POETRY REQUEST

I have recently lost both my parents and have found comfort in two poems, both of which I first saw printed in Call Sign. The first one was during Jery's term as editor and the second came in your tribute following the death of Princess Diana. Having re-read the words many times, I find the sentiments to be very true and have frequently found comfort in them.
   Hopefully, the words could give some comfort to others, as they have to me, if you would be so kind as to reprint them.
David Marks (R22)
Pleased to be of assistance, Dave. Hopefully both pieces of poetry are somewhere in this issue...Ed

MORE BEARDMORE MEMORIES

I bought a 1962 Mk 7 in 1969 (811 ALT) which only had three plates left. In those days your cab had ten plates and then bye, bye, however, I wasn't worried about only having the three plates left as there was no way that I intended keeping it for that long! I paid £180 for it and with it needing a new engine and overhaul, that put the price up by another £110 to £290.
   I'll never forget the smell inside the cab, whatever cream had been used for cleaning made it smell like an aeroplane!
It had a foot operated starter and ran quietly and smoothly although the suspension was non-existent on bumpy roads. It was quite economical to run thanks to a 3-speed (column change) gearbox and very low geared - you could reach top gear in fifty yards and go round a corner in second even with four up.
   I feel sure that the one thing all owners will remember is the beautiful way the doors closed. You could push it closed with one fingernail and it went click - just like a Rolls Royce. That's how well the body was built.
The down-side was the winter! Being a 3-door cab with sliding glass partition made it the coldest vehicle I have ever driven. The Heater? It must have been designed by a cretin! It was mounted on the luggage partition just about level with your left elbow and had an area of heat coming out which covered about 2 inches by 2 inches. In theory, if the heater were to be effective, you would at least get a warm left arm, but with the partition open whatever warm air came out went straight through!
   The column gear-change was great fun. The linkage regularly jammed and it was no strange sight to see a Beardmore at the traffic lights with the bonnet up and the driver fiddling with the linkage. The brakes were excellent for that period although another weird trait was the hand-brake compensator. If you parked with the hand-brake on and two or three people got out, the hand-brake released the vehicle!
   One other disadvantage was the service or repair for which you had to go to Clifton Hill NW8 to Beardmore's garage and although they were perfectionists, in those cabs it was a long drag from Green Badge valley.
One icy cold night I broke down and left the cab at Beardmore's while a friend lent me his FX4. I was spoiled right away by the auto gearbox and the luxury of a fabulous heater. Not too long after that I sold the Beardmore, which in reality was a fine-weather cab.
   Beardmore brought out a 4-door model in around 1965/66, but shortly afterwards production ceased and a monster called The Winchester came on the scene. But that's another story...!
Ray Harvey (B88)

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

With regard to the latest party political broadcast on behalf of the 'jobs for the boys' party,
'When I was kicked of the board' (June Call Sign), I would remind Mr Togwell that the year he was deselected by the membership was probably the Society's best ever!
   In response to a direct question from Aubrey Siteman (C7) at the 1990 AGM, Peter Coare (Ex-A92) answered on behalf of the Board:
   "Last Year when we lost Allen (Togwell) from the Sales department; to make sure that we carried on going forwards instead of backwards, we employed a marketing company and to date their cost has been £35,000."
Aubrey Siteman said: "Have we seen any results from them?" To which Peter Coare replied: "Well we've stuck £4 million on the top line."
  It is interesting to note that once Mr Togwell was reinstated, turnover and profit took a drastic decline and has only recently recovered to 1990 level. Likewise, at the time the service charge in 1990 was 4.6 to 1. It has fallen in 1999 to 2.5 to 1 - almost 50% less.
Mark White (B86)

BOARD ROTATION

I read with alarm and trepidation Mr. Togwell's comments on continuity. I do, of course, realise that he was responding to a letter written by a member with some good ideas, but I wonder if Mr. T has confused incumbency with the right to change. His argument doesn't hold water and his comments on what another Board member did or didn't do are unprofessional
to say the least! This, coupled with the article written in the previous Call Sign by Mr. Whitbread concerning Limo's and their application, leads me to wonder if there is a staleness creeping into this Board. I really believe that most Board members are out of touch with the everyday business of driving a cab for a living. I have expressed this to the Chairman on more then one occasion and he agrees that the Board members should drive their cabs as often as possible so as not to loose touch with the real world of the London Cab driver.
   On reflection, I believe now that a constant revolving of Board members is a MUST as it is obvious that some of them are so absorbed in their own self importance that they have forgotten who voted them in and, more importantly, why they are on their very high salaries anyway.
D.kupler (Y74) ...via email

NO BUBBLY PRACTISE NEEDED

The July issue of Call Sign, Dial-a-Cab's excellent monthly mag (editor: the Hon, Most Worshipful, Illustrious, Venerable Alan 'Dickens' Fisher) has a very interesting announcement on page 10. London Taxis International has done a deal with a German importer to export 100 of the new TX1. Geeze, talk about exporting coal to Newcastle, or should that be cutlery to Sheffield, or ice to Greenland, or Coca Cola to the US, or polar bears to Canada! Jamie Borwick, take a bow. The only problem is that they're to be converted to left-hand drive, which means Alan still won't have anything to do with his left-hand other than to play with his terminal!
   Hey Alan, stunning photo display on the middle pages...and who's the bloke on the front page standing alongside Bonnie Martyn? Geeze, he holds a glass of bubbly with practised ease.
John Lanigan
Victoria Taxi Association
New South Wales, Australia ...via email

Had you been around at the time, I'd have thought about putting you on the front page with Bonnie instead of Brian Rice! On second thoughts, you'd have probably spilt your tube of Fosters over Bonnie's shoes!...Ed

LIVERIED CABS - A RESPONSE

I feel that I must respond to Brian Rice's reaction to my livery-a-no-go letter (June Call Sign). Never having crossed swords with the Board or Brian before, I was somewhat surprised at the tone of his reply. Yes, I do own a top-of-the-range taxi, but not just because I drive for the Chelsea Chairman (Ken Bates). My last taxi was a 'P' Fairway which had the same level of luxury - air con etc, so this isn't a one-off, Brian. But I digress. I had several questions which have still gone unanswered, so I hope that you can help.

1. The moving of the AGM to February 2000 stops us going back to the members and putting our case forward again. Surely as the date has changed, it would be only fair to allow livery drivers to stay on until February, then if at the AGM the vote falls, we will either come off or have the cabs resprayed.
2. At the AGM, many felt that we had enough of the votes, but the Chairman insisted that it had fallen. Yet the vote for the BoM not to have to own taxis was not as close, yet it was put to us again via a postal ballot. Why not show us liveried drivers the same courtesy, Mr Rice?
3. You say the reason our work has expanded is down to our name "being seen around." I think that the Chancellor would have something to say about that. You only have to see house prices, restaurants and shops all booming. This is down to the economic climate we are in at the moment Brian, and I disagree with you saying anything otherwise.
4. Although there is now a rule to take liveried cabs off the circuit, there is no rule for our taxis to have logos, so as well as our taxis "not being seen around everywhere," it still means that clients on multi-cab jobs still have to ask every driver his/her destination.
5. If the economy dipped as we have seen happen in the past and companies cut back on their cab usage, it will have nothing to do with their colour, it becomes a purely financial reason and nothing else. If every cab was black and had logos, it wouldn't change a thing.

It was interesting to see that last Christmas, the driver who won the TV for doing most account was, yes, a liveried taxi! From hero to villain in a year!
   Come on BoM, this affects a lot of drivers' livelihoods and I hope that you realise this.
Grant Davis (L39)

Brian Rice replies:
Dear Grant, you are not crossing swords with me or the BoM, you are crossing swords with the membership, they are the people responsible for passing the new rule in November 1997, however, I do agree with them. As regards moving the AGM to February, again this was a membership decision, not mine, but again I agree with them. You cannot give me 'absolute' power to disregard the Rule Book when it suits you then tell me that I must abide by the rules, on other occasions. You state that everyone is doing well and the Chancellor will confirm that, well, perhaps you can have a word with him so that he can do something about the near £400,000 loss that Mountview has just published, oh, and perhaps he can also do something about the sale of Com Cab, due to financial problems, to the Far East! And whilst you are on the subject, thank the Chancellor's arranging for DaC to secure the largest account in the UK - everyone's doing well? You state that should there be a downturn in work, our corporate clients will not worry what they travel in, well I can assure you Grant, that my experience tells me that when there is a downturn in work, clients become even more demanding and discerning.
I do understand that you wish to undertake what you consider to be best for you and your family, equally I will do what I consider to be in the interests of the majority of members and DaC. There has been two votes on this topic, on both occasions the membership have made their feelings known, when will you accept that? Are you going to write a letter every month between now and December? I can assure you that in my conversations with the Chairman of Radio Taxis, he is very concerned about the abundance of logo'd DaC taxis in the city at night (fantastic!), so much so that they want no more liveried cabs and even want every taxi on Mountview to carry the company logo. It is in the majority of members interest to have a large presence of our logo'd cabs on the streets of London, and why should those same members subsidise you? After all, most liveried cab owners receive an income from their livery and the members that advertise DaC do not, they are advertising their circuit in order to obtain more work.

ICELANDIC REQUEST

May I compliment you on the quality of your fine production. I drive a taxi for a company in Reykjavik and we have nothing like your magazine here. I would also like to compliment you on the nice looking of your women. In May, (page 21) you have a picture of a lady called Helen. Is it possible to have a copy of this magazine so that I may cut it out. My copying from Internet pictures is not good. I am also still waiting for the Internet issue in June. It is not coming?
Gunthar Leonhardsson, Iceland... via email

Sorry, Gunthar, I don't think Helen's partner would like it if I sent you a photo - especially as he is a 'Spurs supporter - and they are notoriously grumpy. And sorry about the lateness of the June Internet issue...Ed

PAUL BISHOP

I am just getting round to writing to Paul's friends to say thank you for their help and support at a time when my world went bang. Would it be possible for you to publish this letter of thanks in Call Sign to drivers thanking them for all the flowers and cards they sent. The support given to me by Paul's fellow drivers meant a great deal to me and the children. As one driver told me, Paul's death touched so many people. He would have been so proud to see so many people at his funeral.
Bernie Bishop

Paul was a good 'un, Bernie. I feel proud to have known him...Ed

AND AGAIN...

I am writing to you concerning the death of Mr Bishop (June Call Sign). I was very sorry to hear this of such a young man who did so much for the BLISS charity. I did not know him personally but I have read some good things on what he had achieved.
   Do you think we could start a fund from driver's credits? I hope that this can be done because he leaves two young children and his wife and they will find it very tough now that he has passed away. I will start with £25 from my credits. I hope others will read this and that it will encourage them to donate a few quid for his family.
D.Raymond (F56)

There is an obvious problem here. No one could fail to 

FALSE AS DIRECTED?

The fairly new category of 'True As Directed' was to indicate A/D jobs that were not within the postcode or LAP jobs. My own polite survey of customers has found that 90% plus have stated to the call taker where they were going and were not T.A.D. jobs at all. Whilst all jobs both good and bad need to be covered, I do think that bad jobs are being disguised as T.A.D jobs and our drivers will see this as not only a bad job, but they also don't know where the bad job is going - perhaps an incentive to press 'reject'. Please be 'true' to the drivers in what this description really means.
Alan Nash (A95) ...via email

See the Call Centre report...Ed

DIABETIC CAB DRIVERS

In the last issue of Call Sign, the Officer in Charge at the PCO, Roy Ellis, wrote an article on cab drivers and Diabetes. Now Bill French, a Diabetic driver on DaC, gives an insight into his own situation as a diabetic...Ed

Since the beginning of this year, Diabetes and cab drivers have been very much in the news in our trade papers, culminating in a very interesting and informative article from Roy Ellis of the PCO in the July Call Sign.
   At the beginning of this year, I was becoming very distressed and worried over the possibility of being a diabetic. I knew that I had lost over a stone and a half in about six months without a change in my lifestyle or eating habits. I was getting into a terrible sweat while eating lunch and was experiencing a wave of tiredness, sometimes to such an extent that I would have to pull over somewhere quiet and close my eyes for a few minutes. I would also start to feel very thirsty in the afternoon. I started taking water to work with me. The main problem was toilets and I found that I was having to go about every hour and as cab drivers, we all know how inconvenient that is!
   Everybody was telling me that I was losing weight, so I psyched myself us to go to see the doctor in mid February. The doctor took some blood samples and one week later I was officially a diabetic controlling my situation with tablets. I was told about the British Diabetic Association at 10 Queen Anne Street, W1. They produce a very informative magazine called Balance for Beginners which was published in 1996 - 97 (price £2.50) and I learned much from it. They also printed another Balance for Beginners - this one being for insulin dependent diabetics, in addition to some other useful leaflets.
   After hearing my condition confirmed, I informed the DVLC and they sent me a form to fill in which also gave them permission to access my medical records. I also told the PCO about my condition but all they required was a letter from my doctor confirming that my Diabetes was - and still is - controlled by tablets. I then informed my insurance company who told me that there was no problem and that there would be no increase in premium.
   So that was my situation and I admit to breathing a huge sigh of relief as I had now become 'legal'. My condition wasn't secret yet my livelihood was unaffected. Through my diabetic clinic, I have access to a dietician who helps me with my weight problem. I also have regular eye check-ups as diabetic retinopathy can affect the sight of diabetics. Those check-ups alleviate most problems - although 'regular' is the buzz word.
   Since being on the tablets, I feel so much better in myself. I sleep better and wake up feeling well. My bladder has gone back to normal - a great big plus to me in this job! There is no special diet for a diabetic, just a sensible healthy one that contains plenty of fibre but not much sugar or fatty content. Sweeteners in your tea or coffee is fine but ease off the booze!
   I can still remember how depressed and worried I was at the beginning of this year - mixed in with a feeling of ignorance at not knowing what the future would hold once I had taken that first step of going to see my GP. The situation would then be an irreversible journey into the unknown.
   There may well be some drivers out there who are in the same predicament that I found myself in and possibly hold the same view that I had at first - what they don't know about won't hurt them. Or, in other words, let sleeping dogs lie. I hope and pray that this letter will help those people to learn and understand. If you are very worried and unsure, I have a home blood-test kit and I would be happy to meet anyone - perhaps via the call centre - and give you a blood test (with a sterile needle of course) in the back of my cab.  It won't hurt. As a professional London taxi driver, I am so pleased now that I did the right thing and I am still working normally.
   I am 64 years old and have been driving a cab for 37 years so I know that I am closer to the end of my innings that the beginning but I still feel bugged by the thought that this is yet another example of the 'nanny' State taking over our lives. Diabetes has been with us for many years, yet I wonder how many cab passengers have been killed or injured through their Insulin dependent taxi driver having a severe hypoglycaemic attack? You get about 15 minutes warning of a moderate hypo coming on and any responsible person would surely have some glucose tablets handy. I wonder if Ladbrokes could work out the odds on a London taxi passenger being killed or injured by a diabetic cab driver? The odds would be huge.
Bill French (E41)

A HOSE UP YOUR TAILPIPE?

Today's emission controls allowing hit squads to hand out £60 fines are becoming the norm rather than the exception. I have found a way to keep my Metrocab's exhaust emission as clean as a whistle. About once a week while filling up with diesel, I go to one of the do-it-yourself car washes where you get a high-powered water hose. I insert the hose into the exhaust tailpipe and press the trigger. Almost immediately, the water returns back out but is coloured black. After a minute or so, the ground will be covered with this nasty looking black substance that would normally come out as smoke. I have been told that the Metrocab has a u-bend in the exhaust where all the carbon particles are trapped and all the hose does is to release that rubbish so that instead of coming out into the air, you are washing it away. Since using this method, my smoke emission has vanished and the cab sounds great. I am not sure whether this idea works on Fairways. I hope this helps some drivers.
Gary Nathan (T75)

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