Call Sign March 2008 - Page 14 - LISA RUNS FOR BRITISH LEGION IN MARATHON

One of the closest charities to the London taxi business that isn’t actually run by us is the Royal British Legion. Following WW2, the Legion was interminably linked to the Knowledge of London and through it, many ex-servicemen learned London’s ropes via help from the Legion and became taxi drivers. Now Lisa Desborough, daughter of Dial-a-Cab driver Ron (P42), is planning to run the Flora London Marathon and to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. She is also running in memory of her grandfather who passed away last October. Call Sign asked Lisa to write a few words about her forthcoming run. She told us: "I am the Daughter of Ron Desborough (P42), a long time member of Dial-a- Cab. I’m 24 and a Business Studies graduate from Brighton University. I have just started a new job as a Category Analyst for Coty. I enjoy music, travelling and for some strange reason, I enjoy doing adventurous things. I have done sky diving twice, a canyon swing and a bungee jump! And before anyone asks, no, I would never do a	LISA RUNS FOR BRITISH LEGION IN MARATHON
	bungee again. I was terrified, but I suppose I am glad to have done it. Anyway, last year I decided I would like to run the Flora London Marathon. The furthest I had run before was to catch a bus, so little did I realise what I was letting myself in for! I also decided I wasn’t going to run all that way and submit myself to all that pain for nothing, so I decided to run for charity. As a charity I have always supported, I decided to run for The Royal British Legion. This became even more poignant when my granddad died last October as he was in the RAF during World War II, so I am also running in his memory. I have now been in training for about six months and am up to sixteen miles, only another ten	miles more - a piece of cake… I wish! Although it is hard work, I don’t regret entering and I know that I will complete the course. My aim is to raise Ł1,500 for my charity, but hopefully with your help, I can raise a lot more. As I know the licensed cab trade has a great affiliation with ex-services charities, I would like to ask the DaC drivers if they would like to make a donation to the British Legion and help me raise as much as possible. If you would like to make a donation you can do so online at: HERE or you can send a cheque made out to The Royal British Legion to 44 Lavender Vale, Wallington, Surrey SM6 9QT. You can also contact my dad direct via his mobile on 07889 983 322. I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this article and also thank you all in advance for your kind donation. You can read a follow up article in the May issue of Call Sign about how I get on with my London Marathon experience." Lisa Desborough

NATASHA KAPLINSKY AND THE "DAC HUNKS!"
One lucky DaC driver (who forgot to leave his name on the Call Sign voicemail) recently picked up the lovely Natasha Kaplinsky and whilst exchanging small talk, she mentioned having interviewed four "Dial-a-Cab hunks" in the earlier days of her career. All she could remember was that it had "…something to do with the YMCA!" Hardly a combination you would automatically link together! Natasha was recently in the news following a decision to leave her Ł175,000 BBC TV News position and move across to Channel Five where she has taken up her new, reputed Ł1million post, replacing Kirsty Young on Five News. So Call Sign searched through 11 years of mags looking for mention of the YMCA – our only hope of possibly tracing the "four DaC hunks." And sure enough we came up trumps! It was in September 2000 and followed a Call Sign article by Allen Togwell bemoaning the fact that finding a gym for a gentle workout was so difficult. The article found its way to the Y Hotel in Great Russell Street and they inaugurated Taxi Drivers Fitness Awareness Week! They	The four DaC drivers from September 2000 (L-R): Paul Tully, Alan Gold, Mickey Tarbuck and Ian Read. Inset pic Natasha Kaplinsky (Pic: Five)
	asked for four DaC drivers to test out the facilities in front of ITV television cameras and that’s where Natasha came in. Aged 27 and working for Carlton TV’s London Today, Natasha opened the piece by claiming that London’s cab drivers could use some shaking up as driving for a living was far from being the healthiest of occupations. She went on to speak of the item in Call Sign, which she referred to	as the cabbies trade paper! Alan Gold (L95) told the viewers that a good work-out not only helped rid him of built-up stress, but also of the aggression that most drivers eventually feel at some point in their working day, while Paul Tully (Y40) added that stress came with the job and working-out helped relieve it. Closing the item, Natasha spoke longingly of "…all those hunky cab drivers in shorts!" So there you have it!

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