‘N’ APART FROM THAT
Now before we start looking at all the candidates for this section, we thought it’d be nice to put a special mention – you know, a kind of pat on the back – for our September 20-year anniversary issue. A lot of people have said they thought it was more than OK – especially the 20-year review feature and the Olympic roundup. So well done, us!! Anyway, this is the category where we look out for something differ- ent – and we’re never disappointed, as throughout the year we come across allsorts. Fancy the paranormal? Into Ghost-busting? Our April issue obliged, with a feature about a ‘mystery dark figure’ hav- ing been spotted in the Epsom, Surrey area. Then in December we had a ‘Creepy Cabbie’ collection from the North East. Hmmm... what did your last fare look like?! We had a fun Animal Cracker collection this year as well: our July issue featured a cat that travelled from Swindon to Bristol, and the rescue of a missing hamster in Newquay. Best of the animal lot: the anti-social parrot in our August edition that used to live in a Glasgow taxi office, that keeps shrieking, “Taxi for Govan Road!” And then there is the uproar about all the horse manure on Blackpool’s roads, courtesy of the landau drivers and their horses’ ‘nappy’ dung-catch- ers not doing their job. Which brings us to one of our joint winners in the group: the story in last January’s issue about the London driv- er who was asked to collect a customer’s Labrador – from Spain! Nice work if you can get it... he didn’t reveal the fare though. Then we had a collection of record-breakers, such as the country’s youngest private hire operator at 18 years old, in Buchan north of the Border. And how about the million-mile Mondeo? You’ll find him, and his proud owner, back in July’s edition. We’ve followed the record-breaking trio of Brits who completed their round-the-world trip in a black cab and raised loadsadosh for charity; they’ve been featured several times over the past 15 months, the last appearance in the June issue. One record a Newcastle syndicate may not have been overjoyed about: they ‘just missed’ the jackpot on the Euro-millions, but still scooped over £80,000. Ho hum... Ever heard the expression, “Hush my mouth”? Once again Mr Hoviat-Doust did just that, stitching his lips together in protest to his treatment by the Courts and the council. Then there are those items that can only be classified as ‘novelty value’, such as the taxi in Basil- don whose driver got in trouble for carrying a 15-ft banister pole attached to the outside of his cab... the schoolboy turned turn- coat who recorded minibus drivers using hand-held mobiles and gaining convictions there- for... and what about
that
shocking pink blimp that escaped its moorings in Salford? That’s one way for Walkden- based Met Cars to spread the word! Anybody seen the blimp since early December? So that leaves the other joint win- ner, for sheer different-ness:
2012
Elsewhere this year...
A picture tells a thou- sand words and the picture gallery oppo- site shows our stories in the best light. In January John Judd travelled to Madrid to pick up a canine com- panion and return him
the London cabbie who bought
Saddam Hussein’s jet (story in our April issue). Doesn’t every- one???!!! He can’t quite fit it in his garage in Maida Vale, so he has visiting rites at a hangar at RAF Manston, Kent. How cool is that!
PAGE 66 Shamsu Miah onboard a Russian fighter jet PHTM JANUARY 2013
LONDON CABBIE PICKS UP LABRADOR FROM MADRID
A taxi driver could not believe his ears when told of his passenger’s journey. John Judd said he was called by a woman who had used his cab before, The Daily Tele- graph reported. “She asked if I take dogs in my taxi. As she had previously been a good cus- tomer, I said yes. She then asked me to give her a price to pick the dog up and bring it to her house in Knights- bridge, so I asked her for the address. “Her reply was truly a moment I will not for- get - Madrid,” the taxi driver said. The round journey from Knightsbridge in London to Madrid in Spain is about 3220km and would
take
around 38 hours. Mr Judd, who won’t reveal what the fare came to, drove to catch a ferry to San- tander, Spain, before a
four-hour drive to Madrid to pick up the dog and its “helper”. “Wednesday saw the 4am start to a 16-hour drive to Calais with the dog and its Spanish minder on board,” said Mr Judd. However, the trip hit a snag when the taxi arrived in Calais. “We were greeted by a very nice chap who explained that
the
dog’s vet certificate had expired by six hours, resulting in it not being allowed to travel. Worse still, even if we saw a vet at 9pm we would have to wait 24 hours. “I can report
that
French vets are as mercenary as British ones and we parted with £100 for six min- utes - good work if you can get it.” After a night in Calais the trip resumed and the dog was reunited with its owner in after midnight.
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