Call Sign October 2008 - Page 9 - THE BEST AND WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!

Dial-a-Cab driver Darren Dennis (W65) has run several half-marathons in aid of charity and is reasonably fit. But the day he played football at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium turned into… THE BEST AND WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!
"May 10 2008 was going to be one of my best sporting moments of my life. I was going to join the elite few that had graced the hallowed turf at the Emirates Stadium, home of my beloved Arsenal Football Club. Sadly for me, it didn’t quite turn out that way… The football consisted of eight teams, four in each group, with the winners of each group to play in the final. Once entering the ground, we got changed in the away team dressing room. Dressing room? The size of it was more reminiscent of a ballroom - it was vast with 4 foot gaps between each clothes peg! Then my team made the walk from the dressing room and up the steep slope to the tunnel entrance, which then leads onto the pitch. As you stare out of the tunnel, the view is akin to looking at an emerald green carpet. Not one blade of grass out of place - sheer magic. Then as we walked onto the pitch, my moulded boots sunk into the lush grass as if I were on a thick shag pile carpet. We would be playing three 20 minute group games and kicked of in blazing sunshine with the stadium temperature up in the high 70s. After five minutes of running round like a headless chicken, it began to feel more like 100 degrees! In no time, the 20 minutes was up and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Our second match saw us take an early lead; I was just getting my third wind when I suddenly turned on a sixpence (perhaps more like an old cart horse) and headed for goal, when a very loud pop came from my leg that could be heard by everyone within a 10-metre radius of me. It felt like someone had lunged two-footed into the back of my left leg. As I looked behind me, there was no one within two yards and I then knew	Darren about to leave his opponent standing! It’s the end for Darren as the physio says his Achilles tendon has snapped I had done something that was going to cut short my dream day. As I lay clutching my leg on that hallowed turf waiting for the physio to access the damage, horrifying thoughts entered my head and I could picture the wife wagging her finger and saying to me: "I said you were too old to be playing football and now where’s the money going to come from to pay the bills!" The physio immediately told me what I already knew - I had snapped my Achilles tendon. As I was being stretchered off the pitch, I took one final glance around the stadium and had just one thought - it was still worth it! With eight weeks in plaster and fourteen weeks off work, I have now recovered and I’m back in that stressful cab. That day at the Emirates may have been one of the worst of my life – but I still maintain that it was also one of the best! And my wife was quite understanding - although I’ve now had to give up football – at least for the moment! If Arsene Wenger is reading this, the editor has my phone number and I am available!" Darren Dennis (W65)
GLA VICE CHAIRPERSON VISITS DAC HOUSE
Caroline Pigeon, who alternates with Val Shawcross as Chairperson of the GLA Transport Committee, recently paid a return visit to Dial-a-Cab House after meeting Chairman Brian Rice at City Hall. Caroline is a Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly and has been a councillor in Southwark for ten years. She often campaigns on issues such as strong policing and improved public transport across the capital and it was in that guise that she visited DaC’s East Road HQ. Caroline told Call Sign:	Caroline with Brian Rice
	"It was really great to meet Brian and the team and to see what work goes on behind the scenes. The volume of calls and how quickly they are dealt with was impressive, providing an efficient transport service for Londoners."

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