Today, I picked a fare up from the local hospital. It was a lady who`s battery had gone flat on the car and had got a lift to the hospital but needed a taxi back home.
At the start of the journey she asked me how much it would cost and I estimated around £3.00p to which she exclaimed that it was too expensive and I must have got it wrong as she had never paid that amount to get home before.
I asked her what she normally pays and she said about £1.80p. This had me a little baffled as I knew that £1.80 would only get her part way to her house so I started digging a bit deeper and decided to ask her when the last time she got a taxi was.
Her reply...... "I don't normally use taxis as I have my own car but last time I got one from the hospital to home must have been about 5 years ago or maybe longer"
Did she not realise that due to inflation, the rising costs of running a car that taxi fares would have increaded in that periood of time
Seems to me she was stuck in some sort of timewarp and expected to pay 2003 prices.
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Sunday, October 4
Thursday, October 1
Bargain wine sales extend to October
Last week I had a little look around the local supermarkets and was bowled over by the excellent deals on excellent wines! While the pickers are in the vineyards picking grapes, NOW is the time for wine lovers to go pick up these good deals in the supermarket nearest you!
From the October 2009 Connexion edition:
A number of supermarkets and online vendors are extending their foire aux vins into October. Here are the key dates
Remaining supermarkets and hypermarkets
• Auchan: until October 4
• Centre Leclerc: September 30 – October 10
• Magasins U: September 29 – October 10
• Carrefour Market: September 30 – October 11
Online wine sellers with wine fairs still running
• www.idealwine.com from September 18
• www.savourclub.fr until September 28
• www.ChateauOnline.fr until September 28
• www.cave-gustumo.com until September 30
• www.ochato.com until September 30
• www.vin-bio-naturel.fr until September 30
• www.nicolas.com until October 6
• www.xo-vin.fr until October 11
For details of other online sales and tasting notes, see the website
www.vinogusto.com
Subscribe to The Connexion newspaper before October 31 and get a free bottle of award-winning 2005 Bordeaux Supérieur from Château Plaisance in Saint Emilion, worth €8. French addresses and over-18s only.
Click on Link:
Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event
Another One Bites the Dust
I got a call recently to pick up a fare at the Kings pub at Hawcoat in Barrow In Furness. When I got there it turned out that one of the men I was picking up was Barrows Ex Mayor councillor Jack Richardson who was quite the worse for wear. As he tried to climb into the back seat he fell off the pavement and landed on his backside and had to be helped into the car by his friend.
Councillor Richardson was so drunk that it wasn't easy to understand his slur of words as he tried to explain where he wanted to go to. Eventually we made it to his house then carried on the journey with the other passenger in the car.
So why was our ex mayor so drunk that he couldnt stand up or speak? Was he preparing himself for a council meeting? No.. Nothing like that as his friend explains.
For a number of years now the c
ouncillors son has been running the village pub at Hawcoat which is actually a nice quiet pub with its regular local yokels from the village visiting their local hostelry most evenings. Now this pub is one of the oldest in the town and a little bit of history research tells me that it was built in 1860 by a Mr King who then applied for Cliff Lane (the street that the pub is on) to be renamed King Street. The application was refused so he named the pub the Kings Arms and it was granted a full license in 1874
So why is our councillor drunk?? Because it was to be the final night of the pub being open.
135 years that pub has been serving beer and its now the end of an era. Another pub bites the dust and possibly due to the credit crunch.
Unfortunately the pub will not be handed over to a new tenant as the brewery have stated that the pub isn't profitable and it will no longer be a pub.
I guess it will be converted into houses or flats like other pubs in the town have been.
Some of the regulars that live in the village never see many people and are quite elderly. Some of these people use the pub to meet up and socialise. What will they do now? The village pub is dying out. Not many left in this area.
So now you know, Councillor Richardson was supporting his son and enjoying a last drink with friends in a pub which has been home to many people in the village and very soon will just be a fond distant memory
Councillor Richardson was so drunk that it wasn't easy to understand his slur of words as he tried to explain where he wanted to go to. Eventually we made it to his house then carried on the journey with the other passenger in the car.
So why was our ex mayor so drunk that he couldnt stand up or speak? Was he preparing himself for a council meeting? No.. Nothing like that as his friend explains.
For a number of years now the c
ouncillors son has been running the village pub at Hawcoat which is actually a nice quiet pub with its regular local yokels from the village visiting their local hostelry most evenings. Now this pub is one of the oldest in the town and a little bit of history research tells me that it was built in 1860 by a Mr King who then applied for Cliff Lane (the street that the pub is on) to be renamed King Street. The application was refused so he named the pub the Kings Arms and it was granted a full license in 1874So why is our councillor drunk?? Because it was to be the final night of the pub being open.
135 years that pub has been serving beer and its now the end of an era. Another pub bites the dust and possibly due to the credit crunch.
Unfortunately the pub will not be handed over to a new tenant as the brewery have stated that the pub isn't profitable and it will no longer be a pub.
I guess it will be converted into houses or flats like other pubs in the town have been.
Some of the regulars that live in the village never see many people and are quite elderly. Some of these people use the pub to meet up and socialise. What will they do now? The village pub is dying out. Not many left in this area.
So now you know, Councillor Richardson was supporting his son and enjoying a last drink with friends in a pub which has been home to many people in the village and very soon will just be a fond distant memory
Tuesday, September 29
Young Mums attitude to child safety
Earlier today I was travelling along a major road in the town when I saw a young mother pushing a pram. She wanted to cross the road and was stood on the edge of the kerb waiting for a gap in the traffic. She was on the edge of the road and the pram was actually on the road.
I saw this and indicated to pull out into the middle of the road giving the pram a wide birth. She just stood there with her hand son the pram, fag in her mouth looking very much like "Waynetta Slob" from the Harry Enfield shows on the television.
You could see her nervously pushing the pram further into the road and then back again in a hope that traffic would stop to let her cross.
This isnt the first time I`ve seen this and it seems to be a thing with young mothers lately where they dont seem to put their childs safety first. Personally I don`t think some of them even care.
The crazy thing about this was that 20 yards down the road was a zebra crossing and she couldnt be bothered to walk towards it and use it.
Standing on the kerb with the pram in the road is a dangerous thing to do. I wish these idiots would think about the consequences of what damage could be done to their child.
I saw this and indicated to pull out into the middle of the road giving the pram a wide birth. She just stood there with her hand son the pram, fag in her mouth looking very much like "Waynetta Slob" from the Harry Enfield shows on the television.
You could see her nervously pushing the pram further into the road and then back again in a hope that traffic would stop to let her cross.
This isnt the first time I`ve seen this and it seems to be a thing with young mothers lately where they dont seem to put their childs safety first. Personally I don`t think some of them even care.
The crazy thing about this was that 20 yards down the road was a zebra crossing and she couldnt be bothered to walk towards it and use it.
Standing on the kerb with the pram in the road is a dangerous thing to do. I wish these idiots would think about the consequences of what damage could be done to their child.
Sunday, September 27
Lazy Boyfriend
Picked a fare up this week, a young lady around 25 to 30 years old who had a little boy with her aged around 10 years old. He didn't say much apart from saying goodbye at the end of the journey, However, his mum was totally different....
She proceeded to tell me how her boyfriend was a "lazy lump" who didn't work and wouldn't do any work around the house. He went out drinking and when he came home he would just fall asleep.
The conversation then turned to sex as she said that she was fed up with him not performing properly and all he wanted to do was fall asleep.
A little too much information was spoken from her mouth and from a taxi drivers point of view, we do get to hear all sorts of stuff but to talk about this in detail in front of her child.... well, no wonder he was quiet and going a deep shade of red. I asked her if she always discussed matters like this in front of him and her response.... "Well he`s got to learn sometime"
I was glad when the journey ended as I could see that poor boy going red and felt really sorry for him
She proceeded to tell me how her boyfriend was a "lazy lump" who didn't work and wouldn't do any work around the house. He went out drinking and when he came home he would just fall asleep.
The conversation then turned to sex as she said that she was fed up with him not performing properly and all he wanted to do was fall asleep.
A little too much information was spoken from her mouth and from a taxi drivers point of view, we do get to hear all sorts of stuff but to talk about this in detail in front of her child.... well, no wonder he was quiet and going a deep shade of red. I asked her if she always discussed matters like this in front of him and her response.... "Well he`s got to learn sometime"
I was glad when the journey ended as I could see that poor boy going red and felt really sorry for him
