Monday, June 28, 2004

England woe

One day England might just make it to a final. Enough said about that.
Has anyone seen the Krispy Kream Calender that's doing the rounds at the moment (Dianne!!) Some mighty fine ladies on there. Mighty, being the operative word.
It's been really busy all week what with the football, the concerts in the park and the rain over the last few days. I'm finally beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the backlog of bills and stuff that has accumulated over the last couple of weeks.
I've just got in after a pretty good night and got collared by my two boys and their cousin to bring in kebabs and chips at 2.30 in the morning!! They're all up watching a WWE special event on Sky TV, I pity our neighbours with all the noise, although they never say a word.
One blip in a n otherwise good nights work was when I was flagged down by a guy in Liverpool Street and asked to go to Charlton. On any night that is a nice ride, straight through the Blackwall tunnel and through Bugsbys Way, a doddle. Tonight though, the tunnel was shut and you only found out once you got to the turn off. The only alternative is to back track to the Rotherhithe tunnel. I did this, and so did everyone else so it took ages to get through. The guy in the back didn't look as if he had a pot to piss in so I thought to make it easier on everyone i'll fix the price at £25. He was more than pleased. I was well out of pocket but it's all swings and roundabouts out there and I'm sure i'll make it up with a "find" if you know what I mean. He gave me £30 in the end so it wasn't all bad. That's all for now.

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Text sex

4-2 to England. What more can be said.
Yet another busy night out there. Plenty of happy England fans all wanting to talk about the game. By about the third or fourth punter you find yourself repeating what you said to the others and even regurgitating what was said to you, but it definitely helps when the tips are being handed out.
One sour point tonite was a row I had with a bloke who was too busy having text sex with a married woman (his words) to look up and notice we were at least a mile past where he wanted to be. He tried to say it was my job to tell him, I disagreed and we ended up having a slagging match through the mirror and in the end he bottled out and agreed it was his fault, then he started telling me all about the woman we had dropped off 10 minutes earlier. I couldn't have given less of a fuck and then he started talking about the football and by the time we got to where he lived he was shaking my hand and handing over an extra fiver as a tip. There are some strange people out there make no mistake.
No grub stop tonight as I had shitloads to earn and still am a few bob short of my target. Nathan if you're reading this you're a c***. Robin, if he's forwarded this site to you how's the crack?
I'm off to my bed. Goodnight campers.

Monday, June 21, 2004

Busy Bee

Are you all sitting comfortably with your cups of coffee? (Dean and Di) Then I'll begin.
London was absolutely mental last night. I went out after the Spain Portugal game at 10pm and never stopped until 3.30am this morning. There was a Simon and Garfunkel concert on in Hyde Park and there were people crying out for cabs absolutely everywhere. It's a pity it couldn't be like that everyday.
I was driving along Buckingham Palace Rd with a fare to Clapham when I notice a queue of about 100 people at one of the bus stops along there. By the time I came back from Clapham and passed the same bus stop the people were still there and a couple of likely lads flagged me down. I'm talking pure estate kids here. One of them goes to me "ere bruv, how much to Slough?" I says "not me mate I'm going home" then they start pleading with me saying I could hold their phones and a thick gold chain one of them had on as they just wanted to get home after a holiday to Spain. So I agreed a price of £60 and off I went. 30 minutes later I pulled up outside an address in Slough and one of them gets out to get the money off his mum. No one was answering his calls and it all became a bit suspicious but eventually a bleary eyed lady came to the door and gave them the money which he gave to me. I then returned all their posessions to them and drove off wondering how to get out of the maze they had led me into. Now some people call me a c*** for carrying it by I don't care. My compass has got me out of more bother than anything else so after driving around for ten minutes without getting anywhere I thought it was time to get the beauty out. It's only a key ring compass but as long as I know where I am in relation to the North Pole I can use it to head for home. After about 10 minutes I found myself on a road heading towards the M4, the compass had done it again. I did a few more jobs in town bringing my total for the night to a bottle thirty (work that one out Deano) and now i'm off to my pit with the sky nearly blue.
By the way, my brothers missus had a baby girl called Sarah weighing in at a massive 10lb 2oz. We tend to produce massive babies in our family. 2 of my kids came into the world at 10lb plus.
Just a point off Croatia will see England through to the quarter finals, it's going to be a mad game tonight. Night all.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Come on England!!!

I knew we'd beat the Swiss. I'd predicted five goals but i'll take three. Just a point needed from the Croatia game and we're in the quarter finals. Come on England!!!
I'm really starting to hate Friday nights. People turn into complete arseholes at the weekend. If they're not spewing up, they're arguing or trying to show off at my expense. I'm seriously thinking of going out in the daytime although it's harder work of a different sort. I only managed half of what I normally take on a Friday because I just got the hump and went home. Saturdays are just as bad and I probably won't go out at all as I have three or four things to do tomorrow such as running my daughter hither and thither to buy clothes, take her to a party and then collect her later on and finally I have to collect my parents from the airport as they've been in Spain this last week. To add to all that I'm waiting for a call from my brother at any moment as his wife is about to give birth to their second child and he wants me up there for moral support. I often wonder what would happen if I didn't drive. Everyone would be fucked!!!!

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Full English

2 Eggs 2 Sausage 2 Bacon and Beans 2 slices and a cup of tea. That's what I just had in a cafe for my breakfast/lunch. Nathan had a jacket spud but the spud was rotten and he was too much of a pussy to complain, still, what did he care, I was paying.
Last night was my best night for a while. I managed "a bottle". I had to throw someone out of the cab as I was in no mood for bullshit. This lady got in in Kings Road and asked to be taken to Islington. She was having a row with someone on her mobile phone. She started snapping at me and I told her if she liked, she could take another cab. She kept on shouting so I pulled over in Sloane Square and told her she should definitely take another cab. She started screaming down the phone "look, you see what you've done now?", "I'm getting thrown out of the cab". Then she exploded with " I fucking hate men" and finally to me she said " D'you know what you are?" "What's that luv?" says me. "A fucking cunt" she replied slamming my door as hard as she could. Imagine taking that all the way to Islington!!
Well, only 3 hours to go for Englands game against Switzerland. Good luck boys!!

Monday, June 14, 2004

Too Too Hot

Ain't it hot out there?
I just went up the road to pay some bills and if it hadn't been for Mr Chilly I would have roasted alive in the traffic.
Robbed!! That's what I think of what happened in the England France game. We out-played them and defended brilliantly when they got near us and it all went pear-shaped by a lack of concentration. I think the Swiss and the Croatians will suffer because of it.
I went straight out to work after the final whistle and there wasn't a cab to be seen anywhere for the first hour. I took £50 in the first hour and finished up with a tidy little sum by 2.30am. Best job went £30 from the Nags Head to Lewisham Way, a great big Russian lady screaming into her telephone. From what I could gather, her suicidal friend in Oxford had finally slit her wrists after splitting with the boyfriend, and the Oxford Police were refusing to go round there (no mention of an ambulance for the poor cow) and the Russian was sick of being dragged into it etc etc. My opinion was asked for to which I replied what a mess the whole thing was and finally we arrived at Lewisham Way and I was able to put my radio on and escape into the ether again.
Oh I almost forgot. Friday night I had a "puker". The first one in this cab. I'm entitled to get a £40 cleaning fee off the passenger but they only had £20. I say passenger but I should say women. Why is it always women that get sick in cabs? If any of you are reading this and you go for a night out and are rat-arsed drunk and feel the need to vomit, then do the right thing and ask the cabby to pull over before you ruin his night and possibly his life!! Any way, I drove home and cleaned it all up with pine disinfectant and by Saturday morning the smell was practically gone. I went out early on Saturday so that by midnight I had all the money i needed. "One last job" says me. A nice young couple waiting by the bus stop outside Great Portland Street underground station flagged me down and asked to be taken to Warwick Avenue. Off I go thinking "that'll do me, I'll be home in 15 minutes". Just as we're passing Westminster Council House the guy say's "Could you pull over for a minute?" As I look round she's cupping her mouth and there's sick leaking from her fingers onto my recently cleaned upholstery. I couldn't help myself but I just exploded with "I don't fucking believe this, 2 in 24 hours!!" The guy could only apologise and offered to clean it up for me but I thought I'd do a better job of it myself. As it turned out it wasn't too bad and it cleaned up nicely but I'm just starting to wonder if the cab is jinxed. I've had more grief with this cab in one year than in all the other cabs put together over 13 years. It really is all in a day's work.

Friday, June 11, 2004

Sore arse

I feel like I've been shafted with the rough end of a pineapple!!
I'm refering to the amount of money I was charged by my garage for getting my cab through it's annual overhaul. £606 plus another hundred for the rental cab I had for the last three days. I must admit though that you get what you pay for and that happens to be a top garage and they did a really nice job. I started going there last year when I bought the cab and they have maintained it for me ever since.
I thought it would be busy tonight but as 2am approached I had taken less money than the last three nights. There seemed to be quite a few people out and about but at the end of the day it's all down to luck. Best job of the night was Victoria Station to Highbury Hill to drop off 2 and then onto Muswell Hill....total fare was £32.
Just popped in to Tesco's in Sutherland Avenue to get my daughters packed lunch and treated myself to some cooked chicken legs, a packet of crabsticks and a dairy cream slice. On the way out I gave the resident beggar a £1 coin much to his surprise as he never asked me for it. I have my moments...

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Deano Rules

The cab is now fixed thanks to Dean. The bumper and side panel cost me £270 and Dean sprayed the front panel saving me bundles...cheers Dean that's another one I owe you.
No sooner had the cab been put right when I hit a parked car smashing my nearside door mirror. That cost £18 just to replace the glass. Then I discovered a nail in one of the front tyres and had to go to Jettyres in Willesden to get that sorted (£12).The cab is now in a garage for it's first annual overhaul and I have been given a R reg TX1 so that I can work in the meantime. I should get mine back on thursday all being well.
Now that I need to earn vast amounts there seems to be a lull in the work around town. I've had to force myself to persevere these last two nights when normally I would have gone home. The best I have managed is a couple of £30 rides. I'm really pissed off at the moment and find myself snapping at the kids. I just want this week out of the way and I should be fine.

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Muchas Gracias

First of all thanks to Dean and Dianne for all their sterling work at my place yesterday and there's a night out for a ruby murray in the not too distant future (that means after my overhaul) for them and Dean's mum and dad, Mick and Jan too.
Now, what's been happening????
My son Danny has been learning to drive and I've been letting him drive the cab for short distances with no problems so far.....until Saturday night. He drove back home, with me in the back and put it on the drive a bit skewiff so I told him to correct it. What does he do? Accidentally whacks his foot down on the throttle and drives it into the front of the house, demolishing the poor gas meter and it's little house and cracking all the rendering and God knows what other damage to the property. Then theres my poor cab. Not even a year old and it's seen more action than the British Army in Iraq. This time the bumper took most of the impact and theres a bit of damage on the front panel but I rang up JV BRight's today, which is a Taxi Parts Dealer and they said about £300 should cover the bit's I need so I'll be doing some serious shifts to get all the money together these next few days.
After all the plastering work done here yesterday theres crap everywhere so I'm off to do a bit of cleaning. ta ra!!!!