Internet List
I have on occasion criticised the UK Internet list DISCUSS when they have said something about myself or Dial-a-Cab which was obviously untrue. I usually have no problem with them saying what they like, after all, it is a free country and if it entertains them...!
   But when one of their members criticised me several months ago believing that I wouldn't see it, I responded via the magazine. The usual suspects then had a pop at me because I dared publish something they claim is copyright to their list. The fact that the original letter about me was obviously untrue had little bearing on their argument, because none of them mentioned that! Their only concern was that I had dared publish something outside of their little club. I felt the truth to be more important than their little rules, which is why I published the letter.
   Items from the Internet list are sent to me by a list member who obviously feels as I do, that if you talk about someone, then at least have the decency to let them know you're saying it. One member of DISCUSS - and an ex-DaC Board member - recently said that I couldn't have been telling the truth about leaving the list two years ago (which I did). Of course, in the real world that infers that I am a liar, but he obviously assumed that I wouldn't see his comments, so it would be ok to say it and to keep up his self-induced belief of being the elder statesman of the list who knows all! There is a name for people like that - but I wouldn't want to upset him!
   Another list member and also an ex-DaC Board member (now we know where they go to hold Court), went into list print boasting about how he hasn't read Call Sign for two years blaming what he calls "...the issue of Call Sign's editorship and biased content." He goes on to add how "...vindictive they (BoM) can be if you have the audacity to question their policy or procedures." He went on to write about news he had been given about Sovereign pulling out of the prospective deal involving DaC. Sorry, P, but I think you really do need Call Sign to get some correct info - and perhaps the joke column to remind you how to smile?
   So carry on chaps! Believe me, 95% of the stuff you write about I don't see, just keep me out of it and it will probably and thankfully, make it 100%...!

Fiftieth Anniversary Congratulations
Call Sign has received many congratulatory letters and emails - in addition to those received by Dial-a-Cab - regarding our fiftieth anniversary. But I have to say that I thought it extremely nice when in recent issues of TAXI and Taxi Globe, three separate ads offered their congratulations. There was

one from ComCab, another from Comfort / DelGro in Singapore and a third from CabCharge Australia.
   And incidentally, following last month's Call Sign article by ComCab MD Mike Galvin, there is a letter of congratulations in this issue from Lim Hung Siang, the CEO of the China/UK Taxi Strategic Business Unit - part of the Comfort/DelGro company who own ComCab!  

Criminal Records Bureau
It seems that - surprise, surprise - the Criminal Records Bureau have now put up their fees from the £12 that was previously charged for telling Licensed Taxi drivers what they already know - that we are probably the most honourable group of 24,000 that it is possible to meet. After all, other than MI5, who is subject to more strenuous checks when we first apply for a licence than us! Who faces the strictest disciplinary procedures for falling foul than us? Yet we now have to pay £29 for an enhanced disclosure from the CRB. Of course we could have the standard disclosure, which costs £24 and represents a mere 100% increase, but the PCO are particular that they require the new enhanced version only - we are obviously not as trustworthy as we thought we were.
   Private hire drivers - obviously being as reputable as ourselves - are charged the same fee even though not one of them is licensed and we have to take the word of some minicab companies who DO have a PCO licence and are obviously men of integrity? Those such as TEKSI in Kentish Town, no doubt, who were told that they couldn't use the word Teksi as the intention was to sound like Taxi and give prospective passengers a false impression. They kept the sign but still got their licence. Their drivers - who aren't licensed - are in the same group as us so far as the PCO are concerned.
   This column, while never being afraid to criticise the PCO - even at the risk of our famous 'stop note' for having an under-inflated tyre outside the Editor's home address - has always been a great supporter of that office. Whether we liked it or not, they kept our standards way above any of the opposition. But now under their TfL banner, I sense an anti-taxi mode. I don't believe for one second that Roy Ellis would ever deliberately harm this trade, but there are certainly others who would. TfL, despite what the Mayor of London says, is NOT our friend. Beware...

To Big For His Book Cover?
I couldn't help but notice Alf Townsend's remarks in his 'Cab Driver' column 'talking it over with Townsend' (July 18). A good quarter of his lengthy article was spent plugging his book CABBY. He kept thanking his friends for buying it and told the tearjerker about the 12-year-old boy who wanted Cabby in preference to Harry Potter! Alf then went on to thank the trade press individually for their kind reviews and then his many friends again who had bought a copy - is that two each? But hark! Two members of the trade had apparently dared keep quiet about his book and Alf sarcastically wondered why both Len Plumb and Al Fresco hadn't mentioned his book in their columns. Surely they should be hung, drawn and divided into eighths - quartering being too good for them?
   Firstly, Al Fresco did write a review, he wrote it for Call Sign - and he didn't just copy the wording on the dust cover! But what if he hadn't written about it? What right does Alf Townsend have to expect everyone to mention his book? CABBY is reasonably interesting to another cab driver, but by no stretch of the imagination could it be described as a work of art. Methinks Mr Townsend is getting a bit too big for his book cover...

Salieri Discount
I've had many of you telling me how delighted you are with the amazing offer given to Dial-a-Cab drivers by the Salieri Restaurant in the Strand who give us a huge 25% discount off the bill. Some drivers are still not sure though, so here goes one more time! It's simple and there are no catches. The Salieri is at 376 Strand (almost opposite the Savoy). It is a family run restaurant specialising in French and Italian cooking and the family want to repay our drivers for taking passengers to and from their establishment, so thanks to a DaC driver who originally suggested it to them, they will give you a genuine 25% off your total bill provided that you (the driver) are in your party of guests and can show your badge or bill. You can book to be certain of a reservation, but I have been assured that they will alwaystry to find you a table if you mention DaC and Call Sign (see their ad in every issue). You will enjoy an excellent meal in a beautiful restaurant and get 25% off at the end. I recently went there for the first time and will certainly be returning. And of course, if you do enjoy it as much as I think you will, then please recommend it to your passengers. After all, nothing is for nothing in this world...

Alan Fisher
callsignmag@aol.com