Year Fifty for Dial-a-Cab!
Well, we've made it! This January issue of Call Sign marks the beginning of the fiftieth year of trading for Dial-a-Cab.
   We may not be the oldest radio taxi organisation in the world, but few of the American cab companies who have contacted me via the 'net to tell me how old their companies are (having read the December issue on-line) even have as many as one hundred drivers - let alone around two thousand! Of course, that doesn't detract from those companies such as Bluebird in Victoria, Canada who have been going since 1928. That is an excellent achievement, but they, like many others, operate with around eighty drivers.
   I now hear that DaC will be celebrating with a dinner and ball in June, which will correspond with another momentous part of this momentous year - the fiftieth anniversary to the day of the meeting called by Bonnie Martyn at the Albany Tavern at the northern end of Great Portland Street in 1953. At this meeting, 25 licensed taxi drivers all put around one day's takings into a hat that was passed around and the £200 collected formed the basis from which they could afford to start the Society. I hope that as many drivers and their partners as possible will apply for tickets, because it's going to be one hell of a night!

Going to the AGM
As the current Editor of Call Sign, I have no choice but to attend the DaC Annual General Meeting. However, I haven't always been the Ed but I still used to attend every year! It's just one day each year, yet so few bother to attend. I know that drivers voted by a large majority to have postal voting and that was their prerogative, but far more than 100 drivers voted NOT to have postal voting. So where are they? Nothing irritates me more than someone who never attends the AGM coming up to me and complaining that we shouldn't have postal voting.
   I voted against postal balloting, but I accepted the majority's wishes because that is the basis of democracy. But I keep being told by subscribers that this is OUR 

Society, so why aren't these people at the AGM to take an  interest in our business? Could it be that they want others to look after it while they continue to go out in their cabs to earn money? These are probably from the same ilk as those who worked on those rare occasions when the trade was fighting for something and had called a drive-in. Is one days money that important...?

Democratic Magazine?
In Allen Togwell's article in this issue (Allen Togwell's Marketing Place), he writes about a driver who phoned him complaining that Allen had made some derogatory comments about DaC drivers. In this driver's opinion, any problems we have with clients should be kept private and that Call Sign should adopt the attitude of the other circuit's magazines and only publish bland, totally non-controversial items. The driver considered that it looked bad in the eyes of our clients who sometimes read them.
   I'd like to know what you think? Should Call Sign become tame with no letters column, perhaps a regular article on maintaining taxi driver's gardens and Board members always saying the same thing - please cover the work, but never informing you, the Society's owners, of what is happening for fear of it being read by a client? Perhaps we could publish some out-of-date info from the British Tourist Board on forthcoming roadworks at Trafalgar Square etc. If that last remark sounds rather silly, then you haven't read some of the other radio mags. Presentation is first class, but do you want to stare at it or read it!
If I sound slightly irritated, then it's probably because I spent a long time making sure that Call Sign gave a cross-section of everyone's views - be that Drivers, Board members or Call Centre staff. Even clients have been known to want to contribute and far too many want to go on the mailing list - not to keep an eye on us - but

because they seem to enjoy the freedom that this magazine has. For that I am grateful to all my regular contributors, to the drivers who write in to the Mailshot page and especially to the BoM who allow Call Sign to have more editorial freedom than any other taxi publication.

Following The Chairman!
There have been some issue of Call Sign that seem to be filled with photos of Brian Rice and
this issue may well be one of them! The problem is that the DaC Chairman seemed to be everywhere! This month he has been on several different radio stations, he was in Covent Garden helping to launch the Westminster eco-mark for clean air, he showed a Spanish radio circuit representation around DaC, he was at the RADAR presentations for those disabled people who help to make a difference and all that in addition to a seemingly endless stream of meetings! Wherever my camera is, there also happens to be Brian Rice! The rest of the Board are considering tying him to a tree next month so as to get more photos of themselves in the mag!

New Year Issue
My fingers are crossed that this issue maintains the standard that I hope it usually attains, however, although I cannot afford to take off two weeks before Christmas, apparently the Call Sign printers can! So I've had ten days fewer than usual to put this issue together and that is also the reason why I have put out a constant stream of irritating messages asking you all to let me have any items for this issue by December 12 - up to ten days earlier than I can usually run to. Let me know when I can uncross my fingers!

And Finally...
I hope that 2003 brings you everything you'd like it to bring, especially good health and a return to good health for those of you who are currently not as well as you'd like to be.
To everyone out there, may I wish you all the happiest of New Years...

Alan Fisher
callsignmag@aol.com