Literary Review

I read in Cab Driver magazine that the Public Carriage Office has issued a warning that a number of fulcrum pins, which are fitted to the front suspension of cabs, have recently fractured. ‘Such failures could result in a very serious situation leading to a total loss of control of the cab,’ says the PCO. […]

In 1977 I bought a new motorbike for the first and almost certainly the last time. It was a Honda 400/4. I think it was the best-selling motorbike the company ever made and I bored a lot of people by explaining why it was so good. It was beautiful to look at, sparsely furnished with […]

I drove through Kensington Mall into Kensington Church Street and found myself looking at a police van with its lights flashing. I waved it on but it soon became clear that it was flashing me. I was asked to turn off my ignition and stand on the kerb. The officer driving the van asked me […]

Ten years ago Alan Watkins hailed my cab in Fleet Street. ‘It’s Alan Watkins,’ I exclaimed with great fervour. ‘I’ve been waiting to meet you all my life!’ Or something like that. During the course of our journey, I quoted a line he’d used repeatedly in a television interview following Mrs Thatcher’s election to the […]

I’ve been asked to write a column with some anecdotal bent. This is a cruelly ill-timed request. For the past year I’ve been trying to cultivate an anecdote-free environment in my cab. To this end, I have fitted a radio/cassette player on which I play classical music throughout the day. For the purposes of minimising […]

I have bought a second-hand Fairway Silver. It is not as smart as a new Fairway Bronze Driver Executive Plus, but I console myself that it is half the price and easier to describe. Both my Fairway and the BDEP are fitted with a Nissan 2.7 diesel engine. Compared with the old tractors, the new […]