Trees are falling in Knightsbridge!

Hi folks
You'll all be pleased to know that I’m still here, I've just been busy being a husband father and son.

Well it’s a beautiful sunny autumn day (but extremely windy) here in Central London. The leaves are falling from the trees and the trees are falling on top of people. Yes this is no joke. A passer-by was killed at 11am today as they walked past Knightsbridge Barracks. I quote from Sky News.
"A woman has died after being hit by a falling tree in London during high winds caused by the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo."
Traffic in the surrounding area is chaos and getting around is a real problem.

Work is pretty good at the moment. I think the recession is pretty much over; I've just got to educate myself to stay out for those extra few shekels to make life easier and not rush home as soon as I reach my regular amount.

I've been getting quite a few jobs out to London City Airport (LCA) recently. I don’t normally wait there because it can take quite a while to get another job and with Canary Wharf and Excel nearby it’s easier to try my luck there. The last time I went to LCA, sometime last week I chose to wait on the rank at Excel as I’d Googled the exhibition centre and found that there was indeed something on. Well I started as number four cab. Many other cabs came in behind me and many pulled off deciding that waiting wasn’t for them. After an hour I was number three…not good. After another thirty minutes I was…still number three. What a waste of my life. I pulled away and went straight up to Canary Wharf. After the cab was swabbed for explosives by the overzealous security guys I was allowed in. Just on the other side of the security barrier a guy ran up to me and asked how much the fare would be to London Bridge Station. “Now we’re cooking” I thought to myself. I quoted him somewhere in the region of £15 to £20. This would go some way to saving my shift. Not to be. The quote didn’t meet with his approval and instead I dropped him at Canary Wharf Jubilee Line Station. I did a few orbits of the Wharf and never trapped another job so decided to leave E14 empty handed, not for the first time either. Ironically, as I cruised towards the City on The Highway a hand finally went up and I got a fantastic job up to Marylebone Station from where I called it a night.


Whilst waiting on St Johns Wood cab rank recently the cab started making funny noises which I ignored. I took a job into town and halfway down Baker Street I got a battery warning light on the dash. After dropping my fare off I lifted the bonnet to find the fan belt was missing. I contacted the garage to make sure I could drive it without the belt and here I now find myself at the garage waiting whilst it’s fixed. The mechanic now has to change the alternator because there’s something wrong with that as well. I think that from now onwards I can expect stuff to go wrong on my fast approaching four year old taxi. I’ve already complained about a certain clunking noise coming from the gearbox area but nothing has been done about it. I think the policy at my garage is to let the cab break down, recover it and then replace the damaged part and sod the inconvenience to the driver. I think long-gone are the days when a mechanic would crack open a gear box or an engine and put the problem right, using all the knowledge he has trained for during his apprenticeship…it’s a crying shame these days. Well, it could be worse....if it was my own cab it would be costing an arm and a leg so there’s a lot to be said about renting.

I’m on a bit of a health kick at the moment as a recent visit to my doctor gave me a wakeup call. A blood test revealed an irregular liver reading so my doc has referred me for a liver scan this coming Thursday. She said it may be the beginning of gall stones which would account for the change in what is always a good reading. Since that visit I have been low carbing and eating healthier and have lost about 11 pounds and my blood glucose readings are fantastic. Long may it continue.
UPDATE!! An abdominal scan today (thursday 23rd October) at St Marys Hospital has revealed that my liver, kidneys, pancreas and spleen are all in good health so good news for once.

Check back soon for more taxi and health updates.

Take Care.


L.C.


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