BERKELEY SQUARE (n.) London square that doth hath the oldest plane trees and purportedly a singing nightingale.
Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon
Category Archives: Puppydog tails
Happy, London’s cabbies?
Last month I posted a slightly tongue-in-cheek post about Grumpy, London’s Cabbies? This Grumpytutters list prompted Mark from America to suggest I compile 50 things ‘I love about being a cabbie’. There are many and various reasons to extol the benefits of being a cabbie here’s some of them:
1. A feeling of superiority in The Knowledge that you know London better than almost anyone else
2. Self-employed with no employer breathing down your neck
3. An ability to choose your hours
4. Stop work at a time of your choosing
5. Access to Green Shelters to eat
6. Americans (including Mark) love London’s cabbies
7. Access to private spaces (for me Downing Street)
8. Get to talk to interesting people (see back of my cab)
9. Giving Chelsea Pensioners free lifts
10. Join the Magical Taxi Tour on its annual journey carrying children suffering from a range of chronic illnesses and life-limiting conditions to Disneyland Resort Paris
11. Being waived through police roadblocks
12. Being let out of side roads by fellow cabbies
13. Staying in bed instead of rushing to work on time
14. A panoramic view of the world’s best cities from the window of your ‘office’
15. Talk to interesting people every day
16. The ability to work part-time in early retirement
17. You rarely encounter the same difficult customer
18. Working outside whilst keeping dry and warm
19. The comradery of other London cabbies
20. Your golf clubs fit in the boot of a London cab
21. Dress (within reason) how you like at work
22. You don’t have to justify and reapply for your job every year
23. You can bore anyone who’ll listen about ‘famous people in the back’
24. You earn enough to pay for a private osteopath to help your back (an occupational hazard)
25. Being told by an old cabbie “The game’s dead”, to find it’s not
26. Friendly hotel doormen allowing the use of the facilities
27. Meeting like-minded students at Knowledge Schools – and remaining friends
28. Just knowing where the best chippies are in London
29. Being able to turn up at a garage and have the cab fixed without making an appointment
30. You go to places you otherwise couldn’t and see people you would never have met
31. Get to conduct tourist tours
32. The profession is open to everyone, so you’ll always meet a cabbie with an interesting life story
33. You can usually pick your customers and ignore the drunks
34. Not needing an organisation like Uber to survive
35. The opportunity to harangue a politician with the doors locked in your cab
36. When the train/bus/tram drivers strike you can still get to work (and earn a lot more)
37. People are genuinely interested in your profession, asking questions even while on holiday
38. You work in a safe environment, thanks to the driver’s partition
39. There’s always something new to discover in London
40. The public is always interested in The Knowledge
41. Driving the iconic London cab (TXI) is a privilege it’s so well-designed
42. You have the satisfaction of being the only one responsible for your income
43. Our profession seems to be the go-to for the opinion of Londoners
44. If you’re prepared to put in the hours a decent living can be earned
45. Your vehicle can be driven for personal use without having to pay Sadiq Khan’s penalties
46. A cab is a great people carrier
47. The cab’s spacious interior can be used to transport large items, including Christmas trees
48. When we protest on-mass we always get on the local TV news
49. We can use bus lanes to avoid the traffic
50. You can get to write a blog (and a book!)
Johnson’s London Dictionary: Fortnum and Masons
FORTNUM AND MASONS (n.) Ancient purveyor of vittles to the wealthy and creator of the hard-boiled egg in sausage meat, coated in fried breadcrumbs which hath as a London-based purveyor for reasons unknown doth name it ‘Scotch egg’.
Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon
Test Your Knowledge: December 2023
Here on CabbieBlog, we’ve done many Christmas quizzes, so for a complete change, this month’s quiz title is Hiding In Plain Sight. As before the correct answer will turn green when it’s clicked upon and expanded to give more information. The incorrect answers will turn red giving the correct explanation.
1. Which famous scientist has a very large memorial at a major road junction?
John Logie Baird
WRONG The stainless steel box-shaped structure, located on the Elephant and Castle gyratory system, designed by modern movement architect Rodney Gordon in 1959, commemorates Michael Faraday’s importance as a scientist and was placed there because Faraday’s birthplace is nearby in Newington Butts.
Michael Faraday
CORRECT The stainless steel box-shaped structure, located on the Elephant and Castle gyratory system, designed by modern movement architect Rodney Gordon in 1959, commemorates Michael Faraday’s importance as a scientist and was placed there because Faraday’s birthplace is nearby in Newington Butts.
Tim Berners-Lee
WRONG The stainless steel box-shaped structure, located on the Elephant and Castle gyratory system, designed by modern movement architect Rodney Gordon in 1959, commemorates Michael Faraday’s importance as a scientist and was placed there because Faraday’s birthplace is nearby in Newington Butts.
2. Near which park would you find a ‘secret’ command and control centre with a 20ft thick concrete roof?
Regent’s Park
WRONG Described by Sir Winston Churchill as a ‘vast monstrosity which weighs upon the Horse Guards Parade’, the Admiralty Citadel is now covered by Boston Ivy in an apparent attempt to soften the harsh appearance of this vast concrete edifice.
St James’s Park
CORRECT Described by Sir Winston Churchill as a ‘vast monstrosity which weighs upon the Horse Guards Parade’, the Admiralty Citadel is now covered by Boston Ivy in an apparent attempt to soften the harsh appearance of this vast concrete edifice.
Hyde Park
WRONG Described by Sir Winston Churchill as a ‘vast monstrosity which weighs upon the Horse Guards Parade’, the Admiralty Citadel is now covered by Boston Ivy in an apparent attempt to soften the harsh appearance of this vast concrete edifice.
3. Once used as the Port of London Authority’s headquarters, but where is this huge building?
Trinity Square
CORRECT Now a Four Seasons Hotel, 10 Trinity Square was the Port of London Authority, more than 1,200 people each day came to pay port dues for all the boats that were arriving in London. Such was the importance of this building that, in 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its inaugural reception here.
St. Katherine’s Dock
WRONG Now a Four Seasons Hotel, 10 Trinity Square was the Port of London Authority, more than 1,200 people each day came to pay port dues for all the boats that were arriving in London. Such was the importance of this building that, in 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its inaugural reception here.
East Smithfield
WRONG Now a Four Seasons Hotel, 10 Trinity Square was the Port of London Authority, more than 1,200 people each day came to pay port dues for all the boats that were arriving in London. Such was the importance of this building that, in 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its inaugural reception here.
4. Where is the 287-foot-tall Queen’s Tower?
South Kensington
CORRECT Clad in Portland stone and topped by a copper-covered dome, Queen’s Tower in South Kensington is all that remains of the Imperial Institute which was 700 feet long, built to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. She wasn’t amused as it spoiled her view.
Hyde Park
WRONG Clad in Portland stone and topped by a copper-covered dome, Queen’s Tower in South Kensington is all that remains of the Imperial Institute which was 700 feet long, built to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. She wasn’t amused as it spoiled her view.
St. James’s Park
WRONG Clad in Portland stone and topped by a copper-covered dome, Queen’s Tower in South Kensington is all that remains of the Imperial Institute which was 700 feet long, built to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. She wasn’t amused as it spoiled her view.
5. Situated here since the 14th century, Custom House once had a riverfront of nearly 500ft. Which road does it stand on?
Lower Thames Street
CORRECT Formerly used for the collection of customs duties, today the Custom House is used by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and stands on 20 Lower Thames Street should you feel obliged to visit.
Lower Ground
WRONG Formerly used for the collection of customs duties, today the Custom House is used by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and stands on 20 Lower Thames Street should you feel obliged to visit.
Victoria Embankment
WRONG Formerly used for the collection of customs duties, today the Custom House is used by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and stands on 20 Lower Thames Street should you feel obliged to visit.
6. What ‘top secret’ tower was visible across most of London?
The Shard
WRONG Londoners were not expected to notice the 621ft high BT Tower, for many years it did not appear on any map as its location was protected by the Official Secrets Act, and even the taking and storing photographs of the building was forbidden.
BT Tower
CORRECT Londoners were not expected to notice the 621ft high BT Tower, for many years it did not appear on any map as its location was protected by the Official Secrets Act, and even the taking and storing photographs of the building was forbidden.
Canary Wharf
WRONG Londoners were not expected to notice the 621ft high BT Tower, for many years it did not appear on any map as its location was protected by the Official Secrets Act, and even the taking and storing photographs of the building was forbidden.
7. Which building advertises Baron Justus von Liebig’s invention?
Michelin House
WRONG The Oxo Company wanted to advertise their product to Londoners but local authorities were adverse to outside advertising, so Albert Moore, the company’s architect when adding a tower atop their cold store produced a 10ft tall artwork created by piercing holes through the wall, one an X shape and two on either side forming circles. The local authority accepted this as building decoration rather than advertising, giving us the Oxo tower we know today.
Royal Daulton, Southbank House
WRONG The Oxo Company wanted to advertise their product to Londoners but local authorities were adverse to outside advertising, so Albert Moore, the company’s architect when adding a tower atop their cold store produced a 10ft tall artwork created by piercing holes through the wall, one an X shape and two on either side forming circles. The local authority accepted this as building decoration rather than advertising, giving us the Oxo tower we know today.
OXO Tower
CORRECT The Oxo Company wanted to advertise their product to Londoners but local authorities were adverse to outside advertising, so Albert Moore, the company’s architect when adding a tower atop their cold store produced a 10ft tall artwork created by piercing holes through the wall, one an X shape and two on either side forming circles. The local authority accepted this as building decoration rather than advertising, giving us the Oxo tower we know today.
8. The Dazzle camouflage was applied to which London structure?
Battersea Power Station
WRONG Before it was moved to Chatham to make way for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, Dazzle camouflage was applied to the HMS President as part of the World War I centenary art commissions. Intended to optically distort the view of a ship at sea and make the vessel harder to locate and attack, the 2014 painting of the ship in this style was by the artist Tobia Rehberger.
Tower Bridge
WRONG Before it was moved to Chatham to make way for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, Dazzle camouflage was applied to the HMS President as part of the World War I centenary art commissions. Intended to optically distort the view of a ship at sea and make the vessel harder to locate and attack, the 2014 painting of the ship in this style was by the artist Tobia Rehberger.
HMS President
CORRECT Before it was moved to Chatham to make way for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, Dazzle camouflage was applied to the HMS President as part of the World War I centenary art commissions. Intended to optically distort the view of a ship at sea and make the vessel harder to locate and attack, the 2014 painting of the ship in this style was by the artist Tobia Rehberger.
9. What important function did the social housing flats in Pear Tree House at Upper Norwood have?
Nuclear shelter
CORRECT Built during the Cold War, the 18-room nuclear bunker with its bomb-proof double doors and flats above was completed in 1966 and the bunker went into care and maintenance when civil defence was stood down two years later.
Water pumping station
WRONG Built during the Cold War, the 18-room nuclear bunker with its bomb-proof double doors and flats above was completed in 1966 and the bunker went into care and maintenance when civil defence was stood down two years later.
Early warning station
WRONG Built during the Cold War, the 18-room nuclear bunker with its bomb-proof double doors and flats above was completed in 1966 and the bunker went into care and maintenance when civil defence was stood down two years later.
10. What do Sid James and Laurence Oliver have in common?
They spied for Britain in Elstree Studios
WRONG Sid James, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Kubrick, the Duke of Edinburgh, Stephen Fry and Kate Moss have all used a black cab as personal transport to remain anonymous.
Driving a black cab protected their anonymity
CORRECT Sid James, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Kubrick, the Duke of Edinburgh, Stephen Fry and Kate Moss have all used a black cab as personal transport to remain anonymous.
They acted secret signals during filming
WRONG Sid James, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Kubrick, the Duke of Edinburgh, Stephen Fry and Kate Moss have all used a black cab as personal transport to remain anonymous.
Johnson’s London Dictionary: Knowledge School
KNOWLEDGE SCHOOL (n.) Seat of learning which doth imbue its students the information they thought they possessed before enrolling.
Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon
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