New school

Joined WizAnn yesterday. What a difference. I went out after my initial consultation and completed 2 runs in no time. the general rue at WizAnn is you learn the runs first THEN the points. The theory being you learn far quicker concentrating on the runs (So to speak!) then the points. I must admit, it makes more sense that way. Well to me anyway.

Yesterday's weather was a shocker. Really heavy winds saw me battling to keep the bike (And me!) upright, whilst trying to learn the routes..

As for today? stuck indoors with a sore throat and a cough. Hopefully I'll be out and about tomorrow.

Today's listening pleasure? a bit of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly In my opinion one the finest singers ever. I had the pleasure of seeing them live in the 80's. Amazing.

Rain stops play

Ok, so one day into my journey THIS happens:

Rain from 8 am and it's still pouring down. And the forecast? possibly two clear days this week if I'm lucky. It's frustrating having your bike sitting in the garage knowing you could be getting a step closer to your goal!

On todays playlist? Sammy Davis Jr. perfect for a melancholy rainy day!

The longest journey begins with a single step

And never has that been so apt as now!

Took my first step on the road to cabbiedom today, although I was a tad underprepared and managed to leave without taking the run sheet with me.. Although I completed the run (Manor House to Gibson Square) with only two mistakes. Not bad for a complete novice without reference points! To say it was cold when I left is an understatement.. +2.. Thank god for long johns and thermal tops! Plus a sweatshirt  and my bike gear!I'll be going to another school (WizAnn) on Thursday as I am getting good reviews on them too. Plus they are closer to me in East London. I think it will be a case of finding the thing that works for me.

The force is strong with this one...

So tomorrow see's run number two pending the weather. The forecast is not good at all. Let's see what transpires.

As for my listening pleasure today? Diamond Life for no other reason than I love the lyrics and Julie McKnight's voice!

I did it!

Ok, so it was basically impossible to fail the CBT but... I passed! out of four candidates 3 passed and one was thrown off the course as he didn't want to wear a crash helmet as they aren't compulsory in his country!

So as of Monday next week I go on my first official run of the knowledge.. after getting used to the bike of course.

How odd to be so independent on a motorbike though.  I was whizzing in and out of the traffic with the best of them. A 45 minute car journey was dropped to 20 minutes this afternoon. Can't go wrong!

Of course, there's only one song I could be listening to now....

Oh and one more thing. When someone says it's ok for you to ride in jeans. Ignore them! My knees are still to thaw out!

Memories

Well today was a quiet, wet wet day. It's been teeming down since around 2 pm. hopefully it'll be cleared up for the CBT tomorrow!

Anyway I got to thinking about our wedding for no particular reason and had a small mooch through the wedding pictures. Bought back lots of great memories not least our song which is quite funny as most people there expected Lady in red or something similar..

This in turn has led to many hours of YouTube surfing, and needless to say this was on the list! apologies for the rubbish sound quality.

So tomorrow sees me off to do the CBT. I'll update as soon as I get back!

Buda? or Pest?

Here we are back from our trip to Budapest (Pictures to follow) To be honest I went with a rather closed mind thinking it would be a dark foreboding grey country with a large communist hangover. And...... I was wrong.
It's a vibrant colourful country with a very Paris-like feel to it. Lot's of cafe culture in spite of the cold (Blankets are provided by the cafe owners for those sitting outside!)

We stayed at the Intercontinental on the river Danube, smack in the centre of Budapest. Lovely place. I remarked to Carla how ironic that she worked for them and was now back there as preferential guest. Great step up for her methinks!

As for the accommodation. Well, Carla's colleague put us up on Saturday evening and to say I was blown away by the size of the apartment was an understatement. The ceilings are at least 20 feet high inside all built in a building that's in the region of 80-90 years old (Complete with bullet holes from the 1956 uprising!) so when the time comes for the move, it will be exciting choosing the right apartment.

The work life balance seems to be pretty good too. Less hours or less stress. Good opportunities for travel in the local area's too.

All in all an enjoyable experience which has fuelled the desire to go out there.

As for the Knowledge? Well the CBT is this Wednesday the 20th so wish me luck!

Oh, I nearly forgot. What am I listening to whilst writing this? Well it could only be one thing seeing as the two places are only 120 miles apart and so similar..

Windy shoots....

Well after yesterday's musing I decided to go and finish off the gardening. Except I can't find my pliers so the cloche (And Carla) will have to wait until tomorrow again.. Still this is what we have so far. Jalapeno's followed by Brussels and cauliflower, broad beans and green peppers.

As for today's song, well it can only be Tears For Fears and I defy you to find a better live version. The boys still have it in spades. While your there check out Shout awesome stuff!

Sowing the seeds...

So Monday comes.. And Carla mails me a list of things "to do"... We have a very hi-tec relationship where she mails me my orders for the day, I deny receiving them and she re-mails me my reply..

Today was cultivation day. So it found me in the garden planting veggies like they were going out of fashion. We shall have a rather large harvest of Brussel sprouts and broad beans come Christmas. All I have to do now is form a cloche out of coat hangers a-la Blue Peter..

Preparations are underway for our trip to Budapest onWednesday which will see me travelling cattle class and Carla travelling business! no jealousy there then!

One more thing. I hope to be updating this blog with a "What I'm listening to" feature. Just a link to Youtube when I'm blogging. Today's offering is Richard Hawley's Open up your door. What a voice. and a great amateur video on Youtube to boot.

Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Getting rid of the old boiler...

.... No I won't be going down the Bernard Manning route of jokery!
Here I sit surrounded by banging builders and dust and bits of boiler.. Hopefully by 5pm today,Clint and his pal will have finished the work and we will have a new boiler located in the loft and some much needed free space downstairs! the new radiators are in already. I must say these two are quick.

As for the Knowledge? well the license arrived yesterday. A full 24hrs after it was sent. Superb service from the post office and the DVLA. The only problem is I can't sit the CBT until Wednesday week as there are no free spaces and we're off to Budapest in between. A shame, but hey what can you do right?

And the weather? misty grey and overcast. So much for the Indian summer!

The meter's ticking...

.... but the cab aint moving!
So yesterday saw me sorting other things out rather than doing my CBT. According to the DVLA, the license was sent first class yesterday, but could take up to two weeks to get here (!) the wonders of the modern postal system.

I had to collect the car from Mercedes yesterday after having some work done on the wheels. Except they "forgot" to do the work... So the car goes back in Wednesday week!

Other than that, I'm struggling not being at work and being in a kind of limbo between sitting at home and doing the knowledge. Carla thinks I'm mad and should be enjoying myself. It's just a weird feeling to sit here and tidy up occasionally!

Still the weekend is nearly here and the plumber is due tomorrow to fix the boiler. I'll update how that goes over the weekend!

Oh, and it looks like it's going to be an Indian summer even if it's only for this weekend.

What a pain!

Well after the excitement of sorting out the bike, helmet and clothing yesterday, I came back down to earth with a bump after realising I have lost my driving license. This means no CBT for tomorrow. Which means no Knowledge until the I have passed the CBT which means I have a wait of up to 2 weeks whilst the DVLA send out my replacement license. PLUS  I lost my fee! nice start to the day huh?

More to follow...

Back to School!

So here we are. The day after the first step has been strode (Strided? stridden?) walked... Simon and I went to The Knowledge College yesterday for our chat. That was an eye opener! I knew this was a massive undertaking, but how massive was only revealed when the instructor advised that we would be tested on over 4,000 points of interest in the 6 mile radius of London we would be learning. These points include cash points, blue plaques and gastro pubs! add to this the 320 runs I need to memorise and you get some idea as to why 7 in 10 potential cabbies drop out in the first stages.

So to today. Today I pay off the bike and get my helmet and clothing sorted out ready for the CBT on Thursday. Pictures will follow later!

Oh, and the weather forecast for Thursday is sunny so fingers crossed as the weather here this week has been wet wet wet!

So it begins...

Welcome to my small space on the web. Inspired by Messrs, TulStig & co, I thought I'd put the daily ramblings of a fledgling cab driver down for all to share (Or bore themselves rigid)

I finally managed to negotiate a voluntary redundancy on Friday October 1st, thus bringing to a close a chapter that had lasted for the best part of 18 years on and off. Trepidation rules KO?!

So where does that leave me? Well I have set myself a target of two years to complete the knowledge on a full time basis and become a black cab driver. Couple this with Carla's pending trip to Budapest and things are busy to say the least!

Today is the first step on the long road to Cabbiedom... I have the first meeting with The Knowledge College a school for Knowledge boys in London, there I get the rundown on on the why's and wherefores of the taxi trade.

Add to this my bike/bike test and this week promises to busier than my working week!

More to come in the following days/weeks/months!