Thursday, December 25, 2014

Christmas 1914 to Christmas 2014

So we arrive at Christmas 2014.

100 years since the outbreak of World war one.
If some opinions are right it was 100 years since the outbreak of peace in Flanders fields.
In the middle of the battle they played football.
When the same thing happened in 1915 they were arrested and courtmartiled 



I hope that wherever you are that you have a peaceful Christmas

Irving Berlin also wrote a song which has become the biggest hit song of all time.




Have a great one

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Happy Christmas

Here we are the big day is almost here.
Looking back the year had its ups and downs it is best to dwell on the ups.


The amount of people coming home for Christmas is amazing, I suppose it reflects what happened after the boom, so many had to go away.
I met a guy who is from Latvia (I hope thats right) who is coming back to Dublin to spend Christmas with his wife and daughter. He worked in construction here and when that stopped he had to go like so many others. His daughter is at school here so he has to keep two homes going. But he has a greedy landlord in Dublin who puts up the rent by €250 a month every year on year.
Imagine if your rent went up at that speed ?.
So this summer when his daughter is finished her exams they will pack up and go to live in London together..
Yesterday I brought an English family to the airport. They are going to Toronto but they were amazed at the cost from London. So they came to Dublin and crossed over from here. I suppose the traffic from Canada to here would be high with few Irish crossing back to Canada for Christmas.
Its a bit like the World cup, there was great deals to Europe on the empty planes coming back.

So to you all, drunk or sober



Remember John ?




Sunday, December 21, 2014

I caught a big cold

Working cheek to jowl with greater public puts your health in danger.
So last week I picked up a cold which went to my chest.
The cough was so strong that I saw sparks when I coughed.
Nothing for it but to park up and go to bed for 24 hours.
The chemist gave me an elixir which only made me poorer.
But I am back again.


There was a story way back about a couple who went to the Galway races together and when they got there the guy who ran the guest house turned them away. They slept in doorways for the duration of the races and bought Arran sweaters sweaters to stay warm. The man told me that they were partners long ago and had fallen into drugs.Then recently they had met up again and found that there was still a spark of romance still alive after all those years.
As the journey continued I learned about their destructive lives, and how they blamed no one but themselves.
As the trip progressed they told me that they had a son in Wales who found a great job for himself.

He clears out houses where people have died leaving no known relations. He keeps what he finds and sells the goods in his second hand shops.

Well the other day I had the son in the car (I didn't tell him I had met his parents)
He was going to Ballyfermot and had met a young girl on the boat. He took her under his wing and we dropped her off at the bus station. This is a mecca fore homeless people as it opens at around 6.30 and it is warm. The other place to go to is to the airport.
But I digress.
As she was getting out he told her that she could stay at his sisters house and have breakfast and then she she could contact her boyfriend later on in the morning.
He lamented to me about how dangerous it is for a young innocent girl to be traveling alone in this city.

So we headed for Ballyfermot.

"What do you do for a living yourself?" I said.

"I clear out empty houses and sell the contents in my second hand shops" He said.

I just knew that he was the son.

I never charged his parents for the trip all those years ago and I was impressed by the concern he showed toward his fellow human being.
It was great to meet him, but I couldn't tell him about the day I met his mother and father.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Stop the water meters






A TV investigative group went into a state run home for people with intellectual difficulties.
What was shown has shocked everyone. Patients being slapped, kicked and punched.
They were  shouted at. Staff shouting at them that they were useless. "No one wants you you're useless"

Where are the safety nets to protect the most vulnerable people in our society?
Where were the whistle blowers?

The fear from parents with profoundly handicapped children is that there will not be good care for these children when the parents get old.

Remember in most cases the parents have put in many years of changing wet sheets and soiled clothes, with little help from society..
Lets hope in this instance a change will come.

God knows Irish society are not great in looking after the homeless, the orphans, the illegitimate and the mentally handicapped. 

Well,
Yesterday I took a few hours off to let our elected leaders know that what they are doing with regard to the water tax is not all right by me.

There are fat cat business people putting in water meters around the country.
The plan is not to fix leaks or improve the infrastructure but to establish a right to collect taxes from each house. Water is now paid from extra VAT charges and other taxes which were introduced for many years ago.
Public Taxes are now to be collected and to be paid to private individual fat cat speculators.

There were a lot of Garda present. My group were hemmed in on Nassau St. After a wait I walked up to Molesworth St. where barriers were erected to keep the protesters back. For me the plan worked.
I walked for home to get my bus.
Later on there was trouble in Nassau st when protesters started throwing missiles at the Garda and a Garda was hit in the eye.
This is the modern way of controlling protesters, you hem them in, you divide them into groups so they are in smaller pockets.. The word used is "Kettleing"  Split them up and hem them in.
The other aspect of the protest march was that the Garda just left scores of cars stuck in the middle of the protesters.
When I went back home I went for the ferry only to find a poor unfortunate stranded passenger looking for a taxi, I could help her.  So we edged out way out to Stillorgan...Then when she got out the ball really starting hopping as hundreds of commuters tried to go home..
Both Luas lines had problems.
But you can only pick up one person at a time.
Still it beats sitting at a taxi rank.

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

A second from death






Justice came foe a Dublin bus driver the other day.
The driver came across the scene of an accident and the Garda told him that he could not proceed along his route. He told the Garda that he would have to contact his base to find out which route he was to follow. While he was waiting for instructions the Garda stormed the bus and put him in handcuffs then they drove him to Sundrive Rd. Garda station where he was charged with loads of offenses.
Well the judge sided with the driver, passingers on the bus came to court with videos to support their testimony.
The driver was awarded almost €50,000 compensation.

Perhaps young Hitler will behave himself in future.... Click here

More and more cctv footage are catching out rouge operators.
Many years ago on Parnell st there was an off license.
In the early hours of the morning there was a ram raid, the ramming car was abandoned and they drove away loaded up with beer and spirits in another car.
The boys in blue turned up and the owner arrived 1/2 hour later
"Lets see what we have on the video" said the shop owner.
On replaying the tape they identified well known criminals, then as it played on the Garda arrive and they steal even more than the robbers.

Red faces all round.

This morning I was wrecked and started work later than usual. I was driving along the Clontarf road in the bus lane when a girl waring a hood stepped out between a van and a car the van blocked my view of her.. One second later she would have been dead. She never looked and was probably listening to music through her headset.
She was in another world, one second later she would have been there for all time.

We are all living in the hands of our Gods one way or the other. (I said thanks)

The other night Andre Reau was on in the 3 Arena. I got a Hailo alert and headed down to collect my fare.
I rang him 3 times to make contact, no reply, I was besieged by people, so I abandoned the call and took 4 people from Cork down to Heuston station. No way to proceed along by the river so I turned to go down Sheriff St. No go either.
So I turned down East wall Rd. Down past the five lamps, right into Buckingham St down Parnell St. over through Blackhall Place.. Just then I heard the words.
"You should have gone straight down the river"
All I could say was "We would not even be at O'Connell bridge yet"
The father just said that they had made the train on time which was the only important thing.
The strange thing in this equation is that if I had not picked them up there is no way in hell that they would have made the train on time.

You do your best and get complaints.

So I headed back and got a run out to Swords,
"Please go through the tunnel we are frozen"
Paid in good humor with a €4.00 tip

Swings and roundabouts all the time.

Saturday, December 06, 2014

3 homeless men die on the streets

                                     The crow on the dice Solomon fine art




                The Christmas tree in the Westbury hotel
       Fine threads for the big night out..Westbury mall
                              These 2 cars were at Dublin port..Perhaps they need directions home.

Heroin is a massive scourge here in Ireland  hundreds upon hundreds  have given their lives to the needle.
I believe that we are the only City in the world to have erected a monument to our dead victims.
It can be seen at the end of Killarney St. It is in memory of the hundreds who died from drugs in the north inner city.
A flaming torch, dancing, first communion and running medals were added to the mix when the torch was cast in the foundry. 
A man called Jonathan Corie  died while sleeping in a doorway, the doorway was in view of our houses of parliament where our leaders sit and tell us all that we must give more.
A heroin addict he was married in America and had 2 children, his parents had bought him 2 houses to live in but time after time he returned to his addiction.
He lived in hostels but after being bullied and had his money stolen he lived on the streets.
I don't know how any healthy person would feel to sleep on the streets in this freezing weather, never mind being in poor health into the bargain.

In Cork 2 homeless men died from Heroin overdoses.

It is a complete heartbreak to see a life so full of potential spiral into the depths of squalor and despair.

Your thoughts and prayers to their parents and family's.

Peace at last RIP


Tuesday, December 02, 2014

1/12/2014



                  Christmas decorations in the Pebble beach pub
                                    Big shoes and little shoes
 Our latest project is a fuel efficient stove, It really puts out the heat.


Well it won't belong now until the big day.
On Monday we had our special Christmas dinner....It went well.
You see we are expecting a new baby into the family and the baby is due just after Christmas,so that there would be no excitement on the 24th we moved the day forward.

Christmas might come early for 2 Filipino women who worked for the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates.They worked 15 hours a day for €2 an hour or €170 per month, no days off.
They got 2 breaks per day 15 minutes for breakfast and 45 minutes for dinner..
Starting at 6.30 and finishing at 12.30 am they have not seen their family for more than 2 years.
Passports taken away, they were locked in.
They have been awarded €240,000

but the ambassador claims

 "Diplomatic immunity"

Guess what ?
He has been called into the headmasters office for a quiet word back home..

Alas this kind of thing happens more often than you might think.

It is getting colder by the day though the sun in the morning is terrific.

People are getting resigned to the fact that they cannot stop Christmas happening so they are getting on with life..
Unfortunately on Monday a homeless man died in a doorway right beside our parliament buildings which brings the whole topic of drugs people on the streets and the desperate plight of our homeless..

I am sure that all the people who are homeless never were involved in property speculation,you would find it hard to find one on the streets who was dealing in stocks and shares and fiddling the odds.
Few if any people living on the streets caused this economic downfall.

Yet the bankers are living the high life in the Bahamas..

I will let this guy speak again


Monday, November 24, 2014

Men in red suits

 Mens health !Keep it in mind.
                                 Men in red suits.

Such a dawn to start your week.


Just so you know !
There is an email going around called  

"Black Muslim in the white house"

It is a nasty virus which will destroy your hard drive.
Do not open it put it into Trash  then empty the trash.


Well there I was with a good job going from Clontarf to the Red Cow when my meter went blank !
I hit it and the numbers came up again. Then on my second job the screen went again, this time just 77777777 across the screen...Down to Robinsons......the meter man
"You need a new meter"
So the car is in for a bit of work...

Strange thing happened yesterday.
Going down a hill with a bicycle coming behind me. I was turning right and he tried to overtake on the outside...There was a string of curses and the last thing I heard was "I know where you live you bastard"
So this morning when I got up to go out the back left lens on the car was broken....This is a complete unit and will cost around €200...Its getting hard to make ends meet.
Perhaps I am getting paranoid but the plants at the front of the house were knocked over the next day..

Christmas time you must get your chimneys cleaned. So a guy was recommended and he came on a bicycle, a bit short of equipment, the last sweep that came had covers vacuum cleaner and screens. I was away and my wife asked him if she should cover the furniture. "I'm not bleeden Mary Poppins" was his reply.
Well Mary Poppins put soot everywhere, from the sitting room to the hall. Just run your hand along the furniture and your fingers were black..
What a Disaster!
There was no badness in him...He is just a hopeless fool.

One thing that I do is to find little ways to make life better for yourself,a cheaper car to run, a car that won't break down and a way to tell people you are Free
I bought a flashing sign For Hire but the LED's kept blowing.
The first week I had it it paid for itself though.

The next time you are standing at the roadside try to see if the car coming towards you has passengers in it or not, the sign gives you the edge.
Yesterday 3 guys stopped me outside a hotel, there was a taxi parked on the footpath in front (illegally) But  because I was marked clearly as for hire I got the job.
They had done the fireworks before the rugby match... Nice lads

Like Paul Daniels said "you make your own luck, and the more you practice the luckier you get."

I am hoping for a days work tomorrow, not a day of stoppages.

Monday worked well

Monday, November 17, 2014

Ron's do

Well as you may know there is more to life than work. But the other things won't pay the rent.

There are few things that make me happier than to see a clever magician at work.

Here are a few magic acts which were there.
Double Fantasy have put in a few more costume changes which are fantastic.



Also from Ukraine was the juggler Alexander Koblinkov In the end he had 10 balls in the air at once.



Chris Bliss was not there, but look at this for skill



One of the main guests was Tom Mullica  He doesn't do this act any more. Well not since he had cancer.



Then there are the beautiful magicians assistants like Victoriana from Brazil.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Some you loose

So It is with heavy heart that I walk away from my troubles with the Carphone Warehouse.
There are many places that I can shop in and if they short change me once, shame on them.

Fool me twice shame on me.

So I was in London and I got a frantic phone call.."I hve a BIG problem You have to come and fix it now"
I explained that I was in London and then I made some calls.

No one answered.
I sent texts....No Reply

So I went to Euston and headed for Dublin.
"Change at Crewe for Holyhead"said the ticket guy.
En route the ticket collector also said "Change at Crewe"
So in Crewe I go off.

I didn't see any trains heading for Holyhead on the notice boards so I asked.

"No mate you change at Chester for Holyhead"

I saw my train (The one I got off from) pull away from the platform.
So I wait 20 minutes, later I am on my way again.

The train from Chester to Holyhead proceeds at a snails pace and stops at every hamlet along the way.

As I step on to the boat the people in Dublin I had been calling ring me back.

But at that point I was like a man waiting at the Alter..

Nothing for it but to proceed.

The problem was not so bad, If people had returned texts or answered their bloody phones I would still be there.

Anyhow bend like a reed in the wind.

So tomorrow I fly back to London to finish the Biz.

My young son gets my old phone and I transfer to the Samsung and re-load all my Apps.

Less all the info stored on them.

Carphone Warehouse 1
                  John 0

         But No more Biz from me.









Even Hitler is protesting about the water tax   !!!!!!!!!!!!


Thursday, November 06, 2014

Carphone Warehouse

This is something I never wanted to write about.
I have tried many times to resolve it.

So let me start at the beginning.
The internet is great for buying things. But I have told my kids to buy from a shop whenever you can, this way you support local jobs and if a problem should arise you can just go back to the shop.

Boy was I wrong !

Back in May I decided to buy a new handset with a bigger screen, I went to the Carphone Warehouse I was pointed towards a Samsung handset. "Everything will transfer to your new phone"  I was assured.
So the papers were signed and money changed hands.
Then my phone was connected to a device where the contents of my device would be copied to the new fone.. Time passed...I went for tea and when I came back I was told that they
"Had to delete 1/2 of my photos to fit the phone book on to the new device"
A bit strange I thought and said goodbye, to go home for food.

I work with HailO and the app has details of my income, jobs,times and other information.

So I looked for my HailO app It was not there!
Or were any of the other apps.

So I went straight back to the shop where I was told that "the Apps do not transfer" Even though I was told at the time that I could continue with the new phone as all my information would be there, just as it was on the old device.

This is the first part which I find incredible.   Perhaps I am getting old.

The manager came and told me that apps do not transfer from Apple to Android.
I argued that I was told that they would and had I been told otherwise I would not have changed the phone.
I put my entire purchase on the counter and asked for a refund.

That is not going to happen and he turned his back on me.
"I am speaking to you" I said silence 

So I had the chip put into my old phone and went back to work.

I wrote to the Carphone warehouse in the Omni center a few days later and got no reply.

Then I phoned the helpline 4 times 3 times I was told that a supervisor would call me back.

No such luck.

So I noticed that their registered office in Dublin was in Mount St (Close to HailO)
It took the people who work there there a while to find out that indeed this was the registered office of the Carphone Warehouse and they took the letter.
I was just at the point of giving up a few weeks later when I got their reply.

They had spoken to the manager in Clearys store and he told them that they assured me that the Apps would not transfer before they sold me the phone.

He was not event present at that time.

So I had gone back to the store within an hour to complain. 

I only need a smart phone for work and If looses all my data I don't want it.

But the kindly PR lady said in he letter to me that she had checked with her sources and that indeed I could download the HailO app on android, which is not the point.

So since May the phone has been in a bag unused.
My son said that he would take it and use it....

I on the other hand was sold a phone which was not capable of doing what I was told it could do.

I am stuck with a new contract as well.

I have never spoken to anyone from the Carphone Warehouse directly, 6 or more contacts made by me.

Like their store manager they turn their back while I am speaking.

Please pass this on.
After all The Carphone warehouse not afraid of their customers.

So if anyone has a clue how to proceed I would appreciate it.

Monday, November 03, 2014

Plumbing problems persist


                                     This is what blocked the toilet.
             A really good tree house in Howth
                           This spook popped into to sing a ghostly song.
             Really good value 3 days sight seeing with a day at the dogs thrown in.

Onward and upwards, over the last week I have been able to pay for groceries and fuel with cash, I expect my incoming credit card bill to be around €3,000.
That will be a hard one to pay off before Christmas.

The web summit is kicking off this week. All the whiz kids of the computer world are in town.
Tickets for the event were over €400 a pop and were sold out long ago.
Click here for more.
King Bono will be saying a few words.

A few months ago I had a woman in the car who had no grasp on reality.
The last time she told me that she was sleeping in her parents house when burglars came  into the house and tied her up. Then they took her daughter hostage.
When the police found the kidnappers they had a shootout and her daughter was clipped by a ricochet bullet. She had qualified as a doctor 2 weeks before, in spite of a broken leg and was due to marry an American marine and go to live in the states with her daughter.
Today she told me that she was attacked by 3 men who tried to drag her into a car.
"My back in destroyed with cuts where they dragged me along the ground. The police have them on CCTV but they did not show their faces. There is a Garda living in my house 24/7 to protect me."

The poor woman, I suppose at best she is not bored with life.

I am still having problems with plumbers, the downstairs loo was not clearing out the pan after flushing ,and the plumber decided that it needed a new siphon, which was installed. it was just the same, so I ran my finger along under the rim where I found a plastic clip wedged into the water outlet. I pulled it out with a pliers and got a perfect flush. But the cistern started to leak when it filled upand on opening it I found he had set the ballcock higher than the toilet handle and then he had tried to seal the handle hole with mastic..
So I adjusted the setting..Another problem solved.

 A lady from Portugal jumped in the other day.I told her that I loved to listen to Fado music on Youtube and Spotify at night When I told her that I loved the voice of a girl called Carminho who has a fantastic voice she smiled brightly.
"Listen to this from my Ifone" she said.


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Stupid Paddy

The bank holiday saw the Marathon  and the introduction of Winter time (Clocks went back)

I met a guy at the Westbury hotel.
Born in Crumlin he went to England when he was 9 with his parents and when he was 20 he started working on the roofing game.
Then he bent a piece of metal and took a patent on it.
He showed it around and there was not much interest in it.
Then after demonstrating its use it took off.



Then he said I invented a method of repairing a broken slate.



But when I tried to sell it they said Its OK but what we really need is a method.of fixing solar panels to roofs.

So I bent another piece of metal,I have 2 factories working flat out.



They call me Stupid Paddy,
I don't mind.
I never did it for the money ,its for my kids and grandchildren I hope they enjoy it.

A guy raced in front of me to cut me off  the other day and he was going so fast that he missed a job which took me to Heuston station. As he jumped out a German girl jumped in going to Portabello.
She had come to Ireland a few years ago as an Au-pair in the  west of Ireland 
She was singing the praises of Ireland and the Irish people.
She had a beautiful tone to her voice and she told me that when she was 14 she won a big singing competition in Germany, this gave her a recording contract to a top record label.
But she did not want that to be her life.
Then she let me see a clip of her singing  at a concert for Amnesty International.
She was really professional in the way she moved.

Anyhow Portabello came and we parted company.

It was a good job that the other guy cut me off or all that would not have happened.

A while ago a Mr.Mr.Yemi Moshood Olatunde appeared in the news he had been living here and driving a taxi for almost 8 years. He has been deported to Italy on an international arrest warrant for his involvement in a multimillion drug trafficking operation in Naples in 2001 click here

I have lived here in Ireland almost all my life. When I wanted to apply for a taxi license I had to wait for a good while for them to check to see if I had a criminal record.

In Spain for example you have to have lived there for 6 or 8 years, be able to speak Spanish fluently and know your locality before you apply to drive a taxi.

There is also something very wrong when the National Transport Authority tells you that your PPS number is incorrect, your records stand there for more20 years and even though you furnish them with 5 proofs and a letter from the inspector of taxes to back up your claim they do nothing.

They only relented when I threatened to take legal action for loss of earnings.

I will cool down soon I hope

Monday, October 20, 2014

Back to work

Yesterday I went out to there regulators office and the car was passed out.

No explanation at all.

Really it is not good enough and when I get time I will write a letter of complaint.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

3 Saucepans in one



 Did you ever see anything like this? Three saucepans for one ring
Ebay here I come.

The Christmas cactus is starting to bloom. This plant never bloomed for 60 years before we got it.



Well after many many phone calls I got a date to put me back on the road.

Hopefully.

My social security is (for example) 123456 P The National Transport Authority said they had a different number.
"What number do you have?"   Couldn't tell me.
So I rang revenue No the number you gave is your number.
Later on I rang back and asked if there was any other number on my file and they said there is 828282W which refers to a VRT payment on a car 8 years ago.  
But that is not your number.
So again I rang back NTA, spoke to a supervisor and they told me that this was "under investigation" and nothing could be done until their investigations were complete.
I sent 5 proofs of my PPS number, payment receipts, P45s and a letter directly from revenue.

"We can do nothing until our investigations are complete"

I spoke to Revenue on Friday morning and the lady I spoke to said that there was one person in the office who could change the tax file..It turned out that the 828282W number did not exist.

I got a phone call around 3 pm.
"Problem solved, go ahead"
No explanation, but they did apologize.

If you are a taxi driver you will hear horror stories about taxi rides from hell.

A woman told me about a driver taking her to Ballyboden when she wanted to go to Ballybough.
She jumped out of his taxi and into one behind at the lights. The second driver called the police, but the rogue driver had driven away. In spite of having reg numbers etc passed on they heard nothing. The lady told me that the other driver drove her home for no charge.
"We're  not all like that" he told the lady.

A second was 3 girls leaving a club on Harcourt St. going to Coolock The driver headed south instead of North. He insisted that the way to Coolock was along the M50.
When she asked him to stop he told her that he would beat her until she cried like a baby unless she shut up.
She is a clever girl and made a phone call to a friend of hers in Irish. She explained the situation and as luck her friend was on duty (a Garda)
Give me a missed call at Cadburys.
Long story short he tried to punch the Garda but didn't see the other 2 Garda standing behind her.
He was arrested, no license, all the car details were forged.
They impounded the car and he was allowed out.
A few days later a guy turned up in Coolock Garda station."You found my car which was stolen "
In spite of the fact that the car had not been reported stolen, or that they had not contacted him, so how did he know that the car was there?
He got the car back.

The first driver didn't turn up for court.

I need to calm down



Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Trace your roots.



    Check out your family history
 Coming to Dublin soon
                                      Harbor court
                         Westbury mall

I am typing with one hand and holding the the phone with the other hand.
The subject of my call is the National Transport Authority.
I even went out to the test center this morning and was told it was not their department.
So I went to to the HQ and was told at reception that the people upstairs do not check that kind of thing and they do not have the computers to deal with it anyhow.

So back to the phone.

My call ended in 16.4 minutes with the news that "The matter is under investigation"

It is a well known fact that we are all only ever 2 weeks from poverty.

Think about this, your income stops?.


How long would you last?

So today I did something to try and help my situation. I wrote to a politician !
You will never know if it will do some good.

I was heading up the M1 a few times over the last few days. A red car cut in front of me and weaved his way past me and through the traffic ahead. He had hijacked the car at Malahide golf club and he crashed in Donabate putting a woman and her 3 year old son into hospital. The driver of the stolen car is critical.
He had been in prison and the last time he was caught  he told the judge that he had learned his lesson and would never get behind the wheel of a car again. So he was let off..
Just to add a bit of heat to my argument he had 75 previous convictions
"Well Judge what would you like to say to the people in hospital?"
In America the justice system is very strict on repeat offenders.
3 strikes and you're out (In jail for life) 

One thing to say about people weaving around in traffic is stay well back and let them at it.

Yesterday I followed a guy for around 5 miles, he had no lights on.
But when I overtook him I noticed that his headlights were on.
Its the new thing. Day lights on cars, the driver thinks the lights are on.
My old Prius had automatic lights which was great.

I walked past a guy today who was selling his book Tight bastards guide to life click here

Writing a book? Thats a good idea

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Update

Just an update to the other piece.

From today's Sunday World
A Nigerian man from Drougheda is driving a taxi.

He has had 3 taxis impounded
5 convictions for no insurance
5 for not holding a licence
He has been disqualified from driving
A string of dangerous driving raps +30 other road traffic offenses

He is still driving a taxi!

In July the taxi regulator announced that they were having a clampdown at the weekend.

They caught no one !

Its Sick

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Thank God I am an old man

                                        e2 worth of fruit in Sicily.
     I was at this pole one day and a guy reversed over the first step,bounced up the other step and hit the lamp

          If this door in Modica could talk..


Thank God I am not starting over again.

I gave my old car over to a friend whose car had broken down while I was in the process of getting a new one.

I saw a great car in London and bought an air ticket and Sterling to pay for it.
Before I flew off I rang my insurance company to tell them and was told by them that they would not give me cover to drive it home !
So I had a day in London and came home by boat.

(The insurance company told me later that this information was incorrect)

I did housework and looked on the net.
Then I was at a wedding in the midlands and saw a Prius advertised.
I bought it and the next day I rang to have insurance cover on the car to bring it up and have the meter put in and made ready for a taxi.
Then I was told by the insurance company that they couldn't do that either.
But if the car was registered in somebody else's name I could drive it on my insurance.
Therefore I asked the garage to register the car in my sons name.
So I brought the car home and had the meter fitted, then I rang the NCT people,expecting to get a date 2 or 3 days later.
I think the date for testing was 5 weeks away. "No there is nothing sooner"
A few days later the the notification was on my phone and the first words were
"Please bring your drivers license and the car must be registered in your name.".
Time enough  to change this so I sent the tax book back to Shannon with instructions to put the car back into my own name and I worked at home and then went off to sunny Sicily for a break.
Its a great place for sure.

Then I came home and there is the motor tax letter with my name spelled wrong. I had a full 8 days to go so I typed a cover letter saying how this was urgent and sent it off..
No It didn't come back in time but they did test  the car.

Next to get the "suitability test" You need to bring in the old green stickers from the old car.
I had shredded them as there was nothing written on them to sat that they must be retained.
Pay €50 for a duplicate set so that we can destroy them and issue new ones.
So I have to pay €50 for another set to be destroyed I said, so you can issue new ones "Correct"

Then I answered questions and when it came to my PPS number they stopped me.
That is not your correct PPS number.
I was back on to them and then to the Revenue who agreed with me.
But it is a BIG NO from the National Transport Authority.
I photocopied 6 tax documents showing correct number.
Still nothing back from them.

I have not worked in the taxi for more than 6 weeks.

The National Transport Authority tells me that they cannot speak to the Revenue as it would be against the freedom of information act !

Tonight in Dublin I guarantee you there are more than 800 illegal taxi drivers working without fear of detection or prosecution.  Some unions have placed the number at over 1,000
A woman told me that she arrived at Dublin Airport and the driver didn't know where the city center was.
So she directed him to show the way.
Isn't that just dandy.

I hope that anyone injured, raped or killed in an illegal taxi manages to sue the National Transport Authority, perhaps this might loosen up this bullshit.

Just to say it is not any individual that is to blame.
The entire system is flawed and the staff are working on short term contracts so they never get a handle on the job. Plus there is no accountability.

Just in from Roys taxi blog.

Sunday World expose

Roy October 11th, 2014
I got a call from someone purporting to be a reporter from the Sunday World who said there is an article appearing tomorrow exposing a driver who has been removed from the road thirteen times and still continues to operate as a taxi without licence insurance or valid plate.
Might be worth a read?


Have a nice day !

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

A scare for halloween and longer

This is scarier than Halloween.

A customer told me that we didn't have a drug problem until this comes to town.

And it has arrived .












Monday, October 06, 2014

I only want my Christmas presents with red tape.


 Could it just be me? Its a bit early for Christmas.
Couldn't loads of goods be bought and sold on this floorspace in the next 2 months ?






Two famous doors of Dublin one in Merrion Sq. the other is Trinity College some nutcase aged 66 drove a car into the Trinity doors causing thousands of euro in damage..


Well I am still grounded, I passed the NCT and went to do the next stage.
Among the things he told me was that I had to bring in the green discs from the old car.
I told him that  I shredded them and that if they were to be brought back they should have printed a notice to that effect on the back of the disc.
I may have this wrong but it seemed to me that he said that I have to pay to have them replaced so that they can be destroyed..
"After all how do we know that the old car is not still being used as a taxi?"

I was tempted to ask him that if he stopped the illegal taxis driving away from checkpoints he would do more good rather than stop a legal tax paying and insured driver from working.
But I wouldn't say that.

Now today after 3 phone calls and an email to the transport people a TP2 form was issued and signed.
So I rang them back again to book the suitability test.

Guess what?

Now they tell me my income tax number is incorrect !

A few years ago they had the wrong number and it was corrected at the time but not it seems in their records.

No No they will not accept my tax documents as proof, or my sworn oath.

I am sure there has to be a play there somewhere.

How the big machine that eats more and more paper causes the servants to look for another ruler.







Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A new start.

My insurance company would not give me cover to bring my new car back to Dublin and have it passed out as a taxi.
But they would provide me with cover if the car was in someone elses name.
So I registered the car in my son's name.
I brought it home, got the meter put in and applied for the NCT.
The letter came giving me more than a months notice, but the first line read "Bring your drivers license and the car must be registered in your name"
So I sent the tax book away with a covering letter.
While I was away on holiday it came back with my name spelled wrong.
So once more it went back and the deadline is Monday
.
So here I am. I can't work because my taxi has not been passed out.
Hungry mouths to be fed !

What is a guy to do?

A complete stranger contacted me out of the blue from an undertaker company with a job offer.

"It is really simple, just look at this sheet of paper


Someone dies and you come over to the house with this piece of paper.


If it is a King or a Traveler for example they would need this fine monument costing €900,000

 An ordinary Joe Soap would be happy with the standard casket.
You get the picture by simply folding in the middle section.

Once in a while you might find that the widow is too mean to even pay for the standard funeral.

IN THAT CASE YOU JUST FOLD IN THE 2 ENDS, THIS IS THE CHEAPEST FUNERAL!!!!

By the way the car passed the NCT Next section in 48 hours

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Back but still in limbo






                     All the women have great legs from going up and down steps



Well here I am after two weeks in Sicily and glad to be back.
The weather and everything else was fantastic,
I was staying in apartment of a friend of a friend in the old part of the town.
Ryanair are now flying to the south part of the island.

Cheap as chips,go discover.

I found the photo of "Sam" go back to the post Irish freedom fighter and take a look

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Taxi firm in profit !

                         "Looking forward to Christmas" Mark Nixon photography Clontarf Rd.

                      Antique looking cars in Talbot St. window

                                     Tank in army display near airport at the weekend.

I often put newspapers aside to read later.

I found this

Irish Times business section Monday 9 July 2012

"O'Leary taxi firm in profit."

That was the headline.. Michael O'Leary head of Ryanair bought a taxi plate in 2003 so that he could zip in and out of the airport using the bus lanes.
He was even caught speeding while driving once.
But the judge missed out that he had no PSV license for driving a taxi at that time.
Now jump to the present day and he has a taxi "company" which drives him to work and looks after the household business with the meter running.
The company made €624,144 profit last year.
The company also provides horse breeding services. (I suppose this keeps the driver busy all the time)
 .
Back in the real world I am waiting for the NCT to give me a time, when I have to jump through the other hoops to be back on the road again.

I got the meter fitted and there was a big red 8 to the left of the display.
This happened once before and the legal meteorology would not pass it, the display was faded in sunlight and hard to read as well.
So I went back and the guy took out the chip and started to blow on it!
The slightest contamination on a microchip sets it off.
In places like Intel they have "Clean Rooms" where a few specks of dust set off alarms.
The workers wear space suits and here today is  my man blowing on the chip with his breath to clean it.
He had no compressed air aerosol or cleaner.
So I headed into Peats of Parnell St (Alas it is gone)
So it would be Maplins for "Servisol IPA 170" Isopropyl alchohol cleaner. e15.60
(In case you ever need it)
This has the meter working perfectly

My old taxi is working well I hope. The Chinese family who have it now were very unlucky with their last car.They depended on a mechanic who lived beside them to guide them with regard to cars.
He passed a lemon on to them as fit for service and they lost all their money on it.
There are still bad cars around.
My Daddy used to say that you could tell if a car was good if a Taxi driver bought one more than once.
For a van? What is the traveler driving?

It gives me time to reflect..
In Afghanistan and Iran also Iraq and also in Palestine and Ukrane there are thousands of innocent people caught up in war.. Thousands of people had to leave their homes to seek shelter in the mountains of Iran.
No blankets or shelter were dropped in for them. Hundreds of infants died from heat, cold and thirst.

This weekend 2 American football teams with marching bands and thousands of fans arrived in Dublin to play a football game.
Then they flew home again. 

Not that I am saying that there was anything wrong in doing that but  you have to ask
Where is our humanity gone?