..IN THE
NEWS...IN THE NEWS THE SINGING CARDIFF CABBIE WHO HAS A
KARAOKE MACHINE IN HIS TAXI FOR CUSTOMERS
When you get into a taxi you expect a lit- tle chit chat to pass the time of day. But when you get in Ray Barbrook’s cab one of the first questions he’ll ask you is, “do you like to sing?” That’s because Ray, from Cardiff, has got a full blown karaoke system in his Uber PHV, flashing disco lights and all. According
to
WalesOnline after 50 years working as a carpenter, the 69- year-old got a little
bored during his retirement so took up taxi driving. Now he’s got a dedi- cated
Facebook
page and willing passengers who flex their vocal chords in the back seat have their videos shared on it. “I’ve only been going for the past three months and I’ve already had 757 likes,” said Ray, who works for both Uber and Ola in the capi- tal. “It’s brilliant. I used to just play my iPad
Ray Barbrook - the karaoke cabbie
in the car and I noticed that people would love to sing along, so I thought I’d get a working
microphone in there. It took me ages to get it set up.” Now as well as a microphone there’s
also the disco lights and Ray ensures that the passengers do the filming while he is concentrating getting them to their destination. “People are amaz- ed,” Ray added. “I get about two per cent who aren’t bothered but most people I pick up give it a go.” A fan of crooners himself, Ray enjoys a sing-song too and at the age of 21 he had a job playing guitar and singing at The Borough on St Mary
Street. But he enjoys having the singers in the back of the cab even more. Ray said: “I’d like to thank them for singing and letting me share it on my page. I’ve had some great singers. A few X Factor contes- tants and an Elvis impersonator, John- ny Elvis - who served me on the meat counter at Cul- verhouse
Cross
Tesco for ten years and I had no idea he was a singer.”
YARMOUTH MAN WHO HAD NO MONEY TO PAY FOR TAXI OFFERED TO LEAVE AXE WITH CAB DRIVER
A man who had no money to pay for a taxi fare offered to leave an axe in the car as he went to get the money to cover the cost, a court has heard. Matthew Goddard, 31, had been picked up in a taxi but did not have the money to pay for the cab and was taken to the Tesco car park in Belton, near Great Yarmouth where he was going to get some money from his cousin. Norwich Magis- trates’ Court heard that Goddard was asked to leave something, such as a phone, in the car to ensure that he came back. Jane Walker, prose- cuting,
said he MAY 2019
started shuffling about before “pro- ducing an axe from his left-hand side” and said “this is all I've got to leave you”. Goddard got out of the taxi and ran off after he could not get the money to pay for the cab. A few days later the court heard how Goddard had been at an address in Yarmouth when police attended. Officers had been there to deal with another person but after seeing God- dard, who had tried to leave through the back door, went to arrest him. Goddard failed to comply with officers who used pava spray to help try
and detain him. After his hands were placed in cuffs he thrust out towards one of the officers striking him in the face and was later tasered. Goddard, of no fixed abode but who is currently at P e t e r b o r o u g h Prison, appeared in court via videolink, when he admitted possession of an axe in a public place on January 10 this year. He also pleaded guilty to making off without payment on the same date and assault by beating of an emergency worker, a police offi- cer, on January 15 this year. In addition Goddard admitted a total of
six thefts of alcohol and other goods from shops in Jan- uary and February this year. Rob New, for God- dard, said he had the axe as he had been using it in the garden and offered it naively insisting it
was an offence out of ignorance rather than any intent. He said during the arrest his concern was for the officers dealing with the other person and said any offence was reckless rather than intentional.
Goddard was jailed for a total of 26 weeks and ordered to pay a total of just over £100 to three of the stores he stole from as well as the taxi driver from whom he made off with- out paying.
GLASGOWDRIVER STOPS VULNERABLE MAN BEING ROBBED
A taxi driver man- aged to stop a vulnerable man from being robbed in Glasgow’s West End. A local taxi driver witnessed the inci- dent and managed to stop the culprit from getting away.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland, told the Evening Times: “Police were called to reports of a theft from a man on Byres Road around 9.25am on Friday 29 March. “A 22-year-old has been arrested in
connection with the incident and en- quiries are ongoing.” Mmmm… Not much detail about this yet, but this is a perfect example of members of our trade looking out for the welfare of vulnerable people in the community – Ed.
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