80 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY


MARCH 2009 IN THE NEWS


STARS TURN OUT AT MAD HATTERS TEA PARTY


Elvis Shmelvis was all shook up when he entertained 600 under- privileged children and scores of celebrities on a recent Sunday at Lon- don’s Grosvenor House Hotel.


Elvis, alias Martyn Dias, aged 46, of Ragged Hall Lane, St Albans, was performing at the Madhatters Tea Party, an annual event organ- ised by the London Taxi Drivers’ Association. He sang a medley of rock-and-roll numbers including All Shook Up, then got the kids up on stage with him for Viva Las Vegas before fin- ishing off with The Wonder of You.


Also on the bill were The Cheeky Girls and X Factor finalist Austin Drage, Kara Tointon from Eastenders and Gladiators Doom and Enigma.


Martyn is used to mix- ing with celebrities but was particularly


impressed by the latest King of the Jungle, Joe Swash, describing the ex-Eastenders star as one of the nicest peo- ple he’s ever met. He told the Herts Advertiser: “Joe is just a naturally friendly, down-to-earth guy. I asked him if he’d go through the jungle trials again and he said he would, that he’d loved the whole experience.” Former IT manager Martin has been imper- sonating Elvis for 12 years, ably supported by wife Sue who man- ages his career.


Martyn frequently entertains at celebrity parties, most recently at Chelsea and Eng- land player Joe Cole’s birthday party.


He also pops up from time to time in bit parts on TV shows like Holby City and is featured in a yet-to-be-screened episode of Come Dine With Me.


BOOTLE CAB FIRM DELTA CABS


HAS IMAGINATION


Delta Cabs raised thou- sands of pounds for Alder Hey’s Imagine Appeal.


The private hire firm’s administration manager Carol Burke handed over the cheque for more than £7,000 to the charity’s community fundraising manager Irene Axon.


The money was generat- ed by cabbies donating part of their fares they made over the festive period.


Carol Burke told the Bootle Times: “The driv- ers agreed to a special Christmas rate. They raised £3,611.47 and Delta then matched that amount penny for penny.


“It was very generous of the drivers to do this. It certainly created a good sense of togetherness between them. “We have 1,500 drivers


Delta’s Carol Burke hands over the cheque to Irene Axon


and most of them took part which just shows how well backed the appeal is. We have now raised close on £30,000 for the Imagine Appeal.” Irene Axon said: “We are delighted with the


great support we have had from Delta. They have excelled this year and we are grateful to them for that. We are very grateful for their continued support each year.”


GOLF SEASON IS ‘FARE’ PLAY FOR TAXI DRIVERS


Inverness Taxi golf Club winners celebrate their trophy successes from


this season. This has been the group’s 20th anniversary term


HEALTH COURSE GOES OUT TO THE HEART OF THE SHEFFIELD COMMUNITY


Asian taxi drivers in Sheffield swapped their cabs for the classroom to learn vital tips on how to look after their hearts.


Coronary heart disease is the UK’s biggest killer and Asian people are 50 per cent more likely to die premature- ly of a heart attack. But now steps are being taken to tackle the issue in Sheffield, and a new two-day health course is being run for cabbies to help them improve their health and extend their life expectancy.


Some 15 cabbies learned about heart dis- ease and the risk factors such as high blood pressure, high choles- terol, physical inactivity, and being overweight. They were also taught about healthy eating,


exercise and how quit- ting smoking can reduce the risk. Pormjeet Dhoot, Health Improvement Principal for NHS Sheffield, told the Sheffield Star: “We recruited the men through our partner- ship with the Pakistani Muslim Centre and contacts within taxi firms in Sheffield. “These men clearly understand the health issues of the Pakistani community and are key to communicating mes- sages of how to recognise and manage conditions like heart disease to the wider community.” To join similar courses or to act as a champion in your community for improving health call Pormjeet Dhoot on 0114 3051081.


LEICESTER DRIVERS CLASH AS TAXI ROW ERUPTS IN TOWN CENTRE


Police are investigat- ing a fight between taxi drivers which started following a long-run- ning row over territory. The clash took place between a private hire driver and the owner of a black cab at the top of High Street, in Leicester. Tensions have been building up between staff at Circle Taxis and the hackney carriage drivers since the pedestrianisation of the city centre last June.


The changes have made it harder for black cabs to get trade coming out of pubs. However, they have been accused of form- ing illegal ranks in St Nicholas Place, near to the Circle Taxis office, where private hire drivers claim they are trying to poach


customers. Police are now investi- gating an assault involving two drivers, which happened at about midnight on a recent Friday night. Leicester City Council is threatening to pros- ecute black cab drivers who are get- ting customers illegally by parking outside their designat- ed ranks.


Private hire driver Gary Parr, 36, who was involved in the scuffle on the Friday night, said the incident start- ed after a minor collision between a private hire car and a black cab.


He said he used “rea- sonable force” to defend himself and accused a black cab driver of unnecessarily calling the police to have him arrested. The


police attended but made no arrests. Mr Parr told the Leicester Mercury: “Our problem has been with black cab drivers illegally rank- ing outside our office and poaching cus- tomers.


“Every Saturday night, there are seven or eight of them outside the Circle Taxis office.” Circle boss Steve Pateman said: “The council don’t want to know about it and there have been two or three scuffles already.” A city council spokes- woman said action was being taken. She said: “It is illegal for them to operate from an unofficial rank. We regularly patrol the city centre and are now looking at prose- cuting those who continue to do so.”


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