Mountview News Spring 2014 by DC-Graphics Design & Print

MountviewNews

Zero Emissions are here! Frazer-Nash revive Metrocab

Spring 2014

Why not join the Credit Union now! That time has once again returned when your tax is due, for many causing big headaches trying to find the money to pay your bill. Not for those who belong to the Credit Union as they have saved throughout the year or have taken out a loan to pay this. have been saying for many years that I really do not understand why many more of you have not joined the Credit Union, the mind boggles, what are you waiting for, or perhaps you like the headache when it comes to pay your tax or whatever else comes along. The peace of mind that those who do belong is great with not having to worry how this is going to be paid, they know full well that all it takes is a phone call to this office to arrange a loan or request a share withdrawal to pay those tax bills. If you join now you will be eligible, if needed, to take a loan to cover this expense for the next demand in July 2014, or just save for a holiday, save as much or as little as you like, remember you have to be a member and save regularly for a minimum of three months before qualifying for a loan, savings can be withdrawn anytime. Once again I cannot emphasise enough how useful being a member is, you may apply for a loan for whatever reason you may have, no questions asked. Apart from the income tax issue you may want to take a holiday or buy items for home, or you can just save for a rainy day, your choice. Ask any of your friends who are members just how easy it was to raise money for whatever reason they may have had. Join now, it is so much easier to have money deducted from your account work than having to come in to pay, alternatively if you wish, you may pay by Standing Order direct from your Bank/Building Society, you decide how much you wish to save each month.

A TYPICAL LOAN FROM RADIO TAXICABS (LONDON) CREDIT UNION LTD IS AS FOLLOWS: £1,000 over 12 months will cost you £88.85 a month, total loan repayment is £1,066.20, interest payable is only £66.20, beat that if you can. In addition to this all loans and savings are insured and fully protected in the event of an untimely death, this normally costs a great deal more with other lenders. For an application form or other information, or you just want to discuss anything relating to the Credit Union just give us a call and we would be happy discussing this with you. Call Maria Collu on 020 7561 5148 Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 16:00pm You can email: maria.collu@radiotaxis.co.uk

CreditUnion Radio Taxicabs ( London) Credit Union Ltd No. 90C Mountview House, Lennox Road, London N4 3TX Tel: 020 7561 5148 Fax: 020 7561 5166

Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority FRN. 213232

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 4 Roger Sligo’s ‘Ed Lines’ Your roving reporter… still roving and still reporting! 7 London – The Magical City Peter Gibson talks about house prices in London 8 More Apps than you can shake a stick at Geoffrey Riesel and the way customers now order a cab 10 Vintage Magazine Mention A 1952 Oxford Nuffield Taxi strikes a magazine pose 11 Cyclists and Helpers for Heroes Wanted A Charity Static Cycle Event and 2 Marathons – Wow! 12 The Finsbury Park Makeover Gordon Brown updates us on what’s happening here 13 Update on Station Road & in Cab Equipment Dan Ellis gives us the low down 14 Customer Service – or should that be Customer experience? Steve Cooper asks… “which is it?” 14 Why you Must Make your Credit Card Facility Available Steve Cooper spells out the benefits 15 Winter Jacket Promotion Gavin Cooper of Chief Rentals reveals the winner 15 Fiona completes 30 years Alan Franks with his congratulations to Fiona Pierce 16 Curiosity Corner Roger Sligo – Prisons, Pubs, Walls & Upside Down House 18 Forty Years On – 2053 Ronald MacDonald Watson looks into his crystal ball 19 The Business Travel Show 2014 Roger Sligo travelled there to give us some feedback 20 The Chelsea Pensioners – Men in Scarlet Roger Sligo pays them a visit 23 Twitter Landmarks Geoffrey Riesel on places of tweeting interest 24 The Pack Age – A Century of Wrapping Up Roger Sligo gets all wrapped up in its history 27 Marketing Taxis Robert Stead knows a thing or two on this subject 28 How does a Taxi Driver Deal with St Paul’s Churchyard John Vigus knows… 29 Up for Sales Roy Hughes tells us more about One Transport 30 The Caption Competition Bag yourself a £25 Marks & Spencer Gift Voucher 31 The Mountview Puzzler Page Crossword and Sodoku for those “quieter” moments

Curious? Then see pages 24 – 26

THE MOUNTVIEW NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM IS: Roger Sligo – Editor & photos / Penny Cuckston – Administration Doug Canning, DC-Graphics – Design, layout, artwork, print & distribution Geoffrey Riesel & Peter Gibson – Board production Design, Layout & Print: ©2013 / DC-Graphics / High Barnet / Herts / EN5 5TP T: 0208 440 1155 / W: www.dc-graphics.co.uk Content: © 2014 / Radio Taxis Group Ltd / Lennox Road / London / N4 3TX The information and images contained in this Newsletter are subject to copyright. Unauthorised use, disclosure or copying without prior written permission from RTG Ltd is strictly prohibited.

Roger Sligo’s

NEWS

Electric Shock! JUST AS WE ALL BEGAN TO GET BACK TO REALITY after Christmas and the New Year, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, delivered a shock to us all with his, on the spur of the moment decision, to make all newly built London taxis zero emission from 2018 onwards. his without any consultation with the taxi-trade and with fewer than four years to organise the entire infrastructure which would need to be in place, such as electric charging points, installed across the capital in large enough numbers. Just to show that he means business, Boris invited the world’s media to view three zero emission taxis put on display at Potters Fields, City Hall, which are due to be introduced to our roads sometime in the near future. There was no indication by these taxi manufacturers of just how long until they’re commercially available on sale and indeed how much one of these electric cabs will cost. Electric taxis are not a new innovation, in fact as early as 1897 there was a cab manufactured by the “Great Horseless Carriage Company” to Bersey’s design, which introduced a battery powered 3.5 HP vehicle with power supplied by 4 x 80 volt batteries and a maximum speed of 9 mph; it was known as the “Humming Bird,” due to the noise being emitted from the motor. The Bersey Cabs were operated by the London Electric Cab Co Ltd, of Juxon Street Lambeth. The first ever drunk driving conviction was handed out to 25-year-old driver of an electric cab, George Smith, who on 10 September 1897 drove his electric cab onto the pavement and into the front of 165 Bond Street (George was fined £1). Electric cabs were taken out of service by 1899 because they were proving more expensive to run than had originally been anticipated. The Metropolitan Police stopped licensing this type of electric cab in 1900. A single Bersey is preserved at the Motor Museum in Beaulieu Hampshire. Currently there are three new players; this is alongside and including the existing manufacturers – LTC with the TX4 and the Mercedes Vito. The Frazer-Nash “Metrocab” Chairman, Sir Charles Masefield said: “The Metrocab is designed as a next-generation London taxi and represents a revolution in the market as the first electric-powered cab to meet the duty cycle of a London taxi, where cabbies typically drive many miles from outside the city. This vehicle

Metrocab and a TX4

is ready now, our range extended drivetrain technology offers the solution London and other world-class cities are looking for. We are confident Metrocab will make a real impact in the market and provide a better service to cities, to taxi drivers and to passengers alike.” The Karsan Concept V1 CEO Murat Selek said: “Turkish automotive manufacturers have designed its Concept V1, a highly accessible taxi, ‘by London for London’. Building on the heritage of the city, Karsan developed the platform in cooperation with London’s prestigious Royal College of Art and with the very experienced R&D Company, Hexagon Studio to meet the aspirations of the driver as well as the needs of the passenger. In communicating with other road users, Concept V1 also ensures crucial attention to cyclist and pedestrian safety.” Mr Selek went on to say “Environmentally friendly, Concept V1 is designed to ‘accommodate’ the latest almost 1,400 charge points. The scheme will be managed by IER from the summer and they have ambitious plans to increase the number of charge points across the capital to 6,000 by 2018. With targeted services for taxi drivers.” The Nissan Managing Director, Jim Wright, said: “Nissan supports the Mayor’s initiatives to improve air quality in the capital. We are committed to delivering a 100 per cent electric taxi to the UK in 2015, following the launch of our petrol NV200 Taxi for London later this year. Our zero emission electric taxi will be based on the proven technology of the market leading Nissan LEAF, which has reached almost 100

The Concept V1

thousand sales worldwide.” Managing director Steve Bridge, of Mercedes Vans – Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd said: “Mercedes Benz, an existing established long-term black cab provider, (I thought they made them in other colours too) is currently developing the next platform of Vito taxis. These new vehicles, specifically designed to include zero emission capable concepts, will augment our market leading excellence in engineering, safety, comfort and efficiency for the taxi market.” And last but by no means least the LTC Vice-President of UK Operations, Peter Johansen said: “Thanks to the £200m investment made by our parent company, Geely, we are able to develop a purpose built, no compromise, zero-emission capable London taxi, based on a proven plug-in, range extended, electric powertrain. Our vehicle will respond to Mayor Boris Johnson’s vision for improving London’s air quality and future global environmental challenges, deliver against the requirements of our customers and will be an evolution of the iconic London Taxi shape that is loved, admired and recognised the world over.” At a press showing of three of the zero emission taxis at Potters Fields, I managed to push my way through over a hundred of the world’s press to ask London Mayor, Boris Johnson some questions. I asked him what message he had for the cab trade, he replied; “We are absolutely sure that a deal will be do-able because of the massive savings you will make on the fuel. I am sure that the companies will be offering leasing deals and I certainly can’t have a deal which is going to put London taxidrivers out of pocket. I want something which is attractive to them and will save them money and save on emissions as well.” I then asked Boris “what about charging the vehicles over night for the driver who lives in a tower block on the 15th floor, will they have to throw a lead down from the window to charge it up?” Boris replied; “A range extended hybrid, if you have one of the ones that say hybrid you get the engine charging it and you will not have to worry about that problem. It’s like the new bus, the same idea.” He assured me that drivers buying non-zero emissions at the moment will be alright and will not be affected. He concluded; “This won’t work unless taxi-drivers buy them.”

WHEN IS 6 MONTHS NOT 6 MONTHS? As we have reached the first anniversary of the new NSL testing, which began on the 1st March 2013, along with having two six monthly MOT’s, I was thinking how well it was all going. I had saved well over a grand from previous years, where unnecessary work had been carried out just in case it didn’t pass first time. With an MOT, as long as your taxi is regularly serviced it should not be much of a problem, and you don’t need a garage to charge to take it up for you. As I said everything seemed to work well – that is until after my second MOT! My first MOT test was 23 May 2013 and my NSL test was conducted five days later and it passed both tests with flying colours! I was lucky enough to bring my aged TX1 with the date brought forward to gain an extra year, as the first of June was my taxi’s fifteenth birthday. So far so good, the plate was issued to me

on that date – with the anniversary date still kept the plate would not expire until 21st June 2014, so I was gaining almost a month extra. When I got towards the end of November, I thought I should take it up for the six-month MOT, which I did and it passed first time on 25 November 2013. I carried on as usual and thought no more of it until I got a reminder at the beginning of January 2014. Thinking it was an error, as I had passed my MOT during last November, I contact Helen Chapman who checked it up for me and told me I had taken my six monthly MOT a couple of weeks too early. Not being the world’s greatest mathematician I counted out the months a couple of times before reassuring myself that the 23rd May and the 25th November seemed very much like six-month’s to me! It now transpires that the six months is actually from the date my taxi was granted its new licence. I thought, like most people that I’ve asked, that it was from the MOT date, but still that was only five days between the MOT and the NSL date anyway – but no – wrong again – the grant date is the start day – have I lost you yet? On my new licence I have the date of issue almost a month before the start date. Although as far as I am concerned my

licence started from the day my new plate was given to me and affixed to my taxi. I have now received my two final notices giving me 14 days to pass an MOT otherwise my taxi-licence will be revoked. The fact that the head of TPH, Helen Chapman is aware of the problem seems to make no difference and the fact that the letter notice is signed by her would seem to indicate that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. I contacted the phone number on the reminder four times, each time with 10 minutes before it kept knocking me off. I did eventually get through after trying for nearly 40 minutes. Hopefully it has now been resolved! Due to the misleading wording in the workshop manual regarding TPH MOT tests, it is now to be changed which should hopefully make it easier to understand. This should only affect drivers who have brought their NSL test forward and received the anniversary date of the previous plate – Be Aware! PS: – I understand there are many other owner drivers and fleets after having their 6 months MOT on the due date are also receiving these reminders!

helping them to attain freedom. Many of them died bravely and painfully either by firing squad or even in some of the many concentration camps. Thankfully Mildred has survived to enjoy her ninetieth birthday along with her chums. She was given a wonderful birthday cake with everyone singing Happy Birthday! Many of Radio Taxis and Xeta drivers were there organising things as usual, although all branches of our trade were well represented, I do think that our drivers are always at the forefront of this worthy charity. Well done to all! Roger Sligo.

WAR VETERANS CHRISTMAS DINNER AT THE DEN On the 5th of December 2013, Millwall Football Club welcomed the return of the London Taxi Benevolent Association for War Disabled, for their 4th Annual Christmas dinner at the Den. The afternoon was well organised as usual with the entertainment being Christmas Carols sung by the children of St Jude’s School Choir, which is local to the football ground. One of the big highlights for me, was meeting a real gem of a woman, Mildred Schultz, who just happened to be ninety years old on that very day. I also learned a new word – SOE, which stands for “Special Operations Executive” How come I had never heard of them before? These brave women of the SOE were dropped behind enemy lines, normally because of their fluency in the occupied country’s language, where they would work with the resistance movements,

Mildred Schultz

L to R: Bob Frost, Mildred Schultz and Collie Bateman

London – the Magical City

IN THE UK EVERY GENERATION STRUGGLES to get on the housing ladder and London particularly, property prices have been getting out of hand for the past fifty years but more so than ever in the last five. he housing market is one of the components in the UK’s current economic improvement, and I doubt George Osborne will do much to risk it. But the new Bank of England chief, Mark Carney, may have a surprise for us all if another housing bubble looks like it’s getting out of control. The issue of house prices seems to be a bit like the football league tables – London is the Premiership and the rest of the country is FL72. House prices in Central London are now beyond the reach of the wealthy and only affordable to the super-rich. When Robbie Williams says that he’s worth £100 million and still struggled to find an affordable house in London it doesn’t auger well for the rest of us. Poor old Robbie had to settle for Michael Winner’s old house in Melbury Road – a snip at £17.5 million. Below is a graph of average London house price movements since the year 2000.

Type ■ Detached ■ Semi ■ Terraced ■ Flat ■ All

2000 £485,621 £257,041 £241,381 £206,392 £232,311

End 2013 £1,093,086 £ 673,026 £ 631,841 £ 420,428 £ 526,838

stations have had original estimates of footfall revised upwards. Original estimates of 185 million passengers have now increased to 250 million a year. These numbers includes people using London Underground at the stations. The busier London becomes then the more people will want to have some sort of “presence” in the capital. London could theoretically become like certain parts of Wales, where they have a sizeable amount of “holiday homes” and lots of apartments and houses are that already now; this will, in all likelihood, continue, with these “occasional” properties being bought by foreign interests and then left empty for 10 months of the year. This is fine by itself as not many “normal” people can afford an apartment in Number 1 Hyde Park, then again the consequence of the high prices for those apartments, is the ripple effect on the rest of the capital, whereby prices are “benchmarked” by neighbouring streets and boroughs. If a house in Hainault is priced at 20% of a similar size property in Westminster, then any escalation in Westminster house prices is ultimately reflected in house prices in Hainault. I’m not sure anybody has an answer to this ongoing problem of rising house prices. For those of us who own a house it’s less of a problem but for our children and our children’s children it all looks increasingly bleak unless there’s some sort of “correction” waiting in the wings. Below is a “snapshot” poll result from some Londoners

Change +125% +162% +162% +104% +127%

With the situation, as it is currently, with house prices in London beyond the reach of nurses, policeman, firemen and taxi drivers, then presumably things can only get worse when Crossrail is operating as an extra 65 million journeys could be made using three Crossrail stations annually by 2026. Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Farringdon

that were asked what they thought about the four compass points of London. It’s somewhat controversial but it is what some people thought when asked in a poll. This YouGov poll gives you a very rough idea of how a few Londoners view their surrounding boroughs. Peter Gibson – Group Strategic Director.

More Apps than you By RTG Chairman & CEO Geoffrey Riesel. I HAVE RECENTLY ARRIVED AT THE VIEWPOINT that the London market is in all probability about to change forever. espite the fact that there are many thousands of taxis in London equipped with state of the art modern “radio” or Mobile Data, this is now being surpassed by the speedy rise in popularity of taxi Apps, which enable passengers to order a taxi via an App, with the driver similarly receiving pick-up requests directly via smartphone.

BIG APP LOSSES Although no-one knows if these App companies will eventually become profitable, as in my view they are spending or investing, vast sums (despite reporting huge losses) on marketing and on buying market share; for all intents and purposes much of this is paid for by taxi drivers themselves. Whether these APP companies are only trying to procure market share and then despite huge losses, go to a public offering or flotation, because they might then have an immense segment of the market, who knows? I do nevertheless believe that the pure convenience of Apps means that anyone who has ever used them will evermore want to do so in future and thus Apps are undoubtedly here to stay. A LOT OF APPS And there are a huge amount of them all around the world; every major city has a plethora of Apps with names such as, Allocab, Hailo, Uber, Easy Taxi, Kabbee, mytaxi, GetTaxi, Taxi.eu, Didi-Dache, Huaidi-Dache, MiniCabster, Chauffer-Prive.com, and Yongche. Many of the APPS operate directly with the driver by-passing the traditional taxi companies such as Radio Taxis, Com Cab and Dial a Cab. Indeed they do this all over the world. I’ve been asked if it was the reason why we as a company decided to go for PAY as YOU GO. Well it’s not the only reason by any means, but it was an important factor in that. Drivers download HAILO or GetTaxi without any cost or indeed without any promise of work or help if they need assistance. When a driver joins a radio circuit he/she gets not only a quality of work which no app can provide, but all the additional benefits of being part of a long standing fraternity, a kind of comradeship but with lots of benefits. And I’m pleased to report that the Pay as You Go scheme has gone really well, indeed better than and more quickly than, even we expected. Our fleet has

now grown (modestly) for the first time in six years. And that is a very important development as without a large enough fleet size we cannot win or service the kind of volumes of quality work that still comes through to both Radio Taxis and Xeta PLYING FOR HIRE? Without a doubt the App called UBER is now the biggest threat to both the taxi trade and to Private Hire companies. It by-passes Private Hire operators; going directly via the App to drivers who have bought themselves a reasonably decent car. (You can lease an E-Class Merc for less than £400 a month.) UBER only charges the drivers 20% of the fare compared to at least 40% (and often much more) which PH drivers pay to the PH companies. It’s currently got about a thousand drivers registered and it is growing like wildfire. If PH drivers see themselves as better off on UBER, then unquestionably the PH companies will lose them. Not our problem you might say, but from our point of view, you could have tens of thousands of UBER drivers “plotting up” in every Central London square and in effect, because the App works directly with the driver, people could even stop hailing taxis because UBER drivers are all effectively plying for hire. The suggestion is that by using an App direct to PH drivers and to all intents and purposes “plying for hire” i.e. immediately available for hiring and not as the PH act states “through a booking office first.” If that is the case then these drivers’ insurances would therefore be invalid and most significantly liability might not only be visited upon them but upon TfL who have granted UBER an Operator’s licence, albeit no-one is convinced that they comply appropriately with Operators licencing protocols . Indeed something along those lines has happened in San Francisco where an UBER car hit and killed a six

can shake a stick at year old child and it is reported that court cases with national significance (in the USA) are underway. It is reported that the driver in question was looking at his mobile smart phone while travelling to pick up a fare. (Unlike radio circuits where MDT’s are appropriately fixed with rules of usage) BIG MONEY BACKERS HAILO despite reportedly losing more than £7million last year (Companies House public records) has raised over £18 million to market their App. UBER – who it is said, that their CEO, Travis Kalanick, loves being seen as a Maverick – there are lawsuits against him and his organisation all over the USA and possibly the world and I’m told that he revels in the notoriety of it. They say “there’s no such thing as bad publicity;” – I’m not too sure about that but more importantly it’s reported that they have the same backers as Google behind them and thus access to billions of dollars. Consequently buying market share for them will be uncomplicated albeit expensive. RADIO TAXI INDUSTRY FUTURE? The market is surely changing, “traditional” taxi companies (who have misleadingly been labelled “Dinosaurs” by the App PR machines) have to innovate and modernise even further than they already have done; The radio circuits have indeed over many years made amazing technical innovations which have continually modernised the industry; but now progress needs to made through the use of automated user friendly systems as well with new business model schemes such as our new “Pay as You Go” programme; and perhaps most importantly by the industry (and particularly the radio circuits) working much more closely together. OUR APP – THE PLAN Last year we launched our own App. We’re pleased with the App technically and you may have heard some of the marketing including the radio ads featured on LBC. Unfortunately, drivers’ coverage was very poor; I’m talking about 5% of the trips being covered. I know that the trips were different from anything else on the terminal, most normal trips have run-ins; and there’s usually a destination and I doubt if many of you realise how good the actual App actually is. Basically what happens is that people book (with just two taps of the smart phone), then they get a message, “we’re allocating a nearby driver” but if after a couple

of minutes no cab is allocated then they cancel it themselves. So we are amending the App to include a minimum fare, we’ve asked the PCO and they say as long as there’s a note for the customer to say in advance what the minimum fare is then they will approve this. So we’re talking about probably £10 minimum daytime and £12 at night and possibly a variable version of that if it’s even busier. If we get better coverage then we’ll invest more in marketing it to the public. THANKS TO LINDA ROBSON Most of you might not realise that Linda Robson’s daughter Lauren has worked at Radio Taxis for years and has been a really valued member of the Operations department, after having had a baby (the apple of Linda’s eye) and returning from maternity leave Lauren

Cast of Birds of a Feather on set

now works in customer services. What you also might not know is that mum Linda (Birds of a Feather) is a Radio Taxis customer and a really regular taxi user. Linda has become my Twitter “pal” and has consistently helped us by tweeting to her significant 35,000 Twitter followers about how good Radio Taxis is. So thank you Linda, you are a real sweetheart! Apart from being a wonderful friend to Radio Taxis and a real fan of our drivers the thing we’re also both “batty” about is our grandchildren. And from our point of view I think the new series of “Birds of a Feather” is just so funny, it’s slotted in to the present day so well and it is a raging success. I’m sure all of our drivers will support her and her colleagues and wish them every future success with the show. Geoffrey Riesel Radio Taxis Group Chairman & CEO.

Vintage Magazine Mention THIS ADVERT AND ARTICLE APPEARED in this month’s “Vintage” Magazine (a well-known fashion publication) extolling the advantages of being a Radio Taxis customer and at the same time showing off a 1952 Oxford Nuffield taxi owned by Radio Taxis driver “Silv” Oliveira (T42).

“Silv” Oliveira (T42)

Cycling Taxi DriversWanted! I am organising a fundraising event on Sunday 20th April (Easter Sunday). I am looking for a team of Radio Taxi Cyclists, minimum of 4 – who can each cycle 15 miles or more on a static bike. I have 5 bikes so the more the better. On the day we will be taking part in an event called ‘Around the World in 80 Days Static Cycle Challenge.’ The event has started already around Essex to raise money for Keyhole Cancer Appeal. I need people to raise the minimum of £50. I will pay the registration fee and then the rest of the money goes to the appeal. My wife has just got over her treatment as she had a viral cancer in her tonsils and neck. Her radio therapy department were fantastic and they desperately need the Sky Ceilings that I’m raising money for. I have been a driver for 36 years plus and worked at Stroud Green Road back in the day with all the old faces including the chairman. It would be great if you could help out and bring all the family down to the pier at Southend On Sea. Regards – Phil Stern F164 PS: If you don’t think you can find the driver/cyclists, a fantastic donation would be great. I have sponsor forms. Phil Stern, 149 Clifton Avenue, Benfleet, Essex SS7 1DQ.

Sky Ceilings for Radiotherapy Department ky Ceilings are photographic illusions of real sky views that trigger beneficial relaxation responses for mind and body and transform enclosed interiors into more spacious feeling and memorable environments. Research has shown that the sky ceiling instantly interacts with the pineal gland in the hypothalamus. This In turn starts the release of the hormone Melatonin into the blood stream which begins the calming process for the patient; a very beneficial effect during Radiotherapy treatment. “Illusions of nature manufactured by The Sky Factory – notably their Luminous Sky Ceilings – have been installed in health care environments around the world to alleviate stress, promote patient relaxation, provide positive distraction and improve the patient experience.” We have several treatment rooms within the Radiotherapy Department without access to natural light. We are hoping to raise enough funds to install Sky Ceilings in these areas to improve the patient's experience. Sky Ceilings range in price from around £1,000 to £9,000 depending on the shape and size.

Help for Heroes – Double Marathon Challenge Chris Woods, one of our driver’s sons, is running the London Marathon on 13th April followed by the Edinburgh Marathon on the 25th May. He is running these two marathons to raise funds for the wonderful charity that is Help for Heroes. Help for Heroes supports our wounded. They provide practical, direct support to those servicemen and women wounded in the line of duty. Any support is greatly appreciated. Every penny raised will help. Please speak to the driver if you would like to know any more information or if you would like to donate. Thank You.

ABOUT HELP FOR HEROES Help for Heroes offers comprehensive support to those who have suffered life-changing injuries and illnesses whilst serving our country. This is provided through grants to individuals, other Service

charities, capital build projects and our four Recovery Centres across the UK, in Catterick, Colchester, Tidworth and Plymouth. These will offer support for life. The money raised by the hugely generous public has been used to support our wounded, but there is still so much more to do. Soldiers, sailors and airmen who are injured today will still need our support tomorrow and in the days that follow, for the rest of their lives. They are still battling and we won’t let them battle alone. Registered Charity Number: 1120920.

The Finsbury Park Makeover

By Gordon Brown,Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director. WHAT’S HAPPENING TO FINSBURY PARK? When I first started at RTG it felt like a place you didn’t want to be walking around after dark and not a decent cup of coffee to be had anywhere – including the staff vending machine (cost 20p). ut things have now changed… and it started with two (yes two) Costa Coffee shops which opened in swift succession! This was followed quickly by the introduction of a Sainsbury’s Local, although it did take an inordinate length of time to complete. The problem though with all of the ‘monoliths’ of the retail trade is that they might take business away from local shops and despite my own moaning, it was and still is great to visit locally run cafes and coffee shops. However I don’t think they have lost custom, mainly helped by some remarkable new developments in the area. Last year, after a long and intensive funding campaign, the Park Theatre in Clifton Terrace opened. I have visited it twice to see shows and I am pleased to report that it is a modern, comfortable but still quite ‘intimate’ theatre, that has two theatre ‘spaces’ one seating 200 people the other 90. The shows, which are typically plays, are usually put on for short runs of about four weeks meaning that there is a varied programme of events. A successful feature of the theatre is that it also has a lovely simple coffee shop serving drinks, some snacks and London brewed beer – well worth a visit – and as it is open all day it adds vibrancy and a sense of community to the area. I think the fact that the theatre opened, then led to a small family run Italian restaurant – Osteria Tufo – opening just around the corner from Mountview House in Fonthill Road – again

The John Jones Development (top). The Park Theatre (above). simply furnished, it serves a small selection of dishes and although it only opens in the evening, it appears to have become very popular. The future is also looking very interesting: the site in Clifton Terrace where John Jones – the picture framers and art conservationists – and which has operated for a number of years, is now being redeveloped by them. Already an organic online butcher has set up and soon the new John Jones art space will re-open along with the ubiquitous coffee shop, followed in the next couple of years by student accommodation for 450 students from the University of the Arts. Add to that the City North development which has just started and which will bring a mix of offices, shops and housing, Finsbury Park is certainly an area well worth a visit in the future... even for Tottenham supporters...who would have thought it?

Dan Ellis updates us about Station Road and in Cab Equipment WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE MY LAST ARTICLE about the Zeus and Anti-vibration Mounts? Well not much, we are seeing less and less of you (which is a good thing) returning with the problems you were having with the Zeus. So it seems that with the introduction of the “antivibration mounts” and metal brace we have solved most of the problems. am not going to say that once you have this fitted you will never return to Station Road but it has certainly reduced the number of times that you have to come in with equipment faults. So if you haven’t had it fitted yet please come into Station Road and we will fit this for you. This, as I said in my previous article, takes approximately 45 minutes. It’s a small change but it will make a difference to the system especially in the long run as it reduces wear and tear on the unit and may well prevent further issues from letting you down when you really need it. What else has changed with the system? Some of you may have experienced two cabs turning up at a job that only one cab is booked for. This occasionally happens when we lose connectivity with the unit which runs on the mobile phone network and as a consequence we don’t receive your accept message, although you may well have the job on your screen. It then gets offered (automatically by the system) to another driver who accepts the job and voila! (there you are) we have two drivers booked for a single job. This happens in areas of poor signal or where there are massive amounts of people using the mobile network such as Canary Wharf; its where you have thousands of people in large buildings all connecting their mobile devices to a network.

The Nissan NV200

This creates a bottleneck on the network and can cause a loss of connection. The mobile phone companies are investing a huge amount of time and money increasing capacity and coverage including sharing masts with other operators but with more and more people having 2 – 3 devices such as iPhone and iPads we may still see some problem spots for a while. We are coming up with solution (a new computer logic to handle lost messages) so as to minimise the cause of this and we should be sending it out via a software update soon, over the air to the terminals which will download automatically when you sign on. So this should ease this particular problem. We are currently working together with Nissan at ways to fit our equipment into their new cab, although it doesn’t launch until much later in the year it is a good step to ensure a smooth integration process and our engineers know what is required when we start seeing the first ones coming into Station Road to be fitted. Looking at the design and layout of the cab I’m sure it will be a successful addition to the current options we currently have in London. It looks the part and with the increased MPG I am sure many of you will be keen to give it a test drive. Dan Ellis.

Customer Service – or should that be Customer Experience? THERE ARE THOSE THAT CAN SELL ice to Eskimos but ultimately the experience of the transaction will influence the customer’s decision to buy more ice from that supplier. n our sector of Taxi supply we as drivers should be mindful of the fact that what brings clients back time and time again is the professional level of the service we provide. Loyalty and reputations are hard won and easily lost. The key to developing our client base is to deliver a service that exceeds our client’s expectations. Some of the qualities that contribute towards a good client experience and define our professionalism are; clean taxis, well presented, polite and helpful drivers. It is also good practice, when appropriate, to communicate the route, diversions and traffic. Using our knowledge and experience to get around safely and quickly is one

thing but keeping the passenger informed is also just so important too. We should always be respectful of our passenger’s privacy as not everyone wants to debate the economy, politics or sport or to be subjected to driver’s phone calls or music. Do you recall the stories of those knowledge students that became frustrated under the pressure of an “appearance” and couldn’t bite their lip, well they don’t drive Taxis. Decorum is a good old fashioned quality that defines the calibre required to obtain a Cab Drivers Licence in London, it sets us apart and customers like it and it is one of the reasons they take Taxis rather than anything else. Let’s all do our bit to keep them coming back for more.

Why you Must Make your Credit Card Facility Available AS TRANSPORT FOR LONDON (TfL) announces cashless bus services in 2014 the possibility of all London Taxis being mandated* (*made compulsory) to accept payment cards, could be the future, the RTG taxi fleet is ready. ur credit card street hire transactions are now growing faster than ever. Drivers that were previously unsure have overcome their initial objections and are seeing the rewards. In particular the numbers of higher value fares have grown. In one month alone (excluding journeys that started from airports) we have seen street credit card jobs that went to Ascot, Bracknell, Brentwood, Dartford, Gillingham, Luton, Maidenhead, Rayleigh, Rochford, and Walton on Thames, to name but a few. All of these

journeys were paid for by card and went more than £100; and there are no fees to the driver for this service. A driver that regularly works the Paddington Rank has told me that by taking payment cards he has been “called forward” for some excellent rides. Why would anyone want to miss out on these roaders? Drivers that see the big picture and support all payment types are promoting the London Taxi industry in the manner that sets us apart from our competitors. It is an advantage for us all to exploit. Apart from risking a stop note, taxis with card payment facilities that are covered over or marked “out of order” do an injustice to the initiative that we have invested in. Taking cards is what we do. If any equipment requires attention then please ensure you contact Station Road without delay. Steve Cooper.

Fiona completes 30 years IN THIS ISSUE I would like to extend my hearty congratulations and thanks to my right hand person Fiona Pierce (Gavin) Radio Taxis Operations Manager and who completed 30 years with the company in January.

iona joined Radio Taxis in 1984 as a 17 year old after her brother-in-law who was on the circuit suggested that she should call to see if there were any vacancies. She started as a telephonist and quickly progressed, being promoted to the query channel as an operator who spoke to drivers over the radio, giving them driver details of the jobs and “clearing their dockets.” Fiona obviously had a flair for the job and when we moved from Stroud Green Road to Mountview House in 1990 she was promoted again and became the day shift supervisor. She excelled in this role and it was clear that she was destined to eventually run the Control Room or Operations Centre. It wasn’t long before Fiona was again promoted to Assistant Control Room Manager and in the mid nineties I had the honour of promoting her to her current role of Operations Manager. Fiona is also the account manager of the LUL account and is highly regarded by them and she is the primary reason that we have such a strong working relationship. Fiona has served Radio Taxis with distinction, having a natural ability to manage staff. She is also and always has been a very popular member of staff at Radio Taxis, having spent endless hours listening to the

problems of both staff and drivers alike, a kind of Radio Taxis “Agony Aunt”. On behalf of all at Radio Taxis we would like to congratulate and thank Fiona for her total dedication to Radio Taxis over the last 30 years and may she have many more happy and healthy years with Radio Taxis. Alan Franks – Group Operations Director.

WINTER JACKET PROMOTION t was Wednesday 19th February when I had the pleasure of meeting Radio Taxis driver Mr. Timothy Harlow, one of our ‘Winter Jacket Promotion’ qualifiers and handed over a bespoke Radio Taxis/Chief Rentals winter jacket to him. Mr. Harlow, a keen sailor, commented on how the jacket would come in useful for his time spent on the water, keeping him warm and dry. He also mentioned that he had received an excellent level of service from Chief Rentals, which was nice to hear as our aim is to keep drivers mobile and earning a living. I hope the other qualifiers are as pleased with their jackets as we look forward to serving Radio Taxis drivers in the future.

Gavin Cooper – Chief Rentals.

TESTIMONIAL “I was involved in a non-fault road traffic accident in my cab and required a replacement cab with a Radio Taxis circuit terminal. I was put in contact with Chief Rentals who supplied me with a new replacement cab until I got my own cab back, the service was so easy and they were nice people to deal with. I then received a phone call from Gavin Cooper at Chief Rentals notifying me that I had qualified to win a winter jacket, which I can’t wait to receive. Many thanks to all at Chief Rentals – and I will definitely use them again.” Stephen Kew.

Curiosity Corner Roger Sligo on the mysteries of hidden London

Prisons, Pubs and Walls

NEWGATE PRISON ONCE STOOD ON THE SPOT where the Central Criminal Courts, better known as ‘The Old Bailey’ stands today. Some of the same slabs of brickwork were recycled from the notorious jail and reused again on the outside walls of the Old Bailey. There are also remains of the prison cells hidden deep beneath the Viaduct Tavern, on the corner of Giltspur Street and Newgate Street. After having a word with the pub’s landlord, he was kind enough to allow me to go downstairs and take some photographs. men Corner is a private road which Newgate cell beneath the viaduct Tavern has no public right of way. But if you were able to venture behind this row of terraced houses, which were built during the seventeenth century in order to house the Cannons of St Paul’s Cathedral, you would find a small section of the old prison wall, complete with gas lamps. Another pub which can also boast of its own prison cells, along with its own ghost, is the Morpeth Arms on Millbank. The Morpeth was built over the remains of the notorious Millbank Prison, on ground now covered by the Tate Britain. Again the bar staff were helpful in letting me go down to view the dingy dungeon and told me about how it is haunted. They have had several visits from the Millbank prison cell Paranormal Society, who claim the ghost is of a young man who died being dragged to a ship which was moored opposite and which was about to transport him and many others off to Australia. After leaving the pub I crossed over the road towards the river to look at the Capstan opposite, which commemorates where the transportation ships were once moored. The word “POM” which is used by Australians when referring to English people is thought to come from uniforms with the large letters POM – Prisoner of Millbank printed on them.

Millbank prisoner’s button

Millbank capstan

Newgate prison wall

The Upside Down House I WAS CONTACTED RECENTLY by one of our readers/drivers; Jeff Middleton (V70) who knowing my passion for curiosities, asked if I’d seen the upside down house in Blackfriars Road. I had to admit I never had a clue what he was talking about, so off I went to take a look. here, sure enough, I found a house built upside down. Everything was upside down including the TV aerial, For Sale sign, the drain-pipe, the window ledges, the doors and even the shop front at the side. I tried to find a door to get in without having any success, but I did find a Polish workman cutting down a tree in the courtyard behind, who had no idea what on earth I was going on about. I took him into Blackfriars Road to show him and he became truly amazed himself. I went around the corner to the Mad Hatters Hotel, thinking it might have something to do with them, they also knew nothing. When I came back outside the Polish workman was across the road taking pictures himself with his own mobile phone! He said he didn’t believe his own eyes. The curiosity turned out to be a work of art created by 29 year old artist Alex Chinneck. It forms part of London’s annual Merge Festival which showcases art and music on Bankside. Next time you are passing 20 Blackfriars Road, tell your passengers to take a look and when they think they are seeing things you can tell them what it’s all about! Roger Sligo.

The upside down house

Forty Years On – 2053 By Robert MacDonald Watson, Group Company Secretary

HAVING LOOKED BACK 60 YEARS TO 1953 it could seem churlish not to add a 100 years to Radio Taxis and to take a light hearted look at what we might be facing in 2053.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

ell what we have seen recently is hard enough to believe with wide scale flooding and high winds constantly battering us from West to East. Further parts of the East Coast will follow the pattern of Dunwich and disappear under the North Sea. It seems in Roman times the coast was miles further out. How do we decide which parts of the coast to defend from erosion and wave damage? Often financial constraints do not allow this and others say nature is too strong and must take its course. I think we can assume that major towns will be protected and some way of nature reserves in between to store water like marshland, may well aid wildlife as well. We can imagine ever increasing wine production on the South Downs, especially if the temperature goes up at all from where we are already. This should keep prices at a reasonable level though I do not see cheaper prices just more vineyards. Along low lying rivers, I cannot imagine planners or governments stopping developments on flood plains. However, more thought will have gone into how we control rivers and drainage and might there not be houses on stilts? The way we farm may have to change and uplands may need less sheep and more trees. Will we have a Severn Barrier as well as the Thames one? Surely, we will no longer have a railway running along the coast in Devon as the only rail link to Plymouth and points to the West. Perhaps a form of light railway at least built further inland as a local amenity and a back-up. Dr Beeching has a lot to answer for. In general, west facing ports and harbours and sea fronts will need some form of protective makeover. Aberystwyth’s promenade would no longer seem tenable and sea front coping stones no longer seem fit for purpose, even all the way round at Lowestoft. It is probable that inland house prices will be higher and Sea view Cottages will be a daring buy in the West. No doubt by 2053 the state retirement pension will not be payable until you are 70. Maybe children born then will be genetically modified as well as the crops. We will have increasing ability to select out problem genes if morality allows. One would imagine that we would still have taxis, presumably

all electric by then and they will only use a communications mode by smart phone rather than using mobile data terminals. Tube trains will no doubt run without drivers and cars on some stretches of motorway will run on a regulated automatic pilot. This could well mean a reduction in speeding fines and you might think fewer accidents. We already have bossy cars that will not let you drive away if you have not put your seat belt on. There will be hardly any cash around, just point and click. It seems strange now that some many people still commute long distances to work. With all the means of communication that will then be at our disposal and will we not be more likely to have many more virtual offices? If you could have virtual holidays that gave you the same degree of relaxation without the stress of travelling maybe we wouldn’t need bigger and bigger airports. Dr Who solved this problem, but I don’t think the “Tardis Travel Company” will have got beyond the R & D stage in real life. Will the government have imposed sugar rationing to cut down on obesity? What about a government planning control that insists on roof top playing fields in new schools? Has the first disastrous land collapse caused by fracking happened and to a chorus of “I told you so, greed before people;” or will we all be wondering what all the fuss was about, as our fuel reserves are greatly increased and prices stabilised (to say dropped is a bit hard to contemplate). What will have replaced social media, thought transference? Forget computer games, bring on mind games. Will Whisky be cheaper in Scotland and what will qualify as the personal allowance to bring it back into England? Today we have compulsory MOT’s for cars, by then we will have compulsory health checks for humans at certain ages and weights. Prevention is better than having to cure will be the slogan. Maybe local medical centres will incorporate GP’s Pharmacies, Physio’s healthy food stores and gyms. A one stop healthcare shop. We will all have terrible back ache from improper posture from using tablets (iPads etc) in our youth. Our challenge as an industry and as a society is to think ahead. I will not ramble on any more and I am unlikely to be rambling on then as I would be 103!

The Business Travel Show 2014

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL SHOW AT EARLS COURT provides a free-to-attend conference programme designed to meet the knowledge requirements of the entire business travel community. his year’s show being their 20th anniversary, took place on 4 – 5 February 2014, where corporate travel buyers and bookers were able to meet over 200 suppliers, from global brands of travel accommodation, technology and traveller service solutions. The thought of over 6,000 professionals from the European business community building relationships and networking with corporate travel experts is a wonderful opportunity to create an unrivalled occasion to help buyers and bookers to manage travel better. Many top brand names were there including; Virgin Atlantic, Barclays Bank, Capita, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Travelodge, Master Card and our very own One Transport. I visited the One Transport stand about noon on the opening day; staff told me there had been plenty of conversations and they were speaking to the right people, especially to one large organisation who use lots of taxis not only in London but all over the UK and who were very interested in becoming clients of One Transport. Another taxi company at the exhibition was “Get Taxi” who had invited me along to see a new product they were revealing for the first time. They told me I was the first visitor from the taxi trade press and gave me a demonstration of the new project they are about to launch, which turned out to be a taxi-booking “Kiosk” in the form of a tablet computer which they said is being rolled out to hotel lobbies, rail stations, airports and restaurants around the capital. I think that many taxidrivers will resent this, seeing it as taking their legitimate

work away from taxi-ranks and then having to buy it back again from Get Taxi. I understand that One Transport tried this idea at Westfield Shopping Centre some time ago without it being successful. So perhaps it’s not such a new invention as they are claiming it to be!

Networking and getting in with the right people is certainly the way forward as far as providing the travel industry with their taxi solution requirements. I think that RTG’s One Transport is doing well with their total ground transportation solutions; in fact so well they were short listed for “Best Ground Transportation Company” at the recent Business Travel Awards in January 2014. Roger Sligo.

FOR OVER THREE HUNDRED YEARS, the Royal Hospital Chelsea has provided a welcoming home for thousands of retired soldiers in their old age. King Charles II, some say, urged on by his mistress Nell Gwen, realised that there needed to be a safe place for his growing number of veteran soldiers, no longer fit for active service either by age or through injuries of war.

The Chelsea Pensioners – Men in Scarlet

Michael Allen

n between his time of rebuilding London’s churches, after the Great Fire of 1666, Sir Christopher Wren also built these elegant buildings known as The Royal Hospital, which were inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. As highly as we regard these men in scarlet they also have a fond admiration for the London taxi-trade, as I was to find out on my recent visit. During his speech at the Veterans trip to s innes War u G e h t Worthing in June last n i “They are Records as the year, the Governor of Book of in the The Royal Hospital t r a h c o t d an Chelsea, Sir Redmond oldest boy b their first album!” Watt, welcomed UK with London-taxi drivers to visit the Royal Hospital because of the good relationship between the cab trade and the Chelsea Pensioners. I decided then and there that I should put it down on my “must do” list. At the beginning of the New Year I made arrangements with their Marketing Communications Manager Laura Card, who said she would find me someone who would give me a good insight into the daily life of a Chelsea Pensioner and also take me on a tour of the buildings.

I met with my tour guide Michael Allen, (above) Sergeant Major of the Military Police, who gave me a warm welcome and a good chat over a cup coffee. Michael began by telling me about his military history, starting off as a boy soldier, at the age of fourteen and a half, as an army apprentice engineer at Chepstow or Beachley as it was known in those days. He went into the Royal Engineers for a couple of years and got fed up with building a bridge, taking it down and rebuilding it again a couple of hundred yards down the river, then taking it up again piece by piece and moving it back to where it was. So he transferred to the Military Police and loved every minute of it – travelling around the world and doing special things. Michael was born in Wales, but he wasn’t there for long as his father was in the army and the family were constantly on the move. Michael married a Kentish girl and lived for many years in Maidstone, Kent. “My Daughter and Grandchildren still live there and my Son lives at Ashford in Kent.” Michael spent some time out of the army and with the Kentish Police Services in Maidstone as senior crimes officer before retiring and becoming a Chelsea Pensioner. Michael speaks affectionately about the London

Chelsea Pensioner Statue

Dining Room with visitors

taxi-trade, he began by saying; “The London Taxi Drivers Association used to meet here in the old club, when we built the new club we had to start charging to help pay for it. Sometimes we forget we are a charity and need money to keep the place going. We said ‘what are we charging the taxi-drivers for – they are our friends? They give us free cab rides! Very rarely do cab drivers charge us; they are so good to us!” He remembered the time when he took one of the pensioners who is wheelchair bound, in a taxi to Oxford Circus. “I always like to ask how long the taxi-drivers have been doing it for– so when I asked this particular driver – he looked at his watch and said ‘all day’ I said; do what? He said it was his first day and I asked what he was doing before this; he said he was with the Met police, a commissioner at the Yard!” Michael said he never gets minicabs “I always get a black cab, you know that when you ask for any street in London the drivers know where it is and away they go. It absolutely amazes me every time, I love the black cabs.” I asked Michael about the building work taking place outside and he replied; “The East Wing is at this moment being converted into en suite rooms and they start to move in between 29th March and 30th April. The West Wing, which is all the old fashioned long wards will be moved out and will be converted into en suite rooms. So within two years the old way of living for over three-hundred years will go. At the moment we live in a nine-by-nine wooden box with thirty-six men on a floor, we share four toilets and two showers. So it’s a little bit basic, but at the same time it combats loneliness, you cannot be lonely because you have to go down the ward to go to the toilet, or down the ward to go to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, so you’re passing people all the time. The communal area is the main passage way through the place, with armchairs and tables, it’s where you can have a coffee and a natter – and that’s going to go! So from a nine by nine wooden box they are now going to have lockable front doors, there is a study area with a desk all wired up for a telephone, television and computer – a passage to a washroom with toilet, sink and shower. Then there is a large bedroom with a window.” He went on to say; “They will not need to go outside their berth, so that’s something we will have to be aware of and which could become a problem. At the moment I am one of the company Sergeant Majors and this is something I will have to make sure that it does not become a problem.” It was then time to take the tour so Michael donned his hat before I took a photograph of him with a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen as a

backdrop. I also noticed a picture of the record “Men in Scarlet” which was a very successful LP and lined up in the group on the cover was Michael my guide, second on the right (as he pointed out without his glasses on). I later found out that it was released during November 2010 and within a month had sold 100,000 copies, receiving a gold disc and with the group’s average age being 78 years, they are in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest boy band to chart in the UK with their first album. Just in time for the rain we went outside and to the Central Court, better known as the figure court. The Figure Court is the oldest part of the Royal Hospital Chelsea and was started by Sir Christopher Wren in 1682. A statue of King Charles II, sculptured by Grinling Gibbons, stands dressed as a Roman General and holding a baton as the sign of his Imperial authority. Grinling Gibbons went to school in Holland and when he finished his education he wanted to be a wood carver. To enable him to be noticed by Charles II he sent this cast of the King in bronze gilded and dressed as an Emperor, with a letter to the King, saying I dressed you as an Emperor because I think you are more than a King. This flattered Charles so much that he employed Gibbons as a court sculptor and that was his fortune made. Michael informed me; “On founder’s day we celebrate three things, Charles II birthday 29th May, also known as Oak Apple Day, to commemorate the restoration of the English monarchy; we celebrate him escaping from the battle of Worcester in 1651 and the opening of the Royal Hospital in 1652. On the first Thursday in June, commemorating Charles hiding in the Oak tree, we cover the Continued over the page…

Pensioners room

Doric columns of the main portico

statue in Oak Leaves, with just his head popping out.” Michael also pointed out the Doric columns of the main portico, supporting the Royal Hospital’s water cistern which was originally filled from the River Thames. The colonnade is all Wren’s original work, with the benches and panelling dating back to 1688 and the Latin inscription is said to have been composed by Wren himself. The Colonnade is exactly One Furlong in length but nobody knows why that is. We then entered The Great Hall, which was also designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was originally intended as a dining hall. Just before 1800 the pensioners started dining in the wards and the hall was then used for recreational purposes. It was also here that the Duke of Wellington lay in state in 1852, with the same table from which his coffin rested upon. Over the years it has been used for various other purposes including a Court Marshal Centre, where Captain Bligh of the “Bounty” was tried. It was also used as the Armies Examination Board. The hall reverted to its original use as a dining hall in 1955. Beneath the Great Hall was once a brewery. It was built because there were lots of pensioners dying from what was thought to be the cause, the drinking water from the water containers. They never understood about lead poisoning. It was decreed that pensioners could not drink water, but only ale. To enable them to bring up the ale, they used a couple of what is known as “Black Jacks” which are made of leather and hold five gallons. These containers can still be seen on the Wellington table.

presented to the hospital by James II and they are the originals which are alarmed. The backdrop to the alter came out of a church destroyed by the Great fire of London in 1666, believed to be from a Greek church as the three letters on it are IHS and that’s how the Greek’s depict the name of Jesus in their churches where we used the Latin IRNI. We then moved on to the Museum which features military artefacts and memorabilia that was donated by deceased inpensioners. The displays include items associated with the Duke of Wellington, and other uniforms, medals, weapons, paintings and models. In 2002, the Sovereign’s Mace was presented to the hospital – up until then, the hospital had had no colours or distinctive device – the Mace is now carried at all the ceremonial events at the Hospital.

The Sovereign’s Mace

The Parade Chair which was presented by the pensioners to Her Majesty the Queen on her Golden Jubilee in 2002. She first used it publicly for the Trouping of the Colour that same year. It is kept at the museum and produced on suitable occasions for the Queen. The Margaret Thatcher Infirmary Key is also on display in a glass case. During the 1960s the old infirmary was demolished to make way for the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary which was built in the classical style and completed in 2008. The pensioners have a lot of respect for Baroness Thatcher as she built up a strong

Margaret Thatcher’s key

The Chapel

The Wren Chapel was also designed by Sir Christopher Wren and is a fine and rare example of Wren’s pure ecclesiastical work and was completed in 1687. The organ gallery is exactly the same as it was in 1690 when it was dedicated with the Coat of Arms of King James II. The box on the left is the Governor’s box where he sits with his family when they come to worship and was also shared with Margaret Thatcher. The silver cross on the alter was presented by Her Majesty the Queen on her ascension to the thrown in 1952 and the two silver gilt candlesticks were

relationship with the Royal Hospital during the last 10 years of her life and had chosen it as her final resting place. A headstone bearing the simple inscription ‘Margaret Thatcher 1925 – 2013’ was erected on top of Lady Thatcher’s final resting place in the grounds of the hospital. In March 2009 the first women in the Hospital for over 300years of history were admitted, the first woman In-Pensioner was Dorothy Hughes (aged 85). I found Michael’s tour and conversations to be very interesting. With all the modern work which is now taking place, Michael assured me he has been informed that the new building should last for at least another three-hundred years, with all the rust proof materials being used, but he confessed “the only thing is, it might not be pensioner proof – just imagine them waiting for the lift and prodding the button with their walking sticks!” Now there’s a thought... Roger Sligo

Twitter Landmarks

Staying in touch with the places you drive past every day

by @radiotaxis_boss IT IS NOW ALMOST TWO YEARS since Mountview News started giving tips and advice on how to use Twitter and some of the useful twitter accounts for a London Taxi driver to follow. witter continues to grow as do the number of people both tweeting and following. You can follow Radio Taxis Chairman Geoffrey Riesel on his twitter handle @radiotaxis_boss. In this edition we look at some of the

Twitter accounts established by some of London’s leading and more interesting landmarks which we expect many of our Radio Taxis drivers will drive past or drop off at every day.

Twitter Handle

Description

Website Address

St Brides Church, Fleet St. @stbrideschurch

Anglican Church. The Journalists’ Church. Fleet Street London. Excellent Choral Tradition. Regular Music Recitals, Concerts and Events.

stbrides.com

Hackney Empire @hackneyempire

Hackney Empire is THE venue for live music, comedy, drama, variety and dance in the East End of London.

hackneyempire.co.uk

Wembley Stadium @wembleystadium

Home of the England football team, we also welcome some of the biggest names in sport and music. Join in at #Wembley

wembleystadium.com

Camden Market @camdenmarketorg

London’s favourite Market, follow our updates and keep up to date on what’s happening in London.

camden-market.org

BT Tower @bttowerlondon

Hello. I’m the BT Tower. I’m a really tall (189m) 47 year-old male (obviously... have you never read Freud?).

Harrods @Harrods

Welcome to the official Twitter feed of Harrods – the world’s most famous luxury department store.

harrods.com

Brockwell Lido @BrockwellLido

BLU – Brockwell Lido User group. Note that Fusion Lifestyle manages the Lido.

brockwelllido.com

Tower Bridge @TowerBridge

Managed by the City of London Corporation, Tower Bridge stands proudly over the Thames. Open daily for our Exhibition until 17.30.

towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/EN/

The London Eye @TheLondonEye

Follow the Official London Eye on Twitter.

londoneye.com

The Pack Age – A Century of Wrapping Up IN THESE DAYS OF ENVIRONMENTAL awareness, we are made to feel guilty about buying goods which use too much wrappings and packaging materials.

Robert Opie

oday we are very much a throwaway society; however there is one man who has made saving packaging a lifetime passion, collecting the things which most of us would throw away. He displays thousands of these collected items in his own museum. The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising is tucked away in a mews in London’s Notting Hill, where I had arranged to meet its founder Robert Opie. The first surprise on reaching the museum is how it is housed in a brand new building. Before arriving I had preconceptions of an old dusty warehouse with an assortment of packaging and boxes, which I discovered was not the case. There were a group of young university students standing outside, who had just been visiting the museum for their research program and as I entered I found more young people inside buying books and DVD’s in the well stocked shop. I was greeted by the museum founder, Robert Opie, who was going to personally give me a tour while I was interviewing him about his unusual collection. He began by explaining how easy it was finding your way around the exhibits, with everything chronologically displayed in which he called; “Time Travelling through the ages.” “From the Victorian age, up to the present time. As well as having the core of the display, there is also the contextual material which looks at things like travel and transport, entertainment, fashion, toys and games, sport and so on. We are looking at the whole world of the consumer, with things that were around at each moment in time.” Before we entered into the Victorian era, I noticed in one of the display cases in the foyer, a scrapbook of our Queen’s 1953 Coronation. Robert recalled; “At the age of six, and after weeks of

sticking down newspaper and magazine cuttings awash with glue, along with cut-outs from advertisements and commemorative bread wrappers, I won first prize at school with my coronation scrapbook.” I said”was that the start of your collecting days?” He remarked “Perhaps this was a precursor of things to come. Like so many children growing up in the 1950s, I was gathering items into collections – coins, stones, stamps, Lesney Matchbox die-cast models – but instinctively I wanted to find a subject that no one else had covered.” I asked him; “So when was the moment you realised you wanted to devote most of your life to your unique idea of collecting the things that most of us throw away?” He replied; “One Sunday in 1963 when in Inverness I bought a packet of Munchies and a pack of McVitie & Price’s ginger nuts. It was as I was enjoying the Munchies that the

Museum entrance

Crisps

thought of saving these everyday items occurred to me. Here was a subject which, seemingly, no one else was recording. While still at school, I began to gather cereal boxes and coffee jars, polish tins and soap powder packets.” He went on to explain; “In 1969, the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens was being drained for the first time since the 1930s, as I retrieved some old milk bottles from the mud flats this thought was sparked. Suddenly, the search was on for me to find our throwaway history.” The need for pre-packaging began in the early Victorian times due to the manufactures wanting control of their products, giving a brand name and more trust from the consumer. It meant also the

The Queen’s Jubilees were celebrated across the land, the souvenirs you would have seen, assuming you were around at that time. I remarked to Robert about what fine condition these items were in – “I always try to find them in the best possible condition. I like to show the actual item as you might have bought them had you been there at the time. As you move along you can see all the new innovations like; the typewriter, the gramophone, the telephone, the camera and of course the motor car.” He went on to say; “Everything starts as a luxury and as you move through the time tunnel, you discover it becomes more of a necessity. So when Mr Heinz brought his tomato ketch-up across, it was thought of as being very expensive and exotic, where only Fortnum and Masons would sell it, but today every shop has it and you squeeze it on anything that moves!” There are also souvenirs from the 1851 Great Exhibition and in another display Victorian household soaps and starches along with appliances such as the gas ovens, carpet sweepers and irons, “Who makes up most of your visitors?” I asked; “We get a lot of students, about a third of our visitors are from overseas and the rest are a mixture of all other people, families, adults and people who love to come and see the memories of their childhood – once you get to your fifties it’s all about memories!” This is something I had to agree with. The first part is Victorian, then Edwardian, then we move on to the

Sweets

grocer, instead of dishing out the produce piecemeal; the manufacturers were able to provide the products by the required weights and sizes, so it was wrapped hygienically, which was a big change in how the consumer was getting the product. Robert told me this is what he calls “The Pack Age” with the trade names of the manufacturers like Cadbury’s and Colman’s which gave consumers confidence, which was very important to their strategy. Advertising these products was also important with graphically designed artwork. The first collection starts with Victorian displays covering over sixty years, so there was a lot of time passing by during this period.

Toys and games

which includes a Matchbox Taxi, a wartime tin of Spam and a ticket for the 1966 World Cup Final, as the only ticket I have on display is for the semi-final.” He added. “I still cannot find any wartime cans of Spam, I should be able to find one of those, it would have been kept during the1940s. I have plenty of other material from that period, but why can’t I find one of those, I have no idea? There are other things on my shopping list, a pre 1925 jar of Marmite when it was straight sided, a 1960 packet of Coco Pops when they first came out – so there are still things I keep a look out for.” Robert recalled “There were also the toys which came with breakfast cereals and even if you were not too keen on the food inside, you still got your parents to buy them for the special gift packed inside!”

The 1960’s section

First World War period and then of course the Second World War, all of these are historical. After that it becomes about pure nostalgia. It surprised me how some of the things I used to really love and now I had completely forgotten about. Things like Lyons Individual Fruit Pies – I used to love the Blackcurrant and Apple flavours and yet this has been long forgotten by me – a look at the old packaging and the memories came flooding back. Lost household names such as White Tide, OMO, both once giants in the washing powder industry – ask younger people today and they won’t have a clue what you’re talking about! How many of you still remember Palm Toffee? Walters of Acton Ltd commenced making confectionery in 1887 during the reign of Queen Victoria. The defining moment for the company was in 1922 when they invented Walters Palm Toffee which was an instant success. And then there were the shampoos – Drene Shampoo – which was soapless shampoo and of course the sachet of Teazie Weazie shampoo, Teazie was a famous hairdresser at the time and here he is making his moment in packaging history. Not all the exhibits are confined to packaging though, there are things like a motor scooter, a juke box, early TV’s, plenty of transistor radios of all shapes and sizes, LP records, football souvenirs, clothing and fashion. There are three life sized models in a display cabinet wearing the “Roaring” 20s style outfits; Robert

Chocolates

explained that fashionable clothing and looks were brought about by the lack of men soon after the First World War – so the girls wore shorter skirts compared to the previous generations of ankle length skirts. There is also a collection of Matchbox and Corgi toys. When I asked Robert if any of them were taxicabs, he had to admit they were not! “There are still certain things which I would like to get hold of

Lolly Pops

Towards the end of my visit Robert told me: “This is a never ending story, a never ending collection, because I will continue to add new material as it comes along. It is absolutely essential because if I ever stopped people in twenty or thirty years’ time would wonder where their history was, because they wouldn’t be able to see it. What I find fun about this; you never know what’s going to happen in the future, all manner of new products coming along each year. Some of them take off and some just disappear and it’s often the ones that disappear which you become attached to and you find that becomes a memory moment. I find with visitors they see an item and it’s a trigger to their past, then they remember being at school, or on holiday, or in the family home with their parents without that connection they wouldn’t recall all that excitement.” I think myself very lucky to have had a pleasurable and knowledgeable guided tour by Robert Opie, founder of the museum. Robert said he would be delight to invite all our drivers and staff at Radio Taxis Group, to visit his museum and has offered us a special exclusive 2 for 1 ticket deal throughout the whole of 2014. He also has a wonderful DVD “In search of our Throwaway History” which has two disks and a 16 page booklet to accompany it. I have a copy which I fully recommend. The original packet of Munchies which started it all off is displayed in a glass case at the end of the tour! Roger Sligo. ENTRANCE CHARGES: Adults: £6.50, Children 7 – 16: £2.50, Concession: £4.00 The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, 2 Colville Mews, Lonsdale Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AR Tel: 020 7908 0880 Website: www.museumofbrands.com The DVD is available on Amazon for £14.95. Prices correct at publishing date.

Marketing Taxis by Robert Stead

RADIO TAXIS WAS FOUNDED JUST OVER 60 YEARS ago, I’ve been working in Marketing for just over half this time, so not quite as long; but long enough to have seen some major changes. Among these changes have been mainstream TV advertising: the arrival of the Internet; Adwords and then the Social Media revolution. appily, throughout this time the basic principles of good marketing haven’t changed one bit. They are still; understand what you are really selling; understand who you are selling it to and be clear about why they will buy from you. Since last Autumn I’ve had the privilege of working at Radio Taxis Group. It seems to me that equally major changes have affected the taxi business, certainly in the last 30 years in any case. Technology has undoubtedly moved on; from radio telephones, to mobile data terminals, to chip and pin machines and now the smart phone APP. The competitive environment has changed very significantly too. Minicabs arrived, then more recently became regulated and re titled as “private hire,” with private equity companies investing and now driving their expensive PR machines to push their private hire investment interests against black cab services. So how do we market the use of London Taxis in this technically informed and strongly competitive environment? We go back to those marketing basics. What are we selling, who are we selling it to, and why will they buy? Obviously we are selling travel in and around London, but there is more to it; taxis provide direct, point to point, journeys to meet specific individual requirements. More importantly what are we selling in comparison to the competitive car based services? The private hire companies already promote on the basis that they are just like taxis, only cheaper. So a taxi journey is acknowledged as the best option, but let’s not be drawn too far into this comparison. For us to compare London Taxis with minicabs simply validates the comparison and in so doing undervalues the black cab service. Black Cabs are immediately in a direct price comparison.

They say never start a price war unless you know for certain that you can win it and be happy! No, what we have to do in the current market is different; we have to sell Black Cab services for what they are and “ignore” the minicab comparison. And the London taxi does offer real advantages to the London traveller; such as security, privacy and minimum journey times around central London, all in a vehicle specifically made for the job. None of this comes with a minicab trip. So, Black taxis are not necessarily for travellers who want the cheapest option; they are however for the travellers who want the best option. Using a cab says something about the about the passenger; it says that they understand and choose the best option. They value what the iconic London taxi is and they understand what their choice to use one says about them personally. So returning to the three key questions, how do we market taxis? WHAT ARE WE SELLING? A premium and specialist personal transport service in London. WHO ARE WE SELLING IT TO? Those people who need and appreciate what London taxis offer and want the best. WHY WILL THEY BUY? Because taxis are the best way to get around London. So how does this feel to you? Feedback is welcome to robertstead@radiotaxis.co.uk (Robert Stead has been engaged as a Professional Consultant Interim Marketing Director with Radio Taxis Group).

How does a Taxi Driver Deal with St Pauls Churchyard? By John Vigus (PCN Consultant) FOOTWAY PARKING? You will all be familiar with the two cab rank in St Pauls Churchyard by the steps to St Paul’s Cathedral. The City of London have been issuing PCNs (Penalty Charge Notices) at this location for a number of years because in their opinion the area behind the zig zag lines is footway and not part of the carriageway. They are wrong and the reason that this area is carriageway is because there is a double yellow line, which runs around the area behind the zig zag lines and kerb marks indicating that there is a loading ban in force at certain times of the day. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions confirm that yellow lines are placed “along the edge of the carriageway.” Loading ban kerb marks are also placed along the edge of the carriageway with the addition of the permitted variants section which states “the marking may be continued down the vertical face of the kerb at the edge of the

carriageway.” In reality, if no part of a vehicle is within 50cm of the edge of the carriageway then the City of London can issue a PCN for being ‘double parked’ i.e. ‘more than 50cm from the edge of the carriageway’.

STOPPING WITHIN THE ZIG ZAG MARKINGS Be particularly careful at this location because if you cannot get onto the rank straight away then you must not wait behind the second cab on the rank, even for as little time as 10 seconds, because this is the offence of “stopping within the zig zag area of a crossing” and apart from there being no defence against a City of London issued PCN, it could attract 3 penalty points and a fine if the police were to issue a fixed penalty notice. Never stop within the zig zag lines at a crossing. Always ensure that part of your vehicle is within 50cm of the edge of the carriageway.

UpByFor Sales Roy Hughes Director of Commercial Development

n between dreaming up lovable cartoon children’s characters, Walt Disney was once famously quoted as stating; “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” If we can characterise 2014 it is as the year of ‘doing’. In 2010, in response to the economic downturn and corporates spending less on ground transport, we re-structured and reduced the sales department and concentrated our efforts on retaining and increasing our existing business. Now that the economy is improving (particularly in London) corporates are ever so slightly loosening the purse springs. However with the recession leaving deep scars, ground transport expenditure is now being accompanied by an increased scrutinisation of costs and the ability for providers to quantify and deliver ‘value for money’ through consolidation – this is the reality of the ground transport market in 2014. So the question is how to respond to this brave new world? The cynics might suggest getting out of the ground transport business completely and doing something more profitable, like selling insurance or organic vegetables. As referred to in my article for the previous edition of Mountview News, fortunately Radio Taxis Group has a ready-made solution that chimes perfectly with these post-recession requirements – ‘One Transport’ One Transport not only provides complete flexibility of choice for users, in particular the unique selling point of being able to provide Taxis as an irreplaceable part of the product mix, but also the ability for clients to quantify the ‘value for money’ nirvana beloved of procurement departments. So we’ve got the product, how do we sell it? We’ve obviously got existing contacts and we’re aware of all the major Tenders that come to market, however as this is the year of ‘doing’ we decided that this wasn’t enough to take advantage of the potential opportunities provided by the improving economy and the increasing desire of corporates for consolidation. As a result, we have decided to introduce a tightly constructed, volume based, new business sales process to “produce a regular stream of new clients.” This new business process starts with the generation of thousands of brand new ‘leads’ which are then followed up and qualified by a dedicated telephone sales resource. The ‘warm’ leads generated from this process are then fed to a ‘New Business Sales Manager’ who then arranges to visit the potential client and convert them into either One Transport or Radio Taxis customers, depending on what those clients want. At the same time the person responsible for Lead Generation will also be actively communicating with existing and potential customers via email marketing campaigns and social media. This new sales structure can be viewed as an upside down pyramid; with generation of leads at the top, funnelling down to potential clients for the Sales Managers. In order to deliver all this we obviously need to build up the Sales Department with relevantly qualified staff. The recruitment process started towards the end of last year and we already have our ‘Lead Generation’ person and dedicated telephone sales person in situ – they are currently undergoing induction, product and sales training. We saw a number of good quality candidates for these positions and we are absolutely delighted with the guys that we have been able to bring in and feel they will be a big part of the future success of the Group. As I write this we are interviewing for the ‘New Business Sales Manager’ positions and hopefully by the time you read this, we will have filled all of these positions. Again the quality and experience of the people we have seen is very high and we expect that the successful candidates will be able to take the business to the next level in terms of generating new business. This all chimes with our new Pay as You Go subs system as the fleet is moving back to levels where big customers are thoroughly well serviced and find that we truly are an indispensable part of their daily needs.

The Mountview News Amusing Caption Contest Caption Contest Winner for the Winter issue is: TIM HARLOW (G54) and his winning caption for the photo on the right reads: “Rickshaw for Sale: £799.99 Used only once. Death forces sale.” Well done Tim – a £25 Marks & Spencer Gift Voucher is winging its way to you.

Where am I?

from this very same establishment that they have kept several artefacts associated with the deceased person, which are still on display, including a block of wood and a rusty nail shown in our picture. So… Where Am I? If you think you know please email: mvn.editor@radiotaxis.co.uk with your answers. Include your name and call sign. You can also Snail Mail to:

ondon taxi-drivers are renowned for their expert Knowledge of London. Starting again this Issue we bring back the popular “Where am I now?” contest, to help keep you on your toes and your thoughts working overtime, with the chance to win £25 Gift Vouchers from M&S! If there are no winners this month naming the correct location, the £25 M&S Gift Vouchers will double as more clues are revealed in future issues! This month I am looking through the window of a London Undertakers. They are so proud of a famous person whose funeral they arranged over two-hundred years ago,

Where Am I Contest Mountview News Radio Taxis Group Ltd Mountview House Lennox Road London N4 3TX

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The Mountview Puzzler Page

CLUES ACROSS 1. Careful (8) 6. Type of gun (4) 8. Install new wiring (6) 9. Take into custody (6) 10. Breezy (5) 11. Against (7) 13. Grow teeth (6) 15. Remove silt from river (6) 17. Flightless bird (7) 19. Away (5) 22. Pertaining to the Alps (6) 23. Musical dramas (6) 24. Yorkshireman (4) 25. Singer (8)

Jotting space

MOUNTVIEW SUDOKU Give your brains a really good work out!

CLUES DOWN 2. Anthropoid (3-4) 3. Next after the second (5) 4. Augury (4) 5. Frenzied rush (8) 6. Miserly person (7) 7. Result (5) 12. Tutors (8) 14. White ant (7) 16. Rubbish (7) 18. Spread out (5) 20. Poetry (5) 21. Connect (4)

HAVE A GO AT THIS ISSUEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SUDOKU PUZZLE! The object is to write in the missing numbers in the empty boxes below. But to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain the digits 1 through to 9 exactly once. What could be simpler? Hooked? Well you can find many more Sudoko puzzles online FREE by going to: www.sudoku.cc

CHIEF RENTALS is proud to announce that they have joined forces with Radio Taxis as their main supplier of replacement licensed Radio Taxis for their drivers who find themselves involved in the unfortunate circumstance of a non-fault accident. This specialist service enables Radio Taxis drivers who are involved in such an incident to get straight back to work and more importantly, back on the Radio Taxis circuit as all replacement vehicles supplied by Chief Rentals are fitted with a Radio Taxis terminal. Other aspects of this exceptional service also include repair management of the driver’s own vehicle as well as the handling of all personal injury claims, either from injured drivers or their injured passengers. Not only are these services available to Radio Taxis drivers, but Chief Rentals has also agreed to expand them to drivers’

families and friends who may also find themselves in a similar predicament following a non-fault accident and requiring a like-for-like replacement vehicle. Chief Rentals look forward to working with both Radio Taxis and their drivers long-term into the future and endeavour to provide them with an outstanding service that will keep everyone ‘on-circuit’ and at work during difficult times. To find out more with no obligation, please call us FREE on the number above.

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