. No lies there.

Did you ever think what it would be like if you could rate your passenger?
On HailO they can rate you as a driver.

Here is an amusing piece and it shows how clueless some people are.



Now just in case you think I am an Uber fan..

Uber education

Here is another one..




Now last week a Dublin customer told me that trains were off in London when they were there so they took a taxi to Gatwick.
Their daughter was also caught out so she called up Uber to get home and the driver started going the opposite direction.
She pleaded with him to stop and he shouted abuse at her. Then when she was being brought through a tunnel, so she texted a friend who told her to jump from the taxi at the next lights.
She jumped ! and ran over to a black cab.

When he got her back home he said.

"Did you learn anything today love?
Good, so don't do it again."

At journeys end he said "No Charge, education is free"