Call Sign May 2010 - Page 18 - NOW KEITH CAIN BECOMES A GRANDDAD – to TWINS!

On Thursday 12 November 1953, the first ever ODRTS Board meeting took place at the home of founder-Chairman Bonnie Martyn. Among the topics discussed were items such as where our office would be (Pentonville Road) and could we afford an extra phone line (yes)? Nowhere in Call Sign’s extensive files did it mention children being on the agenda? Yet we have to ask about the Board meetings taking place over 56 years later, with Chairman Brian Rice becoming a grandfather in November when Charlie appeared, followed soon after by Mike Son’s latest offering, Oliver, who said hello from the Swedish city of Norrtalje. Now Keith Cain has joined the club for the first time and hit the jackpot first time round with twins – or as a former member of the Dial-a-Cab football team, he might refer to the new arrivals as a brace! The twins were born naturally to	Call Sign has to ask: What’s going on at DaC Board meetings... NOW KEITH CAIN BECOMES A GRANDDAD – to TWINS!
	*Keith with Emily and Ethan*
	Keith’s eldest daughter Samantha and her husband Andrew at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent. They arrived on 14 March – very appropriately on Mothering Sunday. That also happened to be on the day before Sam's 30th birthday. Those two days are shaping up to be pretty expensive in future years! The gorgeous duo arrived 12 minutes apart with Emily	weighing in at 6.02 lbs followed by Ethan who was 6.2 lbs. Mother and children were all said to be doing well – although mum Sam was said to be "a little tired!" As for the Board meetings, the latest one was said to have discussed several matters, with the main one involving the correct age to begin potty training!

Curls celebrates 25 years with DaC!
*Curls, champagne and the Chairman!*	*At a DaC Xmas party 20 years ago, the name of the lady on the left has been lost with time*
Most long-time Dial-a-Cab drivers know Curlette Villiers as just Curls! A cousin to former West Indian pace bowler Curtley Ambrose, Curls fame as a DaC telephonist, back channel operator whilst we were still on voice dispatch and now Night Shift Controller, have become almost legendary! There aren’t many at DaC to whom you could say the name Curls, who wouldn’t straightaway know who you were referring to! At the end of March, Curls reached a milestone - 25 years with the Society! To mark the occasion, the DaC Board gave her a reception in the boardroom in recognition of Curls achievement. Curls told Call Sign: "I’ve enjoyed all my 25 years here and even though the prime purpose is to pay the rent, it’s lovely to work in an environment where there are so many nice people." When Curls took the job as a telephonist, Peter Fennymore had just stepped down as Chairman and was replaced by Kenny Burns. It was also just after DaC’s senior dispatcher Dennis Samuels had passed away and Control Room Manager, Charlie Ruben, had advertised in Call Sign for new trainee dispatchers. "I never even thought about dispatching in those days," said Curls. "I had a one-year-old son to look after and I just needed a job. My supervisor was Maggie Brynjolfsson and I could tell straight away that DaC was a friendly place to work. Mind you, with thousands of paper dockets floating there and back between various desks, it certainly gave the impression of being one big mess! But once you knew what was happening, it became easy and DaC became a part of me. But had you told me back then in 1985 that I’d be having a 25-year celebratory party in 2010, I’m not sure if I would have laughed or cried! And that one-year-old son, Jermaine, is now 26 and has worked for Dial-a-Cab for the past five years!" Happy memories? "So many, mostly involving friends that I’ve met here, seeing people who just came to work at DaC but who later met their partners here. Sad times? Again it’s seeing those staff and drivers who I got to know purely through work, yet found myself becoming a friend to, who have died along the way. I don’t even want to think of how many, but I do remember them all." Ending on a happy note, Curls told Call Sign that the reception had been a wonderful day and that she, together with her guest and Night Shift Supervisor, Julie White, had had the most wonderful time. Sipping on a glass of Champagne, Curls told us with a huge grin: "If this was for 25 years, I can’t wait to see what they’ll do after fifty years!!!"

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