Good Friday

Good Friday night wasn’t a typical Friday night and I really couldn’t get into it. I did three or four jobs then someone upset me and I “lost it” a little bit and went home. I was on a run into the West End, to the Prince Edward Theatre in Old Compton Street. The proper way to go is via Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, and Shaftesbury Avenue then through Soho to the theatre. But Regent Street is always solid at that time and most other times too so some vehicles cut through Brewer Street then do an illegal right turn into Rupert Street and round into Old Compton. I’ve been doing it for years with no problems. It had to happen one day, and that night it did. As I nosed the cab into the illegal turn I saw two coppers standing in the road talking. “That’s fucked it,” I said to myself. The theatre was probably a couple of hundred yards away but because I couldn’t use that road I had to detour round nearly a dozen one-way streets which made it look like I was running the meter up. Of course the passenger piped up in the back. I let them ramble on for a bit then exploded in a tirade of expletives, which I think frightened them a bit, which wasn’t my intention but I was stressed out. Passenger complaints are part and parcel of the job and most times I am quite diplomatic but I think we all have an off day don’t we? I couldn’t calm down after that and went home.
I took my daughter to Thorpe Park on Saturday to celebrate her cousins 14th birthday. It’s a theme park on the outskirts of London with some amazing rides, check out the link.

A deserted Kings Road, Chelsea.
Work tonight was pretty slow. The streets were deserted. I did have some quirky passengers though like a couple of extremely drunk posh women talking about death and about someone they knew who had recently been murdered. I had the intercom full on but unless their head is turned towards the mike in the window sill it’s hard to hear clearly. I had a four-hander to The Garage, a music venue in Highbury Corner. They all had an open beer in their hands and I thought of Paradise Driver informing them that they were breaking the law (as far as I know it’s not against the law here). I nearly managed to get a booking for 4am in the morning to take a guy out to Gatwick Airport but when I told him how much it would be he changed his mind. I stopped for these two sorts (good lookers) in Kings Road and they only wanted to go about 500 yards down the road. They asked me something on the way and I answered them and one of them said “Ooh what a lovely voice you have, it’s so. …growly!” Little did she know I had a frog in my throat.

I’ve had a headache all night. I think I caught the sun yesterday. I was out in the open air for the best part of 12 hours. I never took anything for it as I couldn’t be bothered to stop anywhere. It’s still with me now as I write this

When it seemed like the night was over I drove past Victoria Coach Station and a lady with two little girls flagged me down and asked to be taken to Finchley Road which fortunately takes me part of the way home, which I did do straight after dropping her off.

I'm attending a barbeque at my parents house later on today. We haven't had one for a while and this is the first of the New Year. Read my sister's blog for more information on it. I have to contibute a couple of Spanish omelettes. There's generally always too much food there so it's best to not eat anything all day until the afternoon. Happy Easter everyone.

Camera Overkill

Whilst out working I managed to get this picture. Talk about overkill! This is one little side street out of thousands that has 7 cameras. It's Spring Street in the Paddington district. The camera furthest away rotates and focuses on the taxi rank. During the day when the work is thin on the ground the taxis fight to get on the rank. Those that can't then over-rank or foul the rank and that camera takes a picture and sends them a nice letter with a fifty pound fine. The other six cameras mounted on the nearer lampost I think are for the congestion charge that will be extended into this area when all the debating has finished at City Hall. At present motorists have to pay £8 a day to enter the centre of town (Taxi's are exempt hehe!) and that area will be extended further west towards Kensington and Chelsea. There is fierce opposition but it will be introduced no matter what when the time comes.
It was another average night tonight. My main concern was that I went out with only a few £5 notes and no tenners. Everyone was giving me twenties to change and after stopping for the fourth time to buy a drink or something else to change a twenty I opted for a bag of Monkey Nuts and went and sat on South Kensington Rank to eat them. I amused myself by opening each nut and throwing the shells out of the drivers window and all you could hear was the crunching sound as the traffic drove over them.
I was driving down Gloucester Road and a couple flagged me down. The guy was rat-arsed drunk. I couldn't understand what the hell he was trying to say, I didn't even have the beginnings of a clue. He then started saying "you don't know?" over and over in a strong foreign accent. The woman leaned in and said "he's the Ecuadorian Consul". I said "oh yeah? Well I still can't understand what he's saying, can you?" She said she knew where they were going and that she would direct me. A couple of turns later we pulled up outside Cuba, a Latin Bar in Kensington High Street, which I would have known had he not been slurring his speech. What would the Ecuadorian government think of the impression one of their representatives was making on the streets of London. Tut!! tut!!
I had a bit of a wake up call earlier. I was driving along Marylebone Road which is a 3 lane dual carriageway. I had 2 people nattering away obliviously in the back. I was probably, no, definitely, going too fast when I suddenly noticed the lights had gone red. If I'd have slammed the brakes on at that moment the two in the back would have smashed into the partition as they never had their seat belts on, so the only thing I could do was drive through the red light causing the few pedestrians who were on the crossing to shit themselves and then wave their fists at me and give me a recognized insult gesture with thumb and forefinger. Point taken!
The change thing never got any better and forced me home in the end. I can't work like that and will make sure I have enough tomorrow night.

Instant recall

Has this ever happened to anyone? You've recently read about or seen a place around town but in all your years as a cabbie you've never had to take anyone there. All of a sudden, pretty soon after you've found out about it someone gets in the cab and asks to go there? It really makes you look like you know your stuff doesn't it? I had that happen to me tonight with a recording studio near Portobello Road. I was reading a biography of a band on the net and they mentioned that they'd recorded an album at Basing Street Studios. I've been cabbing for 16 years and never knew about them yet tonight I took this bloke straight to them and he was most impressed. Uncanny or what?
It was pretty quiet tonight but I still managed to take my money. I discovered this Chinese Take Away a few weeks ago over on Battersea Park Road and have been going back regularly as they do a pukka Satay Chicken and Rice. You'd be amazed at how many of these places there are around town but also at how many are terrible.

When it's so quiet I often go and rank up outside the London Hilton in Park Lane. I've had some decent rides from there in the past and people can come out of there and ask to be taken any where. A Russian couple came out one night around 9pm and asked for Stanstead Airport. It's London's fifth airport and the furthest away being actually outside London in the county of Essex. As I pulled up at the airport the meter clicked onto £105 and in broken English the man started complaining about the high price. I just shrugged my shoulders and held my hand out.
Anyway, I never got a long ride from there tonight just one to China White's, a nightclub in the West End. As I ducked and dived down some back streets to get onto Piccadilly one of them was blocked by a lorry. He was just blocking the whole street whilst he unloaded. All the cabs behind me started honking their horns so I did as well but the driver never appeared so everyone started backing up and going the longer way around (more money for me). I should've taken a picture but I often forget I have the camera with me. A lot of the pictures I take come out blurred, I think the camera has been dropped one too many times so tomorrow I'm going to take an older one out with me as the pictures it takes are much sharper.

By 1.30am it was all over and I found myself cruising around aimlessly. I had the radio on and Sade was singing Your Love Is King and I started nodding off so I juiced up at the petrol station above and called it a night.

"New TV"

This was the scene in my house yesterday as a new TV was being "Road Tested". The other TV, a Sony 29" had been purchased from my mate Chris and lasted a good 10 years. It's still works but now needs a swift wack on the top before the picture will appear. This "new" one is a Phillips 36" widescreen also purchased from the same Chris who has just gone out and bought himself an LG 42" Plasma. After years of the Sony with no remote control this one is really doing it for me. It has so many extras and settings that I'm sure it will do my shift for me as well!!
Talking about shifts, I never went out last night as I needed a bit of R&R so me and the boys went out to our nearest all night store and bought some DVD's and some "Supplies" (popcorn, crisps, chocolate, drink etc) and spent the night in front of the new TV.

Victoria Street By night

"Let's go down the caff".

I put some shelves up in my son's room earlier today then went for a bite to eat. Working class people eat in cafes, pronounced caff's, they are similar to diners, and if you are fortunate enough to find a decent one can eat very well and reasonably cheaply for around £4 to £5 per head. So a common statement in our household is "let's go down the caff". It saves on the mess, it's quicker than prepairing food at home and there is a big choice. I, personally would eat there every day but my kids are fussy and feel that once or twice a week is enough.
Work was fairly quiet on Monday night . Only a couple of incidents to report. I picked a guy up at the Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly and it took a while to understand him. It turns out he was Canadian but the French variety and he was from Montreal. French must have been his first language because his English was lousy. I speak fluent Spanish and a bit of French so with the two languages intermingled we understood each other and I got him to his hotel. As I was close to Paddington Station I put on the rank there and only waited a couple of minutes befor this American guy came out. Most Americans do this, they only ever say half of what they mean. They'll say the first part of a road or street but not add the "street" or "road" or "place". The same goes for place names or hotels. This guy came out and simply said "the Shaftesbury". That, in any cabbies mind, can only mean the Shaftesbury Hotel in Shaftesbury Avenue, smack bang in the centre of town. So I'm almost there, I've got £12 on the meter and he says "you are taking me to the Shaftesbury Kensington aren't you?" I've never even heard of that hotel so I said "you only said the Shaftesbury, that's where any cab driver would take you". He muttered something under his breath which I took as him showing annoyance towards me and I prepaired for a argument or worse but he simply conceded that it was his mistake and apologised. A swift U turn and £8 later I pulled up outside what must have been a brand new and classy hotel in a shitty street in the Earls Court area of west London and he just sort of threw the £20 note through the partition and stormed off. In theory we are supposed to know everything there is to know about London but in reality we don't and also the only way to find out when something new has opened is to be asked to go there and not know it. Sometimes it takes a couple of trips there for it to sink in and just as your getting used to something it goes and closes. C'est la vie.
Grabbed a bite to eat at Kebab Kid on New Kings Road and did another couple of jobs before calling it a night as I have an appointment at the Eye Hospital later on today.

Livery Cabs

They've been discussing Livery cabs on New York Hack's blog and what they are. Over here a livery cab is simply a Licenced Taxi with all over advertising. This is my mates cab, he came round earlier for a cuppa.

Big Ben

A very amateur pic of Big Ben

I actually got out to work at 7.15 Sunday evening and it was a wet miserable night. I had the radio tuned to Magic FM and there was an interesting interview with Neil Sedaka that kept me company for about an hour. I made my way to the Paddington Station taxi rank which is one of the busiest stations in London due to the fact that the train from Heathrow Airport pulls in every 10 to 15 minutes. I started off with a nice cross-town ride to Fenchurch Street Station but then ended up driving all the way back in to another station, Victoria, the one with the resident beggar I'm always trying to avoid. The reason I try and avoid him and others is that I sat down one day and worked out how much money I give out to these people and it worked out to at least a couple of hundred pounds a year. It might not seem a lot to some people but it is to me so I decided that charity begins at home and to look after number one. From Victoria I got a fare to Tottenham in North London and when I got there they tried to pay me the £30 in Jersey money. Jersey is one of the self governing Channel Islands belonging to Britain but their money is not acceptable here whereas ours is acceptable there.....strange one that, so they had to get the money from someone in the house.
I grabbed a bite to eat at yet another of London's main line railway stations (we have 9) Marylebone, and carried on working until 1am. It turned out to be a wholelly uneventful night, but I think that's what most cabbies the world over would really want.

By the way, I think I've sussed out the picture thing. If I write the text first, save as a draft then edit the draft it allows the link to open up to put pictures in. Somehow I'm sure there's an easier way but that works for me.

Help!!

I've been trying to post some more pictures but when I click the add image link nothing happens. Anybody got any ideas on why?

First Picture Post

I'm attempting to post a picture for the first time so have chosen one I recieved with a PCN (Penalty Charge Notice) a few months ago. Over here they have cameras for absolutely everything. In this one I am supposedly blocking a box junction. There must be all of six inches of my cabs rear end over the line. I did comment on it in one of my earlier posts and have subsequently paid the £50 fine. I've put another one in here. It's my cab on my drive.

A good night

I drove my son to work this morning (Saturday) then went to my parents’ house to collect my Dad and take him to a garden centre to buy some plants and seeds for his garden.
Started work around 7pm and to get me in the mood I put U2’s Zoo Station on full blast. The only problem is that I generally trap my first job within minutes of leaving the house and was only half inspired by the music before having to turn it off to pick up this really frail old Irish man. As he struggled into the cab I could see he was dribbling saliva all over the place and made a mental note to check that there wasn’t any on the seats and walls (are they called walls or bulkheads?) after he had got out. I forgot to check as a steady run of work then ensued. Edgware Road Station to Farringdon Station, Farringdon Station To Liverpool Street Station, Stamford Street to Horseferry Road, Rochester Row to Warwick Square, The Raft (Victoria Stations Gatwick Express Terminal) to Vama Restaurant in the Kings Road, Vama to The Fentiman Arms. From there I drove to Victoria Station to sit on the rank but there was a queue of people waiting and I managed to pick up and drive off just as the resident beggar was making a beeline straight for me. At 9pm the rain started and the work continued. At 10pm I stopped for a bite to eat at cabbies favourite kebab joint, Efes in Great Titchfield Street. They really know how to make a lovely kebab. Back to work and the jobs followed one after the other. I took two drunk ladies up to Haringay and because I let them off £2.80 (the fare was £22.80) and told one of them that she only looked about 25 years old (we’d been chatting) she wanted to kiss me and put her lips in the gap in my security screen. I offered her my hand instead of my lips and she gave that a little peck. I felt like the Pope!! On my way back from Haringay I was driving past the O2 Centre and this drunken crowd were stood in the road trying to flag me down. One guy was doing a “most muscular” pose a la Arnold Schwarzenegger and I couldn’t get by. I locked the doors and waited till he tried to get in then put my foot down and sped off. He lashed out at the cab with his foot I think and I heard a thud. I wasn’t in the mood for any more nonsense tonight and drove straight home. I checked for any dents but it’s dark so I’ll check in the morning. But apart from that last bit of hassle it was another decent night in London.

The Keys

My daughter needed a lift to her friends house this morning and I couldn't find my keys so I had to take the spares. When I got back home I searched high and low for them but couldn't find them anywhere. I could have sworn I took them out of the door when I got in last night but came to the conclusion that I did leave them there and somebody had taken them for future use. Now I am too security conscious to let something like that go so I went straight round to the local hardware store and bought a replacement Yale barrel which came with 2 keys and I then got 2 more cut so that we could all have one. Total cost was £17. I had to trim the arm of the barrel to fit the lock but soon had it done and felt satisfied no one could get in with my lost/stolen key. I was debating whether to fit some sort of hidden switch under the dashboard of my cab as my cab keys were also on the bunch lost/stolen. I thought I'd leave it for today and get advice from somewhere. When the time came to collect my daughter I sent my son. Whilst I was at work I get a call from him saying that my daughter had my bunch of keys and they had somehow ended up in her bag. I threw a small fit but was actually glad they hadn't fallen into the wrong hands. Well at least now I have a spare barrel for my front door!!
I only did a couple of hours tonight as I wasn't in the mood.
I picked up my first celebrity in a long time and he's a personal favourite of mine. Richard Dreyfuss was just standing on the side of a road in Primrose Hill with an elegant lady, possibly his wife, but I wouldn't really know and asked me to take them to the O2 Centre in Finchley Road. There is a cinema complex there and some restaurants. I didn't get a chance to say anything to him as it was a short ride and he was deep in conversation with his companion and as he got out there was another couple waiting to get in. He paid me £10 for a £7 fare and that was that. I only did one more job after that then came home and watched Oceans 12 on DVD.

Crossing two bridges?

Just got in from a decent nights work and logged straight on here and I have to say it looks really pretty, the site that is. I only used one of the templates provided by Blogger I haven't suddenly become a techie or anything like that but the overall effect is quite stunning, even professional.
I managed to get out around 8pm and was pretty busy right up until 2am. I never stopped anywhere for food so I reached my target in those 6 hours.
I was driving through Trafalgar Square and realised that Nelson's Column is completely boarded up and there's a staircase running to the very top. They're obviously cleaning all the birdshit off it and giving it a general spruce up but I bet it'll piss a few tourists off who wanted to take a picture of it.
I picked a man up in Shaftesbury Avenue and he asked to be taken to Great Suffolk Street south of the river. I drove down Haymarket, through Trafalgar Square, Northumberland Avenue, along the river to Blackfriars Bridge, over the bridge, left into Southwark Street and finally right into his street. As I was crossing the bridge he pipes up with "Why are we crossing the river again?" Comments like that get my back up straight away and I feel like throwing them out. I replied with "If you can name the first bridge you reckon I crossed I'll give you a free ride". Needless to say he couldn't name it and I started lecturing him about accusing cab drivers of taking the long way round. By the time he got out I had made him feel like a complete twat and he couldn't apologise enough and even gave me a few quid extra.
There was a big function on in the marquee in Battersea Park and the taxi marshal told me there were about 1500 people there so I went back three or four times but they were all short to average rides.
Best ride of the night was probably Paddington Station to Putney.
So all in all a peaceful (except for the twat) but average (ride wise) night.

New Template

I've been messing around with the templates and lost my other one. This one doesn't look too bad so I will run with this one for a while. I'm off to work now so hopefully I will update you if anything exciting happens.

Tariff Increase

It's getting harder and harder for me to get out to work.
The last few nights have seen me having an afternoon nap and dragging myself out of bed at 9 or 10 at night to go to work.
Friday really took the biscuit as I went out to work at 2am on the Saturday morning. I must admit I did enjoy it and took a decent wage in about 3 hours.
Sunday saw the annual tariff increase and all licenced taxis had to report to various depots and locations all over London to have their meters upgraded with the new software. I had to go to Station Road in Tufnell Park and I was in and out in under 10 minutes.
One weird incident to report tonight. I picked a couple up in Sloane Square and they were all over each other, shining each others tonsils. The woman wanted to drive past Chelsea College in Manressa Road. When we got there she told the bloke to get out while she paid. As he got out she grabbed the door handle, slammed it shut and shouted "Drive off quick!!!" The bloke looked totally bewildered as I sped off. I never asked her why.
I took her to the Grosvenor Kensington and she paid the fare plus a two pound tip and walked off. She must have had her reasons.

Mothers Day

I don't know whether to delete this blog as I really can't be bothered most of the time. We'll see if I can get into it over the coming days and weeks.
On Sunday just gone it was Mothers Day and we all surprised my Mum and Dad. They thought they were going for a quiet meal with my sister and we all showed up at the Travellers rest Beefeater in Kenton, North West London, all 20 of us! We had a nice 3 course meal and a bit of a laugh for around a score a piece and Mum was chuffed to bits. She even shed a tear at the verses on the card I bought her and I'd only just grabbed it off the shelf in Sainsbury's.
The cab has been behaving itself and only needed a new battery in the last 2 months and that cost me nothing as the warranty covered it. But the annual overhaul is fast approaching so a grand will have to be found to pay for that.
I've been working away as usual trying to put a bit of daylight between me and my bills and debts and slowly but surely I think I'm winning.
I had a nice run out to Windsor the other night but I had to endure a Walter Mitty type character talking a load of bollocks. I just humoured him and was rewarded with £100 including £16 tip.
I blew out tonight as my sleep was disrupted during the day. I've spent all evening clearing out my bedroom of serious amounts of crap that has accumulated over the last year and a bit and my brother came earlier to collect a lot of stuff he had stored here.
I'm going through a U2 period at the moment. I've always liked some of their music but recently have decided to get right into them by "acquiring" all of their music and reading up on them and I'm finding it really engrossing and time consuming and have discovered some pukka songs that I've been playing and playing.
It's getting warmer here now. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing as I have been really busy at night with the cold weather.
Right I'm off to bed.

Dad’s 75th

It was my Dad’s 75th birthday on Monday. A day we thought he’d never see so it was extra special and everyone went round to the house to wish him well. My Mum made Paella especially for the occasion and a good afternoon was had by all.
I went out to work later on and during the act of helping a wheelchair passenger out and shutting the door I managed to hit my head with the door and practically knocked myself out. I had to compose my self and inspect the fast-approaching lump about a hundred times before I satisfied myself that I would be able to continue my nights work and not be a danger to my passengers, but I tell you what, it didn’t arf fucking hurt!!
I blew Tuesday out as my son went up to Liverpool with his mates to watch Liverpool V Arsenal and me, my son Michael and my brother watched it on TV.
As I was on my way out tonight I stood on the dog’s ball that he had kindly left on the stairs for someone to pick up and play with him. I twisted my right ankle and could have sworn I heard a bone crack. I managed to walk it off a bit and went to work but it’s still sore and swollen as we speak.
Work wise it was really busy as The Brits were on at Earls Court and there was people needing cabs everywhere. I had a really lucky run of jobs one after the other starting off from Victoria to Narrow St E1 then picking up from the drop off straight away and taking her to Hackney Wick. As I dropped off at the Wick someone else wanted to be taken to just behind Manor House then as I came back round to Seven Sisters Rd a couple wanted to go down to the Camden Palace which has been renamed Koko for those of you who are interested and finally from there another couple wanted Elsworthy Rise.I stopped off on Kingsway for a bite to eat and wished I hadn’t. The guy in the sandwich bar looked like he needed a slow boil and the sandwich he made me (roast beef and tomato) was all hard round the edges, obviously the bread had done a bit of bird. You live and learn. To cap it all off as I was driving onto my drive I clipped the railing and have scuffed all the side of my bumper, which will need blackening. I think I’m losing the plot. Oh and before I forget. I got a Fixed Penalty Notice this morning informing me that I had been photographed blocking a box junction in Maida Vale and I would have to pay £50 within a fortnight or £100 after that. What a bunch of low-life bastards these people are. If you saw the junction yourself you’d say what a load of bollocks it all is.

Danish Cartoon Protests

Just heard that Abu "The Hook" Hamza has been sent down for 7 years. Too right and all. I was sat in my cab one day last week with my son in Baker Street when the Muslim's were starting their protests about the Danish cartoons. Nothing wrong with a protest. But I read all the placards saying things like "Your 9/11 will come" and "Freedom of speech go to hell" and other such rubbish and thought "what the hell is going on here?" Would we be allowed to stroll down Main Street Bagdhad with similar banners? Would we heck. We'd be blown up or shot. Now I don't generally have a view on anything but when this sort of shit happens in my town it can be difficult to ignore and not have an opinion. So I'm glad that the police have started clamping down on it and that they can stop this sort of incitement in future.
Me and the kids have had the flu this week and are slowly recovering. It could have been worse. It could have been Bird Flu. Chirp Chirp!!
I'm still working everyday. Sometimes in two stints. I had yet another row with a beggar yesterday. He was a little Rastafarian guy and he collared me as I was on my way in to collect my pre-ordered number 96 with fried rice (Satay Chicken) in Battersea Park Road. This one only wanted a cigarette but I pre-empted him by thinking he wanted money and then we got into a long heated discussion. He was trying to convince me that people with money (me, that's a laugh) should be more giving and that we should be more aware of other peoples cultures. I said to him that in Britain we were all the same and that nobody was left to starve here. I then asked him if he recieved benefits to which he agreed he did and then I said "so why don't you buy yourself some fags then?" He couldn't answer that one.

A good servicing

I just had the cab serviced a few days ago. I was two thousand two hundred miles over the service mileage but I managed to bullshit my way through it (again!) and so have warranty for another six months. It was only a small service so apart from suspension bushes and a tyre only came to £180. The actual suspension is still completely knackered though but there's nothing that can cure that other than a complete new suspension or a gallon of petrol and a match!! I'm still working all the hours under the sun to haul myself out of the mire and it's pretty tough going. The last few nights have seen my going over to the hotels surrounding ExCeL a good few times but last night was complete nightmare as the Limehouse Link was closed and the traffic was backed all the way into The Highway and my French punter was bleating at the meter ticking relentlessly upwards. (got to dash out, i'll complete this later)

Bah Humbug

Don't you just hate Christmas and the New Year? It's all complete hype and a waste of money if you ask me. Now that everything is getting back to normal I can concentrate on the important things like getting my life back on track.
My Dad has had yet another operation on his eye to re-attatch his retina. He spent two nights in Moorfields Hospital and we'll know soon enough if the op was a success.
My son has started work in Tesco's on the "Jack & Jill". Well, it's a job innit? He only does saturdays at the moment but will become full time as and when a position becomes available.
My cab is literally falling apart. The non-existent suspension is shaking it to pieces. One of the tyres has 2 nails in it and has to be pumped up every other day. The brakes are grinding and the wipers are wiping fresh air. Why don't I take it for it's 63k service (the mileage at the moment is 64k plus) and get it all sorted I hear you ask? Coz I'm brassic as per usual. Who said cabbies were rolling in it? Did they mean rolling in debt? Probably.
Any way it's not all grim. Work is steadily picking up and I have worked 15 straight days without a night off. Another couple of weeks like that and I'll be well on the way to sortedness.
If you took Paddington and Victoria Stations away from me I'd be knackered. That's where I am most evenings ranking up for a job. Victoria attracts all the dregs of society and I'm constantly waving away beggars and thieves trying to sell there loot to the cabbies. Mind you, I got tempted yesterday and got talked into buying two Monty Python Box sets for £25 fresh from some nearby shop or other. (I probably shouldn't say it on here as it may get referred to Special Branch by some jobsworth or other! Oh Well, I've said it now) Lets hope it keeps busy. Be Lucky out there.