Call Sign April 2010 - Page 11 - Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow...!

Those of you among Dial-a-Cab’s ballroom dancing fraternity will know all about slow, slow, quick, quick, slow! We have John West (B07J) and his wife Linda, Dial-a-Cab’s answer to Fred and Ginger! They won the British National Latin Dance Championships at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool at the tail end of 2007. They know all about slow, slow, quick, quick, slow.
On the other hand, while the majority of us would perhaps like the glamour of being British National Latin Dance Champions, we are probably more like Steve Hall (J87), who associates slow Alan Green

, slow, quick, quick, slow more with driving his taxi.
   "I’ve saved myself three points and £60," Steve excitedly told Call Sign when our paths crossed recently.
   Call Sign’s ever-alert reporter enquired as to whether those three points would be with Nectar or the Tesco variety and wondered aloud as to whether the £60 Steven saved could have been for an overnight stay at Butlins?
   But no! The points Steve had saved were the variety that go onto your licence and if collected within three years, could give you a compulsory holiday when you

Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow...!

John and LInda West winning the British Latin Championship Inset pic Steve Hall

reach twelve. Steve explained what had happened...
   "I was in a line of traffic buzzing through the Blackfriars underpass from Lower Thames Street when I caught sight of the brake-light reflections from several vehicles ahead of me. It had been raining earlier so the road was still wet, but I managed to reduce my speed down to a leisurely 29 mph just as I came towards the exit of the tunnel on to the Embankment. I guessed immediately what was happening and sure enough there was PC Plod standing at the roadside, determinedly pointing his six-shooter directly at me and looking very disappointed that I was cruising happily along within the legal limit!"
   Grinning with obvious self-satisfaction, Steve continued: "He must have been there quite some time without a ‘catch’ because he looked pretty fed up to me and rather damp from standing out in that rain! I have to admit that it was a pretty close shave though and I was lucky to have the road space needed to reduce my speed so quickly without causing an incident."
   The moral to Steve’s story? "I learned my lesson that no matter how much of a hurry the passenger is in, I’m going to be watching my velocity when travelling through there in future."
   Of course, Steve could always ask John West to teach him his version of slow, slow, quick, quick, slow! It may not be as exciting as driving a taxi, but it looks nicer and sounds much safer!

Alan Green (E52)

Call Sign Home Page

Page 12