For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement.

Quotations in a Cab (04.08.09)

We were told last week that drivers on the London Underground will use their Tannoys to read passengers quotations from Goethe, Gandhi, Sartre and Dostoyevsky. The idea was to help commuters keep up morale when the Tube comes to a juddering stop. Could we cabbies, not known for keeping our opinions to ourselves, take a leaf out of the TfL quotation guide? More roadworks, courtesy of Thames Water and stuck in gridlock, your fare in needs your well timed quotation.

On the two London Mayors:
As Karl Marx once wrote “That history repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce”.

On learning The Knowledge:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge” Albert Einstein

On why the fare is so expensive:
“Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still.” Lou Erickson (American cartoonist).

If the passenger complains you’ve taken the wrong route:
“Little do ye know your own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour.” Robert Louis Stevenson.

Or we could resort to the tried and tested “Did you see the game last night?”