Call Sign February 2006 - Page 28 - DRIVERS SHOCKED AT IAN CAMERONS DEATH - IMPERIAL COLLEGE POLLUTANT RESEARCH

Ian as drivers will remember him There was a stunned silence among the many Dial-a-Cab drivers that knew Ian Cameron (ex-R12) when hearing that he had died suddenly from a heart attack. Ian had been on DaC since June 1983, until a bad accident caused him to leave around 2 years ago. His red hair was regularly seen at AGMs, probably because he hated to miss the opportunity of telling fellow subscribers what a great team his Arsenal were! He would never miss a home match and missed very few away games. He had also been Call Sign’s Consumer Expert over the years, testing out various commodities that DaC drivers used regularly such as coffee houses, sandwich bars, cab washes, fish and chip restaurants and even various ice cream parlours! But without any doubt, Call Sign will remember him for his support to the group of DaC drivers who helped with patients travelling arrangements at St Joseph’s Hospice in Cambridge Heath Road for six years without ever taking a single penny. Along with Ken Freeborn (W06), Tony Jack (ex-R47) and Alan Fisher (F07), Ian turned up at St Josephs most Thursdays for those six years, taking cancer-stricken patients to and from the "out patients" – a service run by the remarkable Dr Richard Lamerton and which was to become the forerunner of the MacMillan Service, but in those days surviving with no financial assistance other than what they could scrounge via donations. All four drivers had their allocated areas and patients	DRIVERS SHOCKED AT IAN CAMERONS DEATH Ian's skirt and St Trianian's outfit can be seen behind the outstretched arm as the 4 DaC drivers put on an outrageous xmas show at St Joseph's Hospice
	would wait to be picked up by the four DaC cabbies and for their luxury trip to the Hospice and a quick check-over by Dr Lamerton, a cup of tea and the occasional singsong organised by a piano-playing nun! In reality, all those patients were dying, but thanks to Dr Lamerton’s belief that everyone should be allowed the dignity to die at home with their loved ones whenever possible and the fact that he had the DaC taxi drivers who organised the travelling arrangements to call on, many patients had the quality of their lives improved – albeit for a short period. In addition, the four drivers would "chat-up" those they brought in and convince them that they were going to have a great afternoon – indeed, for many of them, it was their only outing of the week. Ian had no trouble with the chatting up. The male patients all enjoyed his patter about Arsenal, while the females just looked at his red hair and sighed! There was nothing Ian wouldn’t do to help these people – few of whom would survive more than a few months at most. So together with the other three, he appeared on stage in what was possibly the most outrageous show ever put on for a hospice – usually places of the utmost calm! With Alan dressed in a dinner suit, Ian, Ken	and Tony dressed up as St Trinian schoolgirls whilst the foursome sang as Uncle Henry and the Ovaltinies! In Richard Lamerton’s 1986 book, East End Doc (Lutterworth Press), he writes of the four DaC drivers and talks of that Christmas show which had obviously remained in his memory for many years afterwards. The foursome had been slightly afraid of the reception they’d get from Dr Lamerton - a strict Quaker – for wearing skirts etc, but everyone roared with laughter – even the nuns - and the day went down into history as the one where 80 dying patients forgot all about their problems and spent an invaluable period of time just laughing. Ian was proud of that day and rightly so. That summed up the Ian many knew. Sadly, the accident he was involved in changed him and many of those who knew him could suddenly no longer contact him. Whatever demons came into his life during his last few years can’t change the fond memories of him that many have. Call Sign sends it’s deepest sympathy to all in his family and of course to brother Stewart (R31), who like Ian, has been on DaC for many years. Rest in peace Ian, you deserve it…

IMPERIAL COLLEGE POLLUTANT RESEARCH -
LTI STATEMENT

"The recent research undertaken by Imperial College, London into pollutant exposure which seemed to reveal that taxi travel resulted in higher levels of exposure to pollutants than other forms of travel.
   "Imperial College acknowledged that this needs to be researched further, says Surbit Kaur who commented: "Further research is still needed to investigate the individual modes of transport in detail to get a better understanding."
   "The report is unclear whether the results refer to all types of taxi travel and not a specific model traditional London black cab. Furthermore, the report does not state that it is other vehicles causing the pollution rather than taxis per se. LTI Vehicles, manufacturers of the London Taxi, takes every step to ensure their engine emissions meet with EU standards.
   It is however, common knowledge that transport is one of the main contributors to global warming and air pollution and so when travelling it is up to individual responsibility to make sure they travel responsibly.
   "The very nature of the journey type undertaken by the Taxi user means they are more exposed to pollutants irrespective of the model and that is due to societal causes rather than the fault of the taxi. Key factors being short urban journeys, single person journeys and the fact that it is likely that when driving in traffic taxis will have cars in front and behind causing heightened emission levels."

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