The best thing about a routine is........

Ok so now I've been working at Gettaxi for a couple of weeks so I'm getting used to working nights, my body has adjusted to different sleeping patterns, different eating patterns and the fact that I see very little daylight lol
My typical day starts with me getting up about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, having something to eat then bathing etc, then it''s off to walk the Dog with the missus have a bit of time with her, have some dinner then off on Aunt Sally to work. The ride into work is about half hour now and i am learning all sorts of little cut throughs to try and shorten it, although I do love the Rotherhithe Tunnel because although it is full of exhaust fumes it is so warm!!!!!
My shift starts at 11, so obviously I have to keep an eye on what is going on and I have to say the drivers are superb, helping out if I'm not sure where somewhere is , also running for jobs that are a bit of a distance if I can't get it covered. There is a strange relationship between a curcuit and the drivers, one of the reasons they are drivers is so they are selp-employed and don't have a boss yet in dispatch we have to ask they to do stuff for us, and on the whole they are superb. I do always make a point of noting who has helped me out and eventually I will give them a better job as a thank you.
During the down time on my shift I am looking at the runs I'm gonna be doing the next morning ( I try to do 4), mark them up on my map and then write them up a few times to get them into my head before I head off to do them, and it worked on Monday morning I had a run from Morning Lane to Silvertown Way, and I didn't need the run on my board, so that was a step forward. My shift finishes at 7 in the morning then it's off on Aunt Sally for a few hours to try and get my 4 runs done, then home for breakfast and some sleep. With this routine I should get book one finished by the end of March and all four books done by July.
I have now got into this routine and I have to say I love it, my life at the moment is centred on the KOL and I'm loving it!!!!!!!!
Sorry if you think this post is a bit dull, but I guess I felt it was time to let you into my life and show you my day to day.
In my previous post I mentioned that I had emailed the Mayor of London to ask for his views and opinions on the future of the Black Taxi in London. Although I was promised a reply within 10 days I have still not heard anything from him, which given that it's an election year probably sums up his committment to our trade. I will keep you posted if anything changes.
well that's all from me for now - Be Lucky and Keep Safe!!!!

An expensive week and an email to the Mayor...

Well I am finally settled in the Gettaxi office, loving the job and enjoying my shifts and getting to spend some time calling over and doing mapwork so all is good on that front however this week has been a bit on the expensive side let me explain why....
I was doing a run that involved me driving down Finsbury square and as anyone in London will know at the moment it is being occupied by some people protesting about capitalism or something. I decided to slow down and pull into the bus lane to have a look ( thinking that I was allowed to use the bus lane of course) and I wasn't !!!! A few days later in the post came my PCN a fine for £65 for riding in the bus lane. How typical!!!! while I'm on the subject of the protesters let me say one thing I am all for free speech and someone's right to protest however these people have turned a beautiful square in London into what looks like a squatters paradise. They have damaged the walls and ruined the grass and are now building huts to live in. I think this is a disgrace and why the powers that be have to go to court to evict them I have no idea. Surely they are committing criminal damage or causing an obstruction???? why can't the police just go in with a bull dozer and move them away  ?? And without wanting to appear prejudice I hope that none of them are claiming any type of benefit to support themselves while they protest against the very society that gives them the right to do this. Ok so rant over lol
Having spent £65 on my PCN the next night I get a puncture on Aunt Sally and that costs me £35 to get fixed so the KOL this week has cost me £100 how nice is that!!!!!
I also this week decided to email the  Mayor of London regarding his thoughts on the future of the Black Taxi industry in our great city. I received an email back stating that my email would be answered within 10 days I will keep you posted.
Thats all from me for now sorry it's a bit of a ramble but it's half five in the morning and I'm knackered lol be lucky...

Everything is going great....and doing lines.

Well I've finally started my new job as a dispatcher for GetTaxi, and I have to say I'm loving every minute. The crowd I work with are great, I enjoy the job and more importantly it gives me time to work on my KOL stuff and obviously as the shift progresses I'm learning places and streets. I was amused when I took a phone call from a client asking to go from the Australian High Commission to Paddington Station (having just done that run a few days earlier) so I think all is good with that. London at night really is beautiful and I can see why people fall in love with this great city of ours.
The weather has disrupted things quite a lot recently what with us actually having some kind of winter, and snow and ice and Aunt Sally really don't mix. The most important thing with the knowledge when I'm out is not learning the roads and runs it's making sure I get home safe and in one piece, I've seen a few KOL peeps on the deck either having been hit by a car or just lost control of the bike. While I'm talking about safety I am wondering if there is a rule that says Addison Lee drivers have to behave like idiots on the road??? I know they don't know where they're going most of the time but I would have thought being able to drive properly would be a must ???? ( or maybe not!!!!).
Anyway (rant over) with the disruption of Xmas and the weather I had got out of the habit of calling over, and was very rusty, so I decided to go back to school and write out the runs i was unsure of 10 times. Now this is very time consuming and boring however it does seem to have done the trick and now all I have to do is get back into a routine of calling over everyday.
My medical has now been booked (22nd of Feb) so my official application can go in this month too so everything is moving in the right direction.
It's all good and obviously my friends I will keep you all updated on my progress on here. Take care and be lucky.

New year New start New Job

Its been a few weeks since I last posted anything on here and no I wasn't being lazy I had valid reasons!!!!!!
Obviously Christmas and New year Came and went which as any of you who have kids will know is a mad time of year ( and expensive lol). Six days after Xmas I received a letter from the CSA informing me that I had lost my appeal against the amounts they concluded I owed them and that now they could take 40% of my wages to repay this amount. This has been going on for three years and despite doing everything I could to give them all the information they needed, they ignored what information I sent and used their own "calculations" to reach a huge and unaffordable figure for me to repay. Without boring you all the figure is very wrong but hey ho these are the cards life deals us and I have to try and make the best of it. Anyway I had decided last year that the job I was doing wasn't any good for doing the knowledge as it took up too many hours ( and the wages were not good) so I decided to start seriously looking for another job ( and yes that meant trawling through Internet jobsites when I should have been out doing runs) and it all paid off. Having changed my CV slightly to reflect the type of work I was looking for and why I got a phone call and within three days had had an interview and been offered the job ( which I start very soon). I had three things I wanted from the job 1. it be on a self employed basis so the CSA can't take all my money 2. it was nights so I can have my days free for the KOL 3. it would somehow help me with the KOL. AND THE NEW JOB DOES ALL THREE!!!!!!!!
It's working in the office for a company called GETTAXI which is a circuit for black cabs - people use an app on their smartphones to book the cab and the cab is sent directly to them. So how perfect is that I will be looking at maps and learning roads all night during my shift, I'll have a couple of hours to be out on the bike after my shift ( before I go home to bed) and it's self employed!!!!!! happy days!!!!!!!!!!!
So now I can get back and get organised and crack on with the KOL. I've set myself a target of getting all 320 runs done by 1st July and I can finally afford to put in my application form and pay for the CRB and medical.
I'll be back to writing more on here too so when you're really really bored you'll have something to do for two minutes!!!!!!!
Take care all and be lucky.
http://www.gettaxi.co.uk/?gclid=COCT1dvP9a0CFaQmtAod4hMmCQ

Scary traffic lights and posh houses in Dulwich...

Had a few days back out on Aunt Sally after having to work the weekend, and although managed to sell a car on the Saturday, we didn't see a single customer on the Sunday so that was a waste of a day, and to make it worse I forgot my blue book so couldn't revise any runs!!!
So braving the wind and the rain I managed to get a few more done ( up to 35 now!!) and also subjecting my partner to having to call over ( she'll know it as well as me), and have been exploring south of the river. It was all going so well until I turned left off Brixton road into Atlantic road (run 34) and stopped at the traffic lights, now I'm not a racist in any shape or form but as I'm sitting there a huge black guy with dreadlocks nearly down to his arse stood in front of me and asked me how I was doing. Not a problem in itself you would have thought, however he then proceeded to tell me that anything I needed to know about doing the knowledge I should ask him and if i wanted to go for a drink and talk to him I could!!!! This may well have been a genuine offer and someone being nice, however being the coward that I am I decided to decline his offer, ask him to let go of Aunt Sally and as soon as the lights turned green swerved round him and legged it. Looking back I chuckle but I'm glad that didn't happen when I was out doing runs at night. What is it they say - it isn't the crime it's the fear of crime??????
The next run took me through Dulwich, an area I haven't really ever been too, and I must say I was very surprised, it looked very nice and the houses were huge!!!!
Maybe after a few years of driving my cab round London 24/7 I'll be able to afford one of them!!!!!!
More from me soon......

Where to pee and a visit to the dentist

Having had a few days off work and been able to spend some days out on Aunt Sally I have discovered a new problem with doing the knowledge, where can I stop to pee!!!!!
Having been asked to not use a pub as I wasn't a customer it leaves me with having to use McDonald's or a deserted street ( which during the day in London isn't that easy to find).
So what are the solutions??? If anyone has any ideas please feel free to send them to me lol At the moment I'm holding it, driving home as quickly as I can and rushing upstairs to the toilet when I get in which I'm sure one day is going to catch me out, Maybe one of the knowledge schools could introduce a form of nappy for us KOL students to take away the need for stopping!!!
Apart from my minor pee issues the week had been going very well, I was doing 4 runs a day even with a very bad toothache ( more of that later) and I found that as I did the runs they criss-crossed and I actually knew where I was going, so that's definitely an improvement and I am still amazed that I am remembering roads and turns from when I started it 8 years ago.Lots of people have said the KOL is a bind and not a pleasant thing to do, well although I have only been it a couple of weeks I am loving it, I'm finding that driving round London is hugely interesting and my natural curiosity at what and where are places and things is being satisfied!!!
The only downside to this week has been the toothache, for 4 days I have been taking painkillers covering my gums in clove oil to try and hope it goes away but without any luck so on Friday morning I booked an appointment with the dentist. As a side note, anyone who knows me knows I have a morbid fear of the dentist, it all stems from years ago, when I had to visit an emergency dentist who was a doddery ( is that a word???) old man and ended up pulling out half my gum as well as a tooth without enough anaesthetic. Anyway so off to the dentist I went and was duly informed that I had to have a tooth out and that I could either book a referral with my usual dentist who knocks me out before doing any work or have it out the old fashioned way- my partner who was with me made the decision for me and out the tooth came. The rest of the day was spent taking lots of pain killers and lying on the sofa feeling sorry for myself so no calling over just time spent feeling sorry for myself and watching sky.
Two days later and it still hurts but having been in work I have had something to take my mind off it and I actually managed to sell a car, but off again for 4 days so will be back out on my bike tomorrow hitting the blue book.
And the dentist never even gave me a sticker for being brave!!!!!!

Closures and Cold Toes

OK so I've  been doing it for 10 days now so what do I think???
It seems the runs are fairly easy to do (although all the road closures REALLY don't help!!!!) and learn, BUT  I have only done 12, calling over 12 is easy, I'm sure that when I have done 50 or 100 it will a whole heap more difficult!!!!!
The run into town seems to be taking forever, from Dagenham to wherever the run starts always seems to take about half hour which is an hour of my out time spent travelling to and from home, I must think of a way to cut this down (without getting lost of course lol)
I have a few days off work now so I'm going to try and smash a few runs a day while I'm out that will help in cutting down the travel time cram more into the time I'm out.
For those of you that don't know, I work for a car manufacturer and we are dead at the moment, no customers = no sales = no money and my boss isn't keen on me reading my runs at work so that is 65 hours a week that I'm sitting around and can't practise and that is driving me nuts lol
Sorry this is a bit of a ramble, normal service will be resumed fairly soon lol but I haven't been on here for a little while and had a load of thoughts in my head ( as well as what seems to be a constant mental companion- roads and runs lol)
Also I must invest in some thermal socks my feet get bloody cold!!! (Xmas is coming hint hint!!!!)
Anyway that's my brain empty for now - I'll be back to update this soon!!!
P.S. I must just mention and thank a mate of mine (Darren) who I play darts with once a week it's so nice to do something that doesn't involve a map ( although I would probably be better if I had directions to the treble 20)