Call Sign February 2006 - Page 5 - DAC’S MARSHAL ROCKY: "I DUNN HIM!"

DAC’S MARSHAL ROCKY: "I DUNN HIM!"

At the same time as news filtered out that Sylvester Stallone was going into production with Rocky 6 – Rocky Balboa – where the ageless boxer comes out of retirement to battle the real-life light-heavyweight champion of the world, Dial-a-Cab’s own Rocky – Gerry Dunn MBE (S84) – decided to show the world that our Marshals are not there to be pushed about either!
   It was just before Christmas and Gerry was marshalling the queue at London’s Battersea Park where a function was just finishing in the marquee. Gerry takes up the story…
   "It all started ok at Battersea on a pleasant Friday evening whilst I was marshalling one of the Christmas parties that are held there. It was a similar marshalling job to those I’ve done many times before.
   A lot of people were forming an orderly queue, when an inebriated (totally p*ssed) guy staggered up to me and said that he wanted a taxi. I told him there was no way he was getting into one of our cabs in that state, so he began staggering away in the opposite direction and I just continued organising the taxi queue. A few minutes later, the drunk staggered back and tried to jump the queue and get into one of our taxis.
   I moved him away from the cab and politely asked him to get a cab from elsewhere. I tried reasoning with him, explaining that no cab driver would take him in this state because he was very likely to either throw up or give the driver grief.
   As we walked away from the cab rank, he suddenly threw a punch at me that narrowly missed my face but which landed on my shoulder with enough force to knock me to the ground. I was so incensed by what happened that I got up and gave him a so-called "right

DaC's Gerry: The New Rocky Inset: Sylvester Stallone - the original Rocky

hander" that sent him flying!
   As he went down, he grabbed my jacket and pulled me down with him. Several dinner-suited guests pulled him off me until the police came. The police sergeant came running over and told me that he saw what happened and that he would arrest him. It took four police officers to hold him down!
   One of the guests then came over to me and asked me how I was. I told him that I was quite shaken but feeling quite euphoric! He replied: "Don’t worry, he won’t be going very far - I’ve just kicked him in the b**locks, so he won’t be dancing for some time!"
   The Police handcuffed the drunk and bundled him into a cage in the back of a police van during which time one police officer received a wound to his hand that drew blood, something he was not too pleased about!
   The police asked if I would prefer charges for assault, but I declined bearing in mind that I would have to go a police station, make a complaint and then possibly have to take a day off to go to court. And besides, DaC Marshals don’t create a fuss – we just do our job!"
   To any drivers that would like to be a DaC Taxi Marshall, make sure that you have a black belt in Karate, an A-level in self defence and keep your insurance policies up-to-date…!

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