Blue Badge

I see that down in the city of Manchester some cars have been impounded and the owners prosecuted for using fake blue disabled parking badges.(for overseas readers these badges allow parking on yellow lines for up to three hours).
 From what I see and hear every day on the streets of Barrow you don't need to fake a badge, it seems you get one even if it's your aunt's friend's sister in law that is suffering with an ingrown toenail. The town centre is littered with cars all badly parked using these badges as an excuse for their laziness and tightfistedness. 
I have watched these drivers park on yellow lines right next to a pay and display car park, and then stride several hundred yards across the car park to get to the shops, and even on occasion seen them run back for their forgotten walking stick. 
I had to double park and block traffic for a while today, as I helped my passenger a genuinely disabled lady into a shop. On the way back to the car I noticed that one of the cars blocking access was displaying a blue badge, but it was a large estate car filled with the tools and cable used by an electrician. 
There are obviously genuine users of blue badges but a large proportion are definitely taking the mickey. 

Bucket

A lady I pick up now and again bears a remarkable resemblance to the TV personality Hyacinth Bucket both in character as well as looks. The first few occasions she went to great pains to tell that me “oh of course I am not from round this dump” and that the “yokels are a lot of dirty rabble not fit to walk Barrows filthy streets”.
 This went on for a month or two until one day she come out of her house with her husband close behind her. Poor devil I thought pity him he must have a dogs life. He got in the front and his wife in the back and I waited for the usual haughty remarks,” have you got everything” she said to him. I looked at him expecting to see a poor downtrodden sort of guy who daren't answer back. He looked back at me winked and smiled then said to her “as always darling”. 
When she answered I was shocked by the change in her voice and tone she sounded ten years younger and spoke to him with a permanent smile on her face. So she was human after all, I looked at her in a different light after that.

24 Hour Failure

We need to go back to sensible licensing hours then maybe we can save some of our pub's and working folk club's from closure.
People blame the smoking ban it's not that, it's the fact that because town centre clubs are open until 6am so the younger generation drink at home and then go out after midnight. Locally we only have to look at the nearby town of Ulverston  where the pubs are thriving even though everything closes before 2am. You will find lots of Barrow folk making the ten mile trip simply because nothing happens in Barrow until midnight. Tony Blair thought that with 24hr drinking we would become a cafe society and sip a glass of wine with a plate of pasta. Not a chance! we are Northern Europeans who consume as much alcohol in the shortest time possible. So let's get back sensible closing times and save our taxi drivers and folk in the licensed trade from this government sponsored idiocy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2424718/24-hour-drink-law-disaster-Police-chiefs-brand-round-clock-pubs-terrible-mistakes-drunk-tanks-cope-late-night-mayhem.html

Not a sporting chance

Why is it that quite a lot of passengers that get in the cab will start up a conversation about the Rugby or The Football or The Cricket or any other sport. They will say something and then ask what you thought of it.

I would frequently say to them "it doesn't interest me and after all, its only a game."

I`m entitled to my opinion and if they ask me what I think then I should be allowed to say what I do think and if that's my opinion then they should respect it, either that or keep their mouths shut in the first place and don't ask.

However, this one guy I picked up then went onto say that I must support some team as its the way of life. Everyone has to support a team and why do I not bother with it. He kept going on throughout the journey about me not supporting any team.

Why should I? If I`m not interested then why should I pretend to be. I`ve always adopted the attitude of speaking my mind. Sometimes I may have sailed a little too close to the wind but if I`m asked for my opinion and I give it then its their problem if they don't like what they hear.

This guy then went on to tell me what a great team he supported (I cant remember who it was as I wasn't really taking much notice) and tried his hardest to get me to support them. He just wouldn't shut up and was adamant that he would have me interested in his team before the journey ended.

Its a bit like religion isn't it? Imagine those religious people coming to your door to preach the gospels and try to convert you to their faith. He was trying to get me interested in something I couldn't be bothered with and why should I be.

I am a great believer that we are all unique individuals and should be allowed to believe in any religion we like, just like we should be able to support (or not bother) with any sport there is.

We have that choice and shouldn't be forced into something we don`t want so why do these people get in the cab and naturally assume that you are interested in the match or game and when you say that you don't follow it then they keep going in your face about it.

Eventually I did tell him who I supported.... I told him I supported all the other cabbies that throw idiots like him out the cab and if he didn't shut up then I would do the same with him and maybe I just might not stop the car when I do it.

Maybe I had opened my big gob again but he took no notice of me and carried on babbling on.
This was one fare I was glad to have out of the cab.

Its not much to ask is it. Don't shove your beliefs, football teams or any other crap in my face and just sit back and enjoy the ride home.

And the best bit.... This guy was on his own, stone cold sober and had just finished work so their was no excuse for his attitude.