DRIVER PROFILE GOODY TWO SHOES STAMPER
Well, that’s what Cam- bridge based Karl Stamper called him- self when we asked him to be our driver profilee this month. It just goes to show: the first time we spoke to Karl on the phone, we knew he wasn’t speaking with a Cambridge accent! Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get information from those we profile; with Karl, he provided so much fun stuff we’re going to let him tell readers himself:- “I’m the son of a policeman; I was born in a small town called Beverley in East York- shire (Eighth Wonder of the World). My father later trans- ferred to C.I.D. in Bridlington (the cheapest cab fares in the land) having the benefit of living right next door to the main police station, then moving on again to the village of Cotting- ham outside Hull (Pronounced “ull”), then on and up to Darlington in County Durham for my last two years of school- ing before entering the world of debt and responsibility.
“On finishing school in 1982 the North East was feeling the sever- ity of high
unemployment. If you were one of the lucky ones, keeping
a
poorly paid job was a priority.
At its height
the eighties recession had the largest of local companies going into the red and folding within months. The North East at that time was not the place to be - unless it was a Thursday, Fri- day or Saturday night jollying in Flix Bar, then on to the night- club upstairs until the early hours. “The Falklands War had started and my parents strongly encouraged me along the lines that I would be best placed in the Army with the Junior Leaders Regiment at Bovington in Dorset. As I hadn’t ventured far, I thought - where’s Dorset?
“So off I went, two weeks after having left school at 16, to be met off the Army bus by a Sergeant Rash at Bovington who had a bad attitude - either he was suffering from a long spell of lack of sex, which I could understand; or a lack of love from when he was younger... All his commands started with “You’s F***ers” as if we’d ruined his life. Even worse, Mum and Dad said it
what restrictive in the working practices of private hire, so I decided to borrow a hackney vehicle; all was great again, very independent apart from the weekly plate commitment! After a year I realised that enough was enough; the way ahead was to part with my cash to become a hackney carriage proprietor, followed closely by securing more H.C. vehicle licences - using the theory in for a penny in for a pound.
was best I stay and grin through it!
SQUARE BASHING
“On reaching the more senior age of 18 I left the Army and returned to York and started work with Sheppard Homes, a large Northern builder, as a dogs- body.
I was in
heaven, but I could still hear the Army calling (thank God it wasn’t Sergeant Rash!) so I joined the Territorial Army taking on duties in the Orderly Room with the Chief Clarke, which turned out to be a pleasure.
“With my then current
employer an opportu- nity arose that under certain conditions I could go to college one day a week to do a City and Guilds Car- pentry course for two years. On completion, I was offered out of the blue a temporary contract working in the South East area with paid accommo- dation for few weeks, which turned into a few months. I treated it as a paid holiday (very northern) between work as I knew it wasn’t going to last forever. Then I met Carol (the better half), a local to the area; I decided to stay around a little longer... so far it’s been 21 years.
“In 1993 I decided it was time to revisit col- lege as a mature student to study vari- ous advanced City and Guilds building courses, to be paid for by myself... that’s when I welcomed the local taxi trade into my working portfolio – hooked, I loved it! “On finishing all courses, I decided the world of taxi was for me. One night stand- ing on Royston station rank we all watched to our
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amusement the police helicopter over Kneesworth Mental Hospital making light jokes relating to “not another escapee.” Two hours later I had an executive flag to Chelmsford, a 50- minute ride. Rubbing my hands together and thinking I’d struck it lucky I requested cash up front. With my executive and his cheap two-litre bottle of vodka to keep him company, off we went. On my return I was informed that my customer was no executive but the psy- chiatric patient escapee, later on to be described as dan- gerous, but still that didn’t put me off.
BACK TO HACKS
“Eventually after three to four years I said goodbye to Geoff and Tim at Meltax in Roys- ton as a company hackney driver, leav- ing behind the feeling of a big fish in a small town pond, hoping private hire in Cam- bridge would suit me better. Oh dear! “The following 18 months in the great city of Cambridge proved to be some-
“When I’m not driving I’m riding: either the quad or enduro bike. As one gentleman of 72 years advised me in my cab, “Get as old as you like, son, but never grow up” - a classic moment in my book, but there's been many and long may they continue. “Since 1999 I have had a buzz from this trade - most times good, sometimes bad and a few times ugly, but ladies and gentle- men, there are worse things to be doing. This trade is changing quickly and so must we. The enactment of a rabble must give way to self progress and professionalism, and then the trade can flex its own mus- cles through its own channels locally and nationally when it is in the right.
“Until then it’s a privi- lege to work within it.” There’s not a lot we can add to this, except to say that Karl is one of the NPHA’s most supportive members. For that reason he is the Association’s repre- sentative in the Cambridge area, and as such attends stake- holder meetings all over the UK. It’s the building trade’s loss.
PHTM FEBRUARY 2010
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