Category Archives: A window on My World
Protected: International Caps Lock Day
June’s monthly musings
Cab News
I have a confession, as from this month I’ve become a bit of a fraud. Ever since CabbieBlog has been uploading missives, I’ve boasted about being a London cabbie. This month I surrendered my badge and bill, so I can’t claim that again. This has occurred due to health issues, the difficulty with London’s traffic, but mainly Sadiq Khan removing thousands of cabs from the fleet, resulting in an inability to find a vehicle when you want to work part-time.
What I’m Listening
For anyone who has dreamed of becoming a writer (see the last paragraph of this post) Ed Reardon’s Week, was first broadcast on Radio 4 and available to purchase, and is essential listening. Written semi-naturalistically in the style of a radio drama, it concerns the story of a curmudgeonly middle-aged writer described in the show’s publicity material as an ‘author, pipesmoker, consummate fare-dodger and master of the abusive email’. Victor Meldrew is mild-mannered by comparison.
What I’m Reading
Dr Amir Khan: The Doctor Will See You Now is a powerful story and a rare insider account of what goes on behind those surgery doors written during the Covid-19 crisis – hope and heartbreak and everything in between. I’ll never complain about the NHS again.
What I’m watching
During this Platinum Month, I’ve been immersing myself in our Queen’s Jubilee and watching Netflix’s The Crown. My earliest memory of the Coronation was being given a pen and pencil set both with matching crowns in my first year at primary school, it’s a pity I didn’t keep them.
What else
I was expecting my memoir Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion to have been published by now. Now delayed due to my Gmail account not always allowing me to contact eBook Versions who are formatting the manuscript. It’s been a long journey from 23rd October 2018 when I agreed to write my autobiography for PenguinRandom House.
Protected: Shock! Man blogs, aged 75
May’s monthly musings
Cab News (and for everyone)
Rickshaws are one of the banes of London life, not just for cab drivers but just about everyone other than the rickshaw barons who rent out these death traps. They first started to appear in the late 1980s and contrary to common belief they have never competed with us, any journey undertaken in a rickshaw is invariably only for a few hundred yards and is viewed more like a fairground type thrill than a serious travel option. Fast forward over 30 years and Nickie Aitken, MP for Westminster, brought a Private Members Bill to license rickshaws, the proposals would require DBS checks on riders, difficult for a temporary transient workforce; operator licensing for the rickshaw barons – difficult for many of them; a ban on sound systems and electrical assistance; specific safety standards; and most importantly set fares. Rickshaws do very few rides, paying £75 a day to rent a rickshaw necessitates them charging ludicrous prices to the few passengers they get, a fixed fare will stop the rip-offs and, to many, the only incentive. Now a Rickshaw Bill has been featured in the Queen’s Speech for this session of Parliament. About time, it’s only taken my entire working life as a cabbie to regulate this Third World look for London.
What I’m Listening
For anyone of a certain age, as am I, the moon landing was a seminal time of our life. The BBC World Service celebrated its 50th Anniversary with 13 Minutes To The Moon exploring Apollo 11’s mission and the stories of the people behind its success. The podcast features interviews with the pioneers who made Apollo 11 a success and became the UK’s number one podcast. A nostalgic feast.
What I’m Reading
My daughter took our grandson to the Transport Museum and bought me, from their excellent bookshop, Tube Trivia by Andrew Emmerson, filled with fascinating facts about the Underground, such as Embankment Station once had a gramophone with a compressed air amplifier instructing passengers to stand on the right.
What I’m watching
Or not watching. We have a bird box at the end of our garden, and every May we watch the blue tits tend to their brood and see them fledge at the end of the month.
Fledging dates:
27th May 2021
24th May 2020
May 2019 on holiday so didn’t see them go
26th May 2018
This year none.
We have hardly any breed of bird in our garden, sparrows once we had over 50, now 2 or 3. Is this a trend? Global warming or what?
What else
John Ransley at eBook Versions has been patiently helping with my pedantic requirements, formatting and uploading my book to Amazon, both in ebook and printed versions. The whole process is too complicated for this humble cabbie.
CabbieBlog 