MAILSHOT

Adios Steve?
   Membership of all radio taxi circuits is essentially transient. Members come and go. Some stay on for longer than others. Some achieve high profiles while others prefer a degree of anonymity.
I joined Dial-a-Cab in 1979 (then known as LORDS) and apart from a brief break in my membership, have been a shareholder ever since. Apart from giving me work, the Society has also given me the opportunity to meet some really nice people and establish enduring friendships.
Prior to Data Despatch, the ‘social’ aspect of our Society was unique. Drivers knew each other and even Board members had a healthy camaraderie with the members. Dispatchers had cultivated their own style of dispatching and in many cases even knew the face behind the call sign. Alas, Data Despatch put paid to all of that. A more objective and callous style of conducting business is now the norm. Drivers are merely call signs, symbols on the computer monitor - nothing more, nothing less. Not for a moment am I saying we should go back to the pre-Data Despatch era, I am merely lamenting the price paid for progress.
Recently, I had to adjust my allegiance to Dial-a-Cab from a shareholder to a Journeyman.   This was necessitated by the fact that I spend more time out of the UK than in it. Which brings me to the reason for writing this letter. I would like to thank all the members of the Society who have given me their time and assistance. Particularly the many with whom I spent blissful time "on the Finsbury." To BMs past and present who have been particularly helpful, to those in the control room and administration who so unstintingly helped me with my queries and above all, particular gratitude to the Society which gave me the opportunity to meet my wife Yvonne who had worked at Brunswick House as a Call Taker on the night shift. Now you know why I enjoyed dispatching so much!  
I wish the Society continued success and it is my passionate desire that it continues to trade as a Licensed Taxi circuit for many years to come.
Steve Shaller (F34)

Computer repairs
Dear Alan,
   I was having trouble with my computer and tried ringing Bob

Getting stressed over PCNs
Hi Alan
   I keep getting PCNs while setting down or picking up at Primrose Street EC2. Ok, if it’s a radio trip then I can hand it in, but sometimes it is a street job and it really is stressing me out. Help!
   Do you know any contact details for the European Court of Human Rights? I keep appealing but to no avail and feel like I’d rather go to jail than pay. If successful, I’d want compensation for the stress caused. Can you help?
Stephen Field (F68)
Stephen, you sound ready to burst! If you are serious about the European Court of Human Rights, then you can get everything you need at http://www.echr.coe.int/echr. However, the last I heard there was a delay of around 2 years and only 1 case in 20 was deemed "worthy" of being put forward!
Perhaps a better idea would be to email Dial-a-Cab's parking expert Barrie Segal for his advice. He has now saved us a fortune in fines. Don't forget that he isn't a cab driver and doesn't know the situation of where yellow lines etc are placed. But he wins most of his cases! You will also have to be prepared to go to arbitration because appealing to councils is a waste of time. Barrie is at barrie@appealnow.com ...Ed

Nissen Hut
Dear Alan.
   Can I just say that your war of words with these blokes on The Nissen Hut is becoming a bit boring. Why do you take any notice of what they say? I doubt whether half a dozen people read TNH, but every time you rise to the bait it just encourages them to write more crap.
Terry Farmer.(ext T55J)
   Thanks for that Terry, but would you deprive me of some enjoyment! It’s also interesting to hear that you estimate 6 people read it and I just wondered who the extra one was? I also received your email over a month after TNH put out their rubbish about me and Dial-a-Cab and the same article was still there. Either the author has been sacked or the group behind it have given

Parking on ranks
Hi Alan,
I was sorry to hear about Martin Leat’s (P35) cab being involved in a ‘hit and run’ on the Sheraton Park Towers Hotel (Aug Call Sign). However, this is a working rank, so he shouldn't have parked there in the first place. Will he be letting his insurance company know he was illegally parked?
Steve Bryant (Y41)
   Hi Steve, I have always been irritated by drivers who park on working ranks and while I agree with you that he shouldn’t really have left it there, it was just for a few minutes and the driver that hit him should have left his details on the cab – especially as it was another DaC taxi. Martin will be covered because being against cab rules doesn't make it illegal ...Ed

Memory v The Knowledge
Dear Alan
Greetings from the wilds of the New Forest. I thought you might like this for Call Sign regarding Memory versus the Knowledge (see elsewhere in this issue ...Ed). From personal experience I can agree how the Knowledge can help you with other aspects in life in addition to cabbing. In 1956 I started at Alex Samuels (Mr Traffic) Garage in Shoreditch. Once I had finished my night shift, along with another driver we would catch the last night bus home.
   After some time of following the same routine, the other driver said that he wanted a better life. His wife was a nurse and with her help he wanted to go into the medical profession.
   Around four years later, I was in Bart's Hospital having a spinal operation and I met him again, yes, he was now a junior doctor! After some cheerful banter, he said that studying the Knowledge was harder to do and it had helped him with his studies by treating the human body like a map of London!
   In my opinion, Alan, I feel that the media should be made more aware of the Knowledge and how it works in 21st century London. I wonder what Dial-a-Cab drivers would say about it? It should provide good material for an interesting and lively article.
   Thank you for a magazine that is witty, interesting, engaging and a joy to read.
Norman Kerstein (ex A81)
If you have any comments after reading Norman’s article in this issue, feel free to send any comments to Call Sign ...Ed