Friday, July 11, 2008

Summer festival time


Fundraising for the Nial Mellon Township Fund


All the glamor of a traveler wedding.

The smallest twigs build a mighty nest my dad used to say.
Here we have volunteers raising money for the Niall Mellon township fund
In the late summer an army of Irish people will build a few streets of houses for the poorest of the poor.
This will change their lives forever.
Its a very positive thing, practical help.

You can donate or volunteer on the website.

My home decorations are moving on at great speed and my wife tells me if I stay at home all week next week it will all be done.
I hope so.
I cleared out a bedroom this week and found 8 mobile fone boxes, you know the cardboard boxes with all the instructions etc,8 boxes.

I got in a few 1/2 days here and there driving the taxi.
Great thing about the job is that you don't have to be in at a certain time.
But you do still have to work, if you want to eat.

All the youth are off to oxygen the biggest music festival of the summer. Its cold and wet and if you can remember last year...their mammy's and daddy's will have to come and bring them home.
Caked in mud from head to foot.

Their was a mountain of discarded clothes and wellington boots outside Heuston for a week or more last time.

The folks at the airport had a bit of a surprise when the radar system went down, no information given out and thousands of travelers were stranded.
I would have thought that you would have needed to put in a duplicate system for something as important as that.
I mean its not like a traffic light where a cop can wave his arms around while its being fixed!
No,indeed people who were going on holidays and further were left with no information at all, time marched on,all day long they waited then they were sent home!
I ask you is that any way to run a business.
Next problem is that airlines work to maximum capacity now,this means that they can't put you on an empty seat for the next flight....and if you were flying on to Cape Town via London Oopss,guess you missed that flight too.

Oh the joys of modern life. If people knew they couldn't fly early on they could have taken a taxi to Belfast or have taken the high speed ferry then an express train down to London and arrived on time...But they tell you Nothing... then they wonder why people get upset.. Good job Niomi Cambell wasn't around.

On the charm of the Irish I had 2 girls from Edinburgh on board and they told me of horrific treatment they got from door staff here in Ireland.
These are respectable middle class ladies, nothing rough about them.

Its about time some females from the tourist board or RTE went under cover to see what goes on first hand. Its all very well putting up posters telling people to come here and doing all that they do just to have their night out and everything ruined by lowlife door staff.

Story about a taxi driver and his wife... went to the pictures then decided to go for a pint."You can't come in here your not a regular"The taxi driver explained that he had been coming into this pub for 20 years ...all to no avail.
So they went elsewhere.

2 weeks later,rain coming down like stair rods,taxis a bit scarce, queues everywhere.he picks up a fair on the busy Stephens Green rank...Fairview it is then..."Where do I know your face from?"
"I do the doors"
A quick u turn. "Get out you!,its only regulars tonight."
He kicks him out at the back of the queue

"Next please and don't let that parasite jump the queue".

If only...

The Polish Exodus has begun the building trade here has taken a nose dive. Completed houses are unsold and the banks are refusing to advance money to new buyers,this has caused the problem to become much worse.
Most of the Polish tradesmen are going to London to build the Olympic stadiums for 2012.

Last week a builder went bust(one of many)and brought an electrical contractor with him...He in turn went under and left a wholesaler with a bill for e800,000 Ouch.

Another guy in refrigeration lost his maintenance contracts from a large supermarket chain,he had to sack 4 engineers, he has 4 vans idle. He has a top of the range BMW car,his wife drives a big BMW jeep his overdraft is impossible.
He banked his entire business on one large supermarket chain...His contract was put out to tender and he lost it.
A guy who was his apprentice 3 years before has given him a 9/5 job.
He is just holding for now. But not for long.
His apprentice never went for the big contracts, but then he drives a 04 Toyota which he owns,unlike his x boss who owns nothing.

I implore anyone who is finding it tough to contact MABS or any other professional, before things get out of hand. You can come to other arrangements.
No harm to ask the good office of the Taxi Regulator if she has any plans to help you.
Perhaps a row of taxis parked on Fitzwilliam Sq. with for sale signs on the windows
might at least alert the public as to what is going on.
This might stop the thousands of drivers who are waiting to become taxi drivers.

The regulator is like the 3 monkeys. Hears, sees and says nothing.

At least in our job I don't have staff,or much overheads, or rates...or advertising...or stock, but diesel was 60c a liter when the present rate was set. Something like e1.40 now

Wonder whats coming next, oh yes my income tax!.

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