Mountview News Summer 2015

MountviewNews

Summer 2015

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 4 Roger Sligo’s ‘Ed Lines’ Delayed arrival, Waterloo and other news 8 Twitter Votes Geoffrey Riesel – Twitter Tips for a Sizzling Summer 9 There is no P ‘i’ etersen in Team Gordon Brown talking about cricket 10 Radio Taxis are on the move Geoffrey Riesel on why we are leaving Mountview House 13 The Northumberland Project Alan Franks and THFC in North London 14 Election Follow Up Geoffrey Riesel with an overview of the result 15 London Festivals Dan Ellis – Could he bring music to your ears?

16 Meet Taxi Entrepreneur – Frank Magri Roger Sligo finds out how Frank he did it 18 Meet Taxi Entrepreneur – Len Baker Roger Sligo finds out how Len became one 20 Marketing Corner – The Power of Images Akshay Raj pictures it all for us 21 Taxi’ng Times – Episode 7...

Terry the Cabbie and the Waterloo connection 22 Bulldozers Roy Hughes thoughts on our new government 23 Longest Reigning Monarch Ronald MacDonald Watson on the Queen (and others) 24 Curiosty Corner Roger Sligo with more mysteries of modern London 26 The Francis Crick Institute Peter Gibson – looks inside in more depth 28 “Stop here a minute, I need a bit of shopping” John Vigus asks “does this sound familiar?”

29 Uber & the Taxi Trade, a Marketing View Robert Stead – how Uber competes with the circuits 31 Worthing Veterans Trip 2015 Roger Sligo takes a step back in time on the south coast 34 Our Regular “Where Am I?” Contest Roger Sligo has £50 worth of M&S Vouchers for you!

35 The Mountview Puzzler Page Crossword & Soduko to pass the time with

f o y h t r o The W ing Worthe 31 See pag

THE MOUNTVIEW NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM IS: Roger Sligo – Editor & photos / Penny Cuckston – Administration Doug Canning, DC-Graphics – Design, layout, printing and distribution Geoffrey Riesel & Peter Gibson – Board production Design, Layout & Print: ©2014 / DC-Graphics / High Barnet / Herts / EN5 5TP T: 0208 440 1155 / W: www.dc-graphics.co.uk Content: © 2015 / 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.

Delayed Arrival SINCE THE TIME I FIRST STARTED DRIVING for a living in London, around fifty years ago and some twenty years before I became a taxi-driver, I can never recall a time when the traffic has been so bad. here is hardly a street which isn’t being dug up or closed and thus, which means using alternative routes is all but pointless. This is all the more so even before the fully underway for the new Cycle Super Highway becomes operational and which is going to crisscross much of London.

It seems that no one is taking any responsibility for the mess we face each and every day driving in London. There was a time when Ken Livingstone, as Mayor of London, was threatening to fine contractors who were taking too long and obstructing roads. We now have the scenario where an important thoroughfare like Kingsway can be closed for a couple of months without anything being said or done!

Boris Johnson must realise that London isn’t moving, mustn’t he? Is that the reason why he probably wants to limit the number of PH drivers’ TfL licenses?

There are now seventy-six thousand of them clogging up the streets, but his latest outcry is not to help us, he has already stated that we are operating in a free market place, but he failed to mention the tough rules we have to follow, while our competition is allowed to operate an anything goes basis!

Will we now be able to surge charge when it gets a little busy by putting a few pounds on the extras?

Added to the extra numbers of private hire vehicular traffic, is also the increase in tip-up trucks, racing around all over the place for the new Crossrail development and that’s even before we might mention the endless line of half full or empty buses operating across town at certain times of the day and night.

London will be facing hefty fines from Europe soon, because of our emissions, caused mostly by idling traffic. Only now things are becoming even worse with the further narrowing of already limited road space!

When congestion charging was first introduced at £5 it had a positive effect, with the number of vehicles decreasing by about 20% – which made getting around as easy as it was during school half term. Now with the narrowing of many roads, endless roadworks, longer waits at red traffic lights, more and more unbroken

Roger Sligo’s

NEWS

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Dangerous when only one lane

crowds using zebra crossings, it makes life for motorists especially taxi-drivers extremely difficult.

I’m sure that when the Cycle Super Highway is finally finished it will be a great advantage for cyclists, who will then be able to charge around unhindered by other traffic, but what will be our fate? Obviously less road space for a start, with the Embankment’s dual carriageway being reduced to a single lane in either direction for much of the way, from Tower Hill to Parliament Square. The river side, inside lane, will be solely for coaches and others setting down passengers; which I think has a safety issue that I believe that hasn’t yet even occurred to the planners.

Most of the coaches that usually set down on the Embankment are what we call “Left Hookers” (Left Hand Drive) ie; from the Continent; thus with passenger having to be unloaded from the right hand side or into the road traffic side, this can be bad enough when we have the two other lanes in use and

Victoria Embankment

there don’t seem to be any particular problems for pedestrians either! I’m sure we can all name dozens of these crossings which cause us and traffic in general, avoidable delays and that they could easily be transformed into pelican crossings without too much fuss.

With the impending election for a new Mayor of London in a year’s time, traffic management should be high on the agenda, but it remains to be seen whom, if anyone, has the best plans to put forward in order to level-headedly deal with it. I think Boris Johnson’s legacy, however, will be the man who stopped London!

WATERLOO Embankment jam

which might allow a bit more room for them to alight from their bus! However when people have to struggle in and out of coaches with less space between them and flanked by passing traffic, it will add to a really dangerous situation, which I’m convinced the planners sitting at a desk in the far reaches of City Hall or wherever, have not even contemplated.

What can be done to help the movement of traffic in the centre of London? I think that private cars (if there are any left these days and they are not all minicabs) should have to pay more in congestion charges, to a level which would put more motorists off, possibly as much as double to what it is today to begin with! Tough I know, but at present nothing is moving and a city needs transportation that works.

(Our Chairman Geoffrey Riesel, thinks that although tunnelling is initially far more expensive, the return on investment of creating underpasses, much like in Paris is the only long term solution to the problem.)

Traffic management should certainly have a good look at some of the legal parking places which habitually cause some big traffic jams. One example would be The Highway, which is a red route and which has several designated stopping areas; most of them are not a problem. There is one however which is not far from the Limehouse Link which often has a tippertruck resting there. You can always tell when there is one parked-up as the traffic is subsequently jammed all the way through the tunnel to Canary Wharf. I think most of you will have experienced this and will understand what I’m talking about! There is, on the other hand, a place to stop a few hundred yards further along the road, which would cause no problem and is frequently where other truck drivers, from time to time and much more sensibly, choose to rest.

Pedestrian crossings are another form of traffic delays. Take the one which has recently been removed from the top of Ludgate Hill and which has been replaced with a Pelican Crossing. This always had tailbacks in both directions as far as the eye could see.

Since its removal, we now have free flowing traffic and

This month is the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, with the official anniversary being 18th June 1815. Arthur Wellesley, who became the first Duke of Wellington, was born in Dublin on the 1st of May 1769. He defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and the French army at Waterloo in Belgium.

In a BBC poll taken in 2002, the Duke was voted the fifteenth greatest Britain of all time. The area of London we now call Waterloo was originally the Lambeth Marshes and they were drained in the eighteenth century, eventually being renamed Waterloo in order to honour the great British victory.

We pass by his mansion most days, which is of course “Number 1 London,” (Apsley House) and of course the famous Wellington Arch. Wellington went onto become a Tory Member of Parliament and ultimately he became Prime Minister in 1828; but being a military man he couldn’t understand why after his first cabinet meeting, on giving his ministers their orders, he discovered that they wanted to stay behind and to discuss their orders with him!

He became known as the “Iron Duke” not through his victory in battle, but because of an incident in 1832, in which he installed metal shutters at Apsley House to prevent the windows being broken by rioters.

Another nickname for him was “The Beef ” which some say is where the Beef Wellington dish takes its name, although some chefs dispute this! His name was also given to Wellington boots, after the custom-made boots that he always wore instead of the traditional Hessian boots.

He died at Walmer Castle, Deal in Kent on 14 September 1852. Walmer Castle was said to have been his favourite residence. He was found to be unwell on that morning and was aided from his military campaign bed (the same one he used throughout his historic military career) and seated in his chair, where he passed away. His death was recorded as being due to the after-effects of a stroke culminating in a series of seizures. He was aged 83.

So if you are stopped by passengers asking you how long is it to Waterloo? Just tell them two-hundred years!

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MOUNTVIEW ON THE MOVE Mountview House, which was formerly Fonthill Mews before Radio Taxicabs (London) Ltd, as they were known at the time, bought the Mews for their Head Office. Radio Taxis first premises in 1953, had been a lock-up garage belonging to Martin Motors of Townsend Yard in Highgate. They soon moved up in the world, or should I say up the hill to North Hill and the famous art-deco block “Highpoint.” The telephone number for that office was MOUntview 3232 – with the name sticking forevermore with all taxi-drivers calling us simply “Mountview.”

From North Hill the company made its way to 157 Stroud Green Road, around 1970, spending a long time there, about two decades and until the move to the current location in 1990.

Mountview House is anything except a conventional office block, with its warren of corridors and offices, yet with its gated entrance and the stillness once inside, it is as peaceful as anywhere you could imagine. Over the next few weeks Mountview is off again to a modern office development at the North London Business Park, New Southgate.

I went over recently to visit the new offices and to take some pictures and I must say I was very impressed with the layout, the sense of space and the calm

surrounding settings is really pleasant. The car park is huge with ample parking for more than a thousand cars, albeit you’ll need obtain a pass to park from reception, when visiting. We all know how difficult and stressful moving can be, but I guess you would need to multiply this by ten to appreciate what moving a twenty-four hour operation centre, keeping everything going just the same, without drivers, passengers and customers being too aware of the changing situation taking place.

I know we would all like to see the Mountview House Group Limited settled in our new home and we wish everyone involved many happy successful years.

Roger Sligo.

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Twitter Tips for a Sizzling Summer by @radiotaxis_boss

SUMMER IS UPON US AND OUR THOUGHTS TURN TO all that London has to offer for the high season, be it for ourselves and our families, or the influx of tourists that the warmer weather brings to the Capital. witter is now an established new media source, coupled with the fact that more and more readers of Mountview News have become users of Twitter – and use it as a valuable source of information and entertainment.

So we continue our Twitter features by looking at Twitter accounts that will provide highlights of the summer in London.

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I have become a regular on the site and find it helps me to stay in touch with news about London and also to communicate directly to drivers and with customers.

I know increasingly that drivers are finding it a useful tool to keep in touch when they are out on the road.

However Twitter can also have a more fun role, for instance, by providing useful information to make the summer go with a swing and give us ideas of what to do to keep the family entertained.

I hope you will find the following accounts helpful.

Geoffrey Riesel @RadioTaxis_boss

Twitter Name

Twitter Account

Description

NottingHill Carnival

@tLNHCarnival

London Notting Hill Carnival Enterprises Trust Is the official organiser of London Notting Hill Carnival.

Wimbledon (29 June – 12 July 2015)

@Wimbledon

The official Twitter for The Tennis Championships, Wimbledon on. #Wimbledon

Somerset House

@SomersetHouse

Somerset House is a spectacular neo-classical building in the heart of London. An inspiring space for art, culture and creative exchange.

Buckingham Palace Summer Opening (25 July – 27 September)

@BritishMonarchy

Updates, pictures and videos from Buckingham Palace about the work and activities of The Royal Family and the institution of Monarchy.

City of London Festival (22 June – 10 July)

@CoLFestival

Every summer we take over more than 50 incredible venues across the city with hundreds of arts events for everyone.

BBC Proms 2015 (From 17 July 2015 to 12 September 2015)

@bbcproms

Tweets from the #bbcproms team: the world’s largest classical music festival @BBCMusic @BBC

Royal Academy of the Arts – Summer Exhibition 2015 (8 June — 16 August 2015)

@royalacademy

Get ready to discover your new favourite artist as we head into a summer of colour at the Royal Academy. From painting to installation art, you’ll find it all at the Summer Exhibition.

Visit London

@visitlondon

visitlondon.com – London’s official city guide

There is no P etersen in Team

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By Gordon Brown – COO, Mountview House Group THE CRICKET SEASON IS NOW upon us and as I write this I’m getting ready to visit Lords for the first Test Match of the season. t is usually a very arduous day of conversation, food and drink and focussing on the cricket at pivotal times when the balance of the game changes from one team to the other.

It’s a sport where you see much more detail on TV at home – for example the ‘lbw’ rule is difficult at the best of times but you’ve got no chance of seeing it 50 yards away at a completely different angle – but the atmosphere of a packed crowd really enhances the watching of a game.

This year the back pages have been devoted to the ongoing saga of Kevin Pietersen and whether his ability with the bat to completely change games, outweighs the fact that a lot of the team don’t even want to be in the same ground as him, let alone the same dressing room.

Let’s start with the stats – there is one for everything in cricket, all meticulously kept and allowing arguments to continue for years as to who was the best left handed “googly” bowler on a flat wicket at the Oval on a Friday before a bank holiday. Pietersen has certainly been one of the best batsman in England, having had an overall runs average of just over 47 with a strike rate i.e. how quickly he gets those runs, of just under 62 (for every 100 balls faced he gets 62 runs).

But his form has deteriorated over the last few years and his average on his last Test series against Australia was down to 29 with a strike rate of 50.

Admittedly most of the England team were below their career averages except probably Joe Root and Ben Stokes but his play over the years has become less consistent and although he has the ability to change and win games with one tremendous innings it was happening less and less.

Which then brings us on to the team element of the game. Cricket has a very interesting team dynamic – all of the statistics definitely make it look like an individual sport – for example the

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batsman with the most runs, the bowler with the most wickets etc. However they all have to field together as a team and they all have to rely implicitly on each other. If two or three of the team let you down, generally, you will lose.

A large group in the dressing room had lost confidence in him and not necessarily because of his batting but more to do with his view of the rest of his teammates – and of course this was not helped by him “slagging them all off ” in his Autobiography and then by texting the opposition with tips on how to get his captain out.

As in business, a great team ethic, working together, will outweigh individual ability.

There has to be and always is room for the “Maverick talent,” but even they need to have some friends and allies in the team. If you alienate just about everybody, regardless of your contribution, the rest will want you out and the manager will eventually decide that that’s the best long term decision for the team or for the business. So sorry Kevin but it’s your turn to go… here’s hoping I don’t regret saying that!

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Sowe’re moving after

We tried to move more than 15 years ago. In the year 2000, we applied to Islington council for a change of planning use to be able to turn our premises into a residential property. hy? Well our reasons have always been, that although Mountview House is a wonderful albeit slightly unconventional business premises, we’d like our company to work from a much more modern location which encourages, by its open space nature, better communication between different departments within the business.

There is solid evidence from academia, business school circles, that working from a more open style space, internal communication tends to be better and consequently companies become more productive and thus typically more successful.

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SO WHY NOW? Under a temporary Government program, entitled “Permitted Prior Approval for Residential Development” scheme, we were able to gain that temporary approval, which means that the premises can be converted into a residential development within a limited time frame and in any case before June 2016.

Under the scheme the outline of the buildings may not be changed (without further approval from the local authority) but they may be modified within, into residential properties.

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By doing this, the value of our property was able to realise, during a once in a lifetime and very limited timeframe, a value far in excess of what it would be worth as commercial property.

WINDFALL So we quite quickly became the beneficiaries of, a never to be repeated, opportunity. After marketing the building we managed to achieve a sale of the property to a developer for over two and a half times the registered book value.

WHAT’S OUR NEW HOME LIKE?

25 years at Mountview House We are now moving to North London Business Park (NLBP) in New Southgate. The premises are ultra modern, very spacious and the lease is a fully serviced one.

What that means from a running costs and financial point of view is that our building and maintenance costs as well as our general running costs of the company, will appreciably reduce.

In these modern and tough times it is critical that we automate as much as we can of the business and drive down costs so as to be able to compete with the digital disruptors who have already done so much damage to taxi businesses all over the world.

hard to ascertain; but amazingly they don’t yet see UBER as a problem.

In all the other cities across the globe, UBER is doing real damage to both the taxi and the Private Hire Industries. Even Paris is experiencing very damaging UBER expansion. UBER is becoming a problem; damaging Radio Taxi businesses worldwide and now damaging street hail taxis as well. The biggest issue is that there is not a level playing field and all over the world this has been the fault of inadequate regulators everywhere.

SO HOW DO WE FIGHT BACK AGAINST UBER IN LONDON?

EUROPEAN RADIO TAXI ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, DUBLIN, MAY 2015 I have just returned from chairing the European Radio Taxi Association (ERTA) conference in Dublin. You can imagine that the matter of UBER was a main topic of discussion.

Attendees of the conference included taxi companies from Barcelona, Paris, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tampere, Amsterdam, Dublin, Brussels and Bremen. It’s quite a tight and select group with only about 40 – 50 attendees, but every company is a go-ahead one, advanced in technology and modern business methods. And, for at least 65% of the attendees UBER has become a serious and damaging problem.

Finland seems to be least affected as only one taxi company per city is permitted and the numbers of licenses (that’s vehicle licenses not drivers, as most taxis have two or even three drivers on each cab.) Also there is an exercise taken annually by both Helsinki and Tampere City Councils monitoring the need for growth in Licence numbers or indeed reduction where required. There is however some bus and chauffeur activity growing quite rapidly in those cities. Even they recognise they will not be able to keep out UBER indefinitely.

In Brussels, UBER has been banned, whether that’s just the illegal ride sharing service (UBER POP it’s called) it’s

I believe we need a multi-pronged attack! I don’t have great faith in demonstrations; perhaps I’ve mellowed and see other possible ways. Indeed the demos have essentially given UBER lots of free publicity and it does seem that we are playing into their hands in this.

I don’t disagree with the desire to take action, merely questioning the tactics our industry should employ.

However I absolutely understand and sympathise with the frustration that ordinary Cab drivers in London are experiencing and why they also feel let down by TfL! Indeed I wholeheartedly identify with the feelings of those drivers who go on the demos, fighting for their living. Over my 43 years in the trade I have personally been on maybe twenty or more demos, indeed I helped to organise a good few of them. In anyone’s book over the past few years TfL have not done an effective job. However, I think that some of the insults I’ve read on Twitter from Cab Drivers, recently accusing TfL officials of corruption is most unhelpful. If you insult first, why would anyone want to take any notice of what you then say consequently? By using vilification from the start you lose the argument before you begin and no one will take you seriously.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO? The first essential thing in the short term is, we need to mandate the use of credit cards in EVERY SINGLE LONDON TAXI. NO IFS NO BUTS, EVERY SINGLE LONDON TAXI MUST ACCEPT CARDS. And for every and any journey, no matter how short or long.

In one foul swoop we will have made London Taxis more user friendly to the modern generation who carry

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little cash, who pay by card for almost all; and not to mention all those foreign business people travelling into London for only a few days, who don’t buy any sterling before arriving and who want to use their company credit cards for EVERYTHING! I understand that the LTDA and other drivers organisations have withdrawn any objection to this recognising how much business we are losing by not having a complete consistency of service and as a matter of fact TfL are about to issue a consultation with a view to mandation. NOT BEFORE TIME!

FARE REFORM The next issue is a bit more controversial, but no less important. Taxi fares, especially long distance ones, are unequivocally uncompetitive. Let’s at least be honest with ourselves! You only have to see how much of the airport work has left the trade and gone to Private Hire. Probably 90% or more of it has gone and why? Because often with a bit of traffic, it’s far too dear. Let’s be frank, you all tell me this when I get in your cabs, that you’re embarrassed.

A passenger will only need to go from Canary Wharf to Heathrow once, in heavy traffic; and the fare could be as much as £90 or even more and that will be the very last time they take a taxi! Indeed in New York taxi fares to airports are fixed and it works really well.

Conversely, minimums or short distance fares in taxis are ludicrously cheap. Typically a Private Hire minimum fare is anywhere from £10 – £14. Yet it’s only £2.40 to get into a taxi!

Flag fall should be about £5, at least. And although we don’t have to be as cheap as the cheapest PH to the Airport we could easily reduce those longer fares by 25% – 30% and become once again affordable and as a result see a flood of returning passengers, many of whom who’d prefer to take a taxi, with a knowledgeable driver and a safer vehicle, albeit not at any price. Ours is the only industry one can think of where the more you buy the dearer the product or service becomes, its business folly and economic bad judgment! This fare reform would mean that drivers would do as much or all the more work and still earn the equivalent livelihood.

ENTRY TO THE INDUSTRY We also need to reform the testing methodology, which has seen an artificial barrier of entry to the industry; the time taken to complete the knowledge has gone from an

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AVERAGE of eleven months to an AVERAGE of four and a half years.

Everywhere in the world where numbers of taxi licenses/drivers don’t grow in line with demand, someone else has taken up that demand ie; first Addison Lee and Mini Cabs and Touts/Pedicabs and now UBER. It’s precisely why we’re well on the way to 100,000 PH vehicles in London. I have preached this mantra for years and I’m now, alas, being proved 100% right!

I do not and have never advocated a lessening of standards of the Knowledge, indeed it’s what turns out great taxi drivers. What I have always advocated is a massive improvement and streamlining of the methods of testing of the antiquated and bureaucratic administration used by TfL T&PHD and indeed their predecessors the PCO. The flawed view that somehow the less numbers of taxi drivers the greater share of the “cake” that taxi drivers get has now proved conclusively to be a wrong. If you don’t fully meet demand SOMEONE ELSE WILL! And that’s exactly why we’re flooded with Private Hire and UBER. The numbers of taxi driver licenses may stay around the same with an ageing population, but instead 11,000 Private Hire drivers hit the streets last year!

That’s just irrational!

CONTINUE TO LOBBY QUIETLY One final and very significant thing. Most of the above, I have been continuously briefing politicians in the recent past. I have especially been informing and discussing these issues at length with Caroline Pidgeon, Assembly Member.

I’m gratified to say that I think I have some modest impact in colouring her views (including why and how I believe UBER are running roughshod over legitimate licensing).

So more power to her elbow and I will continue this effort, working quietly behind the scenes.

PETER GIBSON HAS STEPPED DOWN FROM THE MOUNTVIEW GROUP BOARD Peter advised me about a year ago that he would like to stand down from the Board this year, as he needs to take life just a little bit easier.

However, he will still continue to do a couple of days a week for us, doing projects. So he’s not actually going anywhere in any case, he’s just taking a bit of a step back.

Peter is among the most modest and decent men you will ever meet, he absolutely hates any form of a fuss, (he’ll dislike intensely what I am about to say) however we do genuinely owe him, what is more I personally, owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his, counsel, for his hard work and for his dedication to the project that is Mountview/Radio Taxis/Xeta/One Transport.

Thank you Peter, it’s only “Au Revoir” not goodbye.

Alan Franks, Group Operations Director, writes about...

The Northumberland Project statement that they had reached agreement.

AT THE OUTSET I SHOULD DECLARE THAT The new stadium will have a capacity of 56,250 but I’ve been a Spurs fan all my life, which won’t this may yet be increased by 5,000 in papers submitted come as a shock to all those of you who

by Tottenham. know me.

There is no doubt that the 2011, riots which owever as North London based business people started in Tottenham, highlighted the dire need for a and thus as near neighbours of the club, our regeneration of one of the most interest in any potential deprived areas of London; and which changes at White Hart Lane, in the it is predicted should bring hundreds Tottenham vicinity, are of interest to of much needed new jobs to the area. us and more than simply about the The project has already delivered a football. new residential scheme together with Plans for a new stadium for the Newlon Housing Trust, which has Tottenham Hotspur Football club twenty three floors of shared have been going on since 2008 but it ownership housing along with a new seemed that the project had been Spurs so far primary school. somewhat overcome by the many They have also completed phase 1 obstacles however, I understand that of the project, Lilywhite House. This it is now scheduled to be completed is a ‘T’ shaped building with a new in time for the beginning of the Sainsbury’s. Additionally the brand 2018/19 season. One of the main new Tottenham University Technical reasons for the delay was the refusal College, was opened by Lord Alan of the Archway Sheet Metal Works Sugar in February of this year.

Limited in Paxton Road to relocate.

In addition there will be a new The club purchased a lot of the Night aerial view public square, managed by the properties around the ground for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, project but Archway Sheet Metal, with a programme of events and refused to move. activities to ensure this becomes a The owners of that business, the focus for community life.

Josef family, in fairness, have been The location, size and design of the there for many years and they make public square will provide a high high end barbecues as well as most of quality asset for the borough, for the familiar equipment that you example hosting street markets or might see in your local kebab shop; musical performances. and they simply refused to budge.

Foundation events will include dance The problem with this was, that View of Southern Plaza festivals, talent competitions, drama their property is situated around workshops and temporary sports where the new centre circle of the facilities. new pitch, according to the plans It has now been drawn up, would be. A subsequent decided that Spurs public enquiry and legal challenges will need to find an have been going on for the last few alternative ground years and eventually Spurs were for one season granted a Compulsory Purchase before the ground Order which compels the incumbent Stadium on High Road opens and they are metal business to move. currently completing due diligence and The plot thickens, because in November 2014 there holding talks with alternative was a mystery fire at Archway Sheet Metal Works and venues. arson was suspected.

Alan J Franks However on March 31st this year Tottenham Hotspur Group Operations Director.

Football Club and Archway Steel issued a joint

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Radio Taxis Group Chairman Geoffrey Riesel looks and assesses the result of the General Election and what it means for London’s Taxi industry.

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— — — — — N O I T C ELE W UP O — FOLL— — — — ACCORDING TO PRETTY MUCH EVERY pollster and expert analyst, this is an article I wouldn’t have been writing in the first week of June. The establishment’s consensus was that the election would lead to a hung Parliament and we would now be in a period of intense negotiation between the political parties to decide who would form a Government. nstead the result saw David Cameron return to Downing Street and this time in charge of a majority Conservative Government which is now fully under way and beginning to implement its manifesto.

So what does it mean specifically for the London Taxi industry? Well of course not really as much as it used to as the significant elections for us are now those for London Mayor and Great London Assembly members – the next ones taking place in May 2016.

But there are still some important developments and interesting things to note.

The first is that London’s Mayor, Boris Johnson, has now been elected as Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. He will continue as Mayor for the next year but clearly his sights will turn to the challenges ahead, including perhaps the chance to replace David Cameron who says he won’t seek to serve a third term as Prime Minister.

There are of course huge issues facing the Mayor around securing the future of the Taxi industry – which has done a sterling campaign job in recent months to bring matters to his attention. Finally we are seeing acknowledgement that there are urgent matters to address and we have recently seen more pro-activity from him on issues such as regulating Uber and getting credit card facilities into all Taxis.

But the proof of the pudding in terms of specific action is still to be seen. Let us hope Boris makes it his mission in his final year in office to make sure he leaves a legacy that includes a healthy future for the licensed taxi industry.

We also have the policy priorities that will be set by the Exchequer and the Department for Transport. In their Manifesto, the Conservative Party set out its main Transport pledges as being to:

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● Deliver the biggest programme of investment in roads since the 1970s ● Deliver the biggest investment in railways since the Victorians, including 850 miles of electrified railways ● Reform strike laws, including on the transport network ● Start work on High Speed 2 rail lines and continue development for a “HS3” Leeds – Manchester link The investment of up to £50bn in a high speed link to the North of England as part of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ strategy will continue to attract controversy as to whether it is the best way to invest Government funds. Closer to home there will continue to be debate about the future of Crossrail 2 (South West to North east) with Crossrail 1 now well on track to open during the life of this Government.

I would argue that the issue all the parties successfully ducked talking about during the campaign is the desperate need to get on with increasing airport capacity in the South East. The Airports Commission will report shortly and make decisions on whether to add extra runways to Heathrow or Gatwick, with Boris still lurking in the background arguing that their views should be rejected in favour if his Island scheme. This Government must grasp the nettle and keep London working as a place that promotes international business.

The man in day to day charge of the Transport Ministry is the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, the Secretary of State for Transport. He is supported in his team by three junior Ministers – Robert Goodwill MP, Claire Perry MP and Andrew Jones. Not one of them represent seats in London or the South East to give a perspective on our transport needs.

Finally it was an interesting election for the last two people interviewed by myself for our in the ‘back of cab’ exclusive interviews for Mountview News.

Firstly a big congratulations to Victoria Borwick who is now the Member of Parliament for Kensington.

It is really great news to have such a knowledgable person with experience of the taxi industry in parliament although we will miss her input when she steps down from the Greater London Assembly.

And my thoughts go to Lee Scott, who lost his seat in Ilford North in a close race. Whatever your politics those of us like myself who live in Ilford North – often known as Green Badge country – know just how hard Lee worked for his constituents and I wish him all the best for the future.

London Festivals

By Dan Ellis – Technical Manager, Driver Services A MUSIC FESTIVAL IS A LARGE EVENT, usually held outdoors, featuring numerous bands performing over a period of a few days. Normally the festival will have a specific genre such as Rock or perhaps Dance music. iving in or near London you don’t need a tent or even a pair of wellies to have a full music festival experience this summer. Some of the world’s biggest acts will be just a tube or cab ride away. Here’s a list of some of the major events going on throughout London over the summer.

So if you’re planning on attending cross your fingers and pray for some sunshine. Even if you are not planning to attend it may provide some talking points for your customers.

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BRITISH SUMMER TIME (BST) – HYDE PARK What’s On? The Who, Kylie, Blur Taylor Swift, The Strokes.

Hyde Park is playing host to some of the planets biggest musical stars in the world. The Who, are currently touring the world on their fiftieth year tour and this will be one of the highlights. It is most likely that this will be the last time they play in London with their last ever UK festival taking place in Glastonbury a few days later. BST has numerous other acts as well throughout June and with a capacity of sixty five thousand, plenty of people are set to have a great time.

WIRELESS FESTIVAL – FINSBURY PARK What’s On? Drake, Rita Ora, Public Enemy, Nicky Minaj.

Drake is the big act on the Friday this year; he is going to have to put in an extra special performance having previously cancelled twice on the festival. Wireless is taking place over four days at the start of July and will see over forty nine thousand people attending each day.

CALLING FESTIVAL – CLAPHAM COMMON What’s on? Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Hives, Echo and the Bunnymen.

In only its second year on Clapham Common, the Calling Festival packs a punch with its Rock themed line-up. Taking place on the fourth and fifth of July, it’s sure to have the people of Clapham rocking until late into the night.

SOMERSET HOUSE SUMMER SERIES What’s on? Chromeo, Passenger, Chronixx, George Ezra, Belle and Sebastian and Jessie J. Set in one of London’s most iconic landmarks, Summer Series at Somerset House returns with a diverse and impressive line-up of headline artists alongside some hotly tipped emerging acts.

Smaller than most festivals, but still outdoors in the courtyard of Somerset House, it takes place throughout July. Somerset House is also running a series of outdoor cinema screenings showing some classic films alongside some film premieres.

LOVEBOX – VICTORIA PARK What’s on? Snoop Dogg, Rudimental, Hot Chip, Jessie Ware, Little Dragon, Mark Ronson, Annie Mac, Cypress, Hill.

Catering for all the cool kids of East London, Lovebox returns for its second year as a two day-er. It’s sure to be one of the highlights of the London festival season due to the very strong line-up and Victoria Park location. Set over the seventeenth and eighteenth of July and catering for up to fifty thousand revellers this event will be making sure East London is going to be packed over the weekend.

GREENWICH MUSIC TIME – OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE What’s on? Ray Davis, Sir Tom Jones, Gipsy Kings.

This newcomer to the festival scene is already hosting big name performers including Sir Tom Jones. Located in the Old Royal Naval College grounds over separate four days at the end of July, it may provide a great place for a big sing-along to the likes of “It’s Not Unusual” or “Delilah.”

SOUTH WEST FOUR Who’s playing? Skrillex, Faithless, Flatboy Slim, Digweed, DJ EZ. Another festival for Clapham Common this time in late August (twenty-ninth and thirtieth) headlined by some of the biggest DJs in the world. A weekend of classic club anthems rather than Rock this time around; so if you can’t afford a week in Ibiza this could provide a good alternative, of course as long as the weather holds up.

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL – NOTTING HILL What’s on? Europe’s biggest street festival, Music, Parades/Floats, Food When the Notting Hill Carnival first started, around five hundred people attended the Caribbean festival. Today it attracts hundreds of thousands to London and continues to grow in popularity. Over the August Bank holiday, one million people will attend throughout the weekend, to see thirty sound systems and also to see over fifty thousand performers. A bonus with this particular event is that it’s totally free to attend. This is the last of the big events before the kids are back in school and then summer will all but be over.

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Meet Taxi Entrepreneur – Fran FRANK MAGRI, THE OWNER OF A13 TAXIS in River Road Barking, became a London taxi-driver in 2001. He started in the trade as a “Musher” (an owner driver), before re-examining things and coming to the conclusion that he thought he could do better for his fellow cabbies. here was already a tea stall at the City Airport but Frank thought he could run it better. He decided that if he were to run the stall properly for the cab-trade, he would be rewarded with more customers.

“I bought the tea stall at City Airport and drivers started asking me about renting cabs, so I bought some cabs to rent out and I would send my taxis to A13 Taxis, as a customer of theirs for repairs and servicing. At this time with my small fleet of cabs I went under the name Magri Taxi Rentals. When I found out A13 Taxis wanted to sell their business, I decided to buy it and keep their name and that was four years ago now.” He explained.

“Buying the garage and being a cab-driver myself, I could see the way some garages (in my view) were ripping drivers off. So I began by doing a package for drivers, instead of drivers having to pay a thousand pounds a pop for overhauls, I tried to do it for them cheaper. With us it will only come to more money if the taxi really needs more work being done.

At the present moment we do a £485 package, but we only charge that if it really needs it. We want people to come to our garage and stay with us, instead of going from garage to garage. We are keen to build up a good reputation.” Frank went on to explain about the rental side of his garage. “I started off my rentals with ten cabs and we’ve built the fleet up to about forty at present.

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L – R: Frank Magri, Holli Magri and Manager John Vile

We are looking to buy some brand new cabs this year, because if you want to stay in the cab business you have to have newer cabs all the time. Other than the TX’s we also have six Vitos, because we know that some drivers do want Vitos!”

Frank travels in from Hockley in Essex with his daughter Holli, who works as receptionist in the garage. His son Lee also works for his father as a mechanic and is studying the Knowledge of London too! I asked Frank what he thinks about the ten year age limit Boris Johnson is looking at, he said in his view he thought “it would kill the trade, and I think it would be the worst thing possible – I mean 15 years yes, you can make a half decent living out of the 15 year rule, but ten years – mate, it’s going to make the journeyman rental prices of cabs more expensive. It means that instead of making money and covering our costs from renting in 15 years, we would need to make the same amount over ten years. At the moment people are frightened of buying cabs, so the rental market is doing well. If you buy a new cab for £37,000 where will you be in another 5 years time with changes due to emissions?”

Frank told me that if there are 25,000 cab drivers in London, then there must be another 70k – 80k working behind the scenes in garages, renters, radio circuits, meter hire, cab insurance, tyres and the manufacturing

nk Magri...

of new cabs. Putting it that way the Mayor of London and TfL should have a good think and as Frank said; “They should talk more with the cab-trade without just doing their own things without consultation. Otherwise 100,000 Londoners could be out of work!”

Frank would like to see smarter drivers and cleaner cabs, he declares; “Private Hire drivers now wear suits and ties and drive decent cars, we need to up our game.

If you are working on a radio circuit and go to pick up

from a bank, you should look clean and smart and not dress like a tramp.”

I asked Frank if there were any shortages obtaining taxis, as more and more are coming off the road.

“There will be later this year. You think of it – the T Reg. was the biggest seller of all of the TX1’s and they start coming off the road this year. They say that 3,000 cabs will be gone this year alone!”

Frank told me he has about 15 cabs rented to Radio Taxis drivers and of course there are plenty of us using his garage for tyres and servicing. Just as I finished interviewing Frank, a driver came to collect his taxi, which had been in for bodywork repair due to a nonfault accident. The driver was delighted with the way his cab was presented, not only had the work been carried out to a high standard but it also had a thorough valet both inside and out, even down to black painted tyres – looking just like it was out of overhaul.

The driver said how pleased he was and he would be using A13 Taxis for all his work in future. As we all know in this trade, it’s all about word of mouth!

Roger Sligo.

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Meet Taxi Entrepreneur – Len B RADIO TAXIS CAN BOAST OF HAVING ITS very own entrepreneur cab driver Len Baker (Zulu 034). en owns E16 Taxi-Rentals, with a fast growing fleet of about 20 taxis, with a few drivers including myself, renting Len’s cabs and working on Radio Taxis. I recently met up with Len to find out what makes a young working cab driver like him, take driving a taxi one stage further and instead of buying just one cab for himself, he bought a fleet of them!

Before Len became a taxi-driver he was working on building sites and going from one job to another, while also doing a course on building services engineering, which would have enabled him to qualify to enter the East London University, which he wanted to do.

Almost at the end of his course studies, one of Len’s cousin’s boyfriends, a London taxi-driver, persuaded Len over several months to go on the knowledge; he finally gave in, quitting college and applying to do the knowledge. “It took me five years to do the knowledge, I was doing it part-time and I passed out when I was twenty-eight.” Len recalled.

East End born and bred Len, who once lived on the same street as the West Ham Football Club and is a loyal Hammers supporter, has been going to most of the home matches over the years. “When I was about ten I lived in Green Street, slap next to the market and I would go to every single West Ham home game.

My mum and dad split up and I was then living between East Ham with my mum and Plaistow with my dad. I was living at Plaistow when I finally passed the knowledge.” Len told me.

After gaining his green badge Len began cabbing as a Journeyman renting a taxi for his first two months. “It was always my mentality not to rent – I would buy a house or flat instead of renting – I got that from my father!”

So as Len says “I went down to Nationwide Taxis and bought my first taxi and that was twelve years ago. I bought a flat within weeks of getting my licence. I knew I would be committed to working nights for a very long time. I had one eye on renting out cabs after my first year, because I never wanted to spend the next twenty-five years of my life driving a taxi at night. I got friendly with the garage I was using for my servicing called East London Taxis and a guy there named Chris who was nice enough to do me a hire agreement so I could rent out my own cab while I went on holiday for six weeks. I was a bit naïve in thinking that drivers would look after my cab as though it was their own. When I got the cab back after six weeks I was gutted, the driver who’d paid me about twelve hundred pounds in rental had done about at least six or seven-hundred pounds worth of damage – but financially I was up and able to pay the bills. It taught me a lesson that I wasn’t ready to get into the rental business just yet.”

Len had the inclination to live abroad but couldn’t fathom out how it would be possible unless he rented out cabs, he knew he wanted to but didn’t know how. It wasn’t until he became computer savvy that he thought it might be possible. He already

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Len Baker of E16 Rentals

had the experience of renting out his own cab, when a friend of his wanted to sell his cab and rent it back himself, which Len thought might be a good opportunity to get into the rental trade, as probably the driver would still treat the cab as his own.

If it was going to be possible to rent cabs and live abroad this would be the best way to find out. “I hired his cab back to him and within about five months I decided to buy another taxi – I got a taste for it. I gave up the idea of living abroad, as one way or another I could see a career in hiring out taxis.” Len continued.

“About a month after that I bought another cab to hire out and I became more confident in what I was doing. From there on I started buying a new cab every two months.”

Nowadays he buys all his TX cabs from Ascotts, as he believes they are so good. Not only are you covered by the warrantee, but you also get a cab that is almost cultivated from seed.

“Ascotts give you a cab like its brand new even if it’s not.

You get three years warrantee on everything and all you need to do is keep up the services with them. They will look after your cab and even when it comes out of warrantee it will still be good and you will know the history of it.” He said.

Len has no interest in ever getting his own garage as he is happy with what he knows best. He just wants to increase his fleet and stick where he is. Recently Len has started including Mercedes Vitos in his fleet as well. Like all the taxi-trade Len is worried about the proposed ten year age limit which will see rental prices increase and could deter some drivers from renting.

But whether you rent or buy you’re ultimately going to lose money he believes.

Len still drives a cab during the evening on Radio Taxis and there about five of his drivers also with Radio Taxis with more to come.

Len explained; “When I get an enquiry from a driver I tell them that I will keep the cab advert free to enable them to join Radio Taxis and that’s quite a selling point. When I tell them they can join Radio Taxis it can mean the difference between renting my

aker... cab and them going somewhere else.” He went on to say; “Shortly after passing the knowledge I went on a circuit named “Call A Cab, which was part of ComCab, a cash only circuit.

I found I wasn’t getting the work on it and I was very disappointed.

I met a friend whom I’d first met on the knowledge and he was on the Radio. My friend told me he was on Radio Taxis and that being on Radio Taxis had totally changed the job for him and now he was really enjoying being a cab driver! I arranged a strip out from Call A Cab and joined Radio Taxis the next day. After my first four months without being on radio and then joining Radio Taxis, and I’m not just saying it because I’m talking to you, but I believe Radio Taxis without a doubt is the best circuit there is – the fact that I’ve been on it for nearly 12 years proves it!”

So if you and your cab are getting on a bit and the 15 year age limit is coming to get you and you want to stay with Radio Taxis – do what I did as my cab reached its age limit and rent from Len Baker. I had been mushing for thirty years and wasn’t looking forward to renting some old heap.

With Len and E16 Taxi Rentals (07957 465 423) I got a newly purchased taxi from Ascotts, just as though I had bought it myself and it’s still just like having my own cab only better!

Roger Sligo.

● We go that extra mile ● Mercedes Vitos available

● Pay in bank or online ● Full back up

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Marketing The power Corner of Images

By Akshay Raj

TO ME, PHOTOGRAPHY is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I’ve found it has “little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

Elliott Erwitt.

hat a wonderful thought! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, no wonder then that Instagram has become an overnight success purchased by Facebook for $1Billion.

The name “Instagram” is a portmanteau of “instant camera” and “telegram.” A phonetic blend of two words that also merges the meaning of both the words.

Radio Taxis has an Instagram account where we try to show you the London we see, but we also wanted to see the London that you see and hence we have launched this “Photo Competition” so that we discover London through your perspective.

The aim of our contest is to accept photos in a number of categories including travel portraits, outdoor scenes, sense of place and spontaneous moments but with one underlying theme, and that’s… London.

features to buy, it is totally free.

■ It is easy and fun: Click, apply some effects (Filters) to spice up your picture and share it.

■ It is instant: No waiting times, no clumsy user interface; it’s there and it’s now.

■ It lets you be creative: It lets people try to push the boundaries of creativity and makes them feel better about themselves.

WHY IS INSTAGRAM SO ADDICTIVE? ■ It is social: You can click a picture and immediately share it with your family, friends and the world.

■ It is free: Yes, no pop up advertisements, no pesky premium

Also don’t forget, you can win £250 if your photo gets selected in our competition.

Visit http://www.radiotaxis.co.uk/views-london to know more about it.

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Go ahead and find out what 300,000,000 people around the world are showing, if a picture is worth a thousand words, find out the many interesting stories of the world around you in pictures.

You can find us on https://instagram.com/radio.taxis – and if you do find interesting images of London do tag us so we see what interests you.

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BULLDOZERS

By Roy Hughes, Director of Commercial Development at Mountview House Group AS MESSRS CAMERON and Osborne once again take up the reins of government, they may reflect on David Bowie’s sage observation; “We’ve got five years, my brain hurts a lot, five years, that’s all we’ve got”. Certainly George’s brain will be aching as he gets out his calculator and tries to work out how to pay for everything promised by his mate Dave during the course of the election campaign. o what should we expect to see from this new Government? For starters, sustained and sustainable, economic growth would be nice!

The last 5 years has seen the slowest economic recovery in UK history – a recovery largely funded by increasing the level of borrowing i.e. debt and a fall in global oil prices. Economic growth for the last quarter is now at a level lower than the latter days of Gordon Brown (not ours, the other one!)

The Conservatives have always prided themselves on being the ‘party of business’, however from the perspective of a Small Medium Enterprise (SME) that should probably be ‘the party of big business’ as we have seen precious little practical help given to SME’s over the last five years.

One area where SME’s could benefit is through the regulation of the existing guidelines regarding bidding for Government/Public Sector contracts.

The principle being that SME’s benefit from ‘positive discrimination’ when submitting bids and that the overall quality of a bid is considered alongside price – when the ‘lowest bidder’ wins a tender it just encourages short cuts of service and the obfuscation* (a muddying) of charges. There is also a case for SME’s to be re-imbursed for costs incurred when tenders are cancelled or indefinitely suspended. Recently a large rail franchise (not strictly public sector, but the franchise is effectively ‘leased’ from central government) cancelled a tender after we had progressed through an intense four stage process that had taken eight months! This will become increasingly relevant as the inevitable large scale cuts to the Public Sector increases opportunities for businesses to provide alternative and innovative, cost-saving, solutions – something we are very adept at providing.

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One of the most pressing items on the Government’s transport ‘to do’ list will be a decision on Heathrow expansion. After “successfully” kicking the long awaited Davies Airports Commission report into the long grass before the election, publication is now expected shortly.

The smart money is that the third (and most likely a fourth too) runway at LHR will be given the go ahead (George Osborne is very pro).

While this will no doubt be bad news for NIMBY inhabitants of large swathes of West London affected by potential increased noise pollution, (albeit newer and quieter planes are being quickly brought online) it will nevertheless be good news for the taxi industry with significantly increased demand for journeys to and from the airport. It will also be excellent news for employment prospects in West London and thus house prices and small businesses in the vicinity too. (They say it’s an ill wind!)

There is however, considerable opposition within Parliament to any Heathrow expansion and Boris Johnson has even promised to ‘lie down’ in front of the Bulldozers – personally I don’t much fancy the Bulldozer’s chances.

Longest Reigning Monarch

By Robert MacDonald Watson, Company Secretary, Mountview House Group WE OFTEN LOOK FOR MILESTONES in planning, but I don’t imagine for a minute that the Queen was thinking of the point that she will reach on 9 September 2015, which is record milestone in relation to when she first ascended to the Throne. n that day, no doubt strolling around the grounds of Balmoral Castle, she will have reigned for 63 years and 216 days. She will then surpass her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, as the longest ever reigning monarch whether King or Queen in the British Isles. This record has been held

by Queen Victoria since 24 September 1896.

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In the ‘league of longevity’ for British Isles Monarchs, the other nearest contenders were as follows: George III: 59 years James VI of Scotland and I of England: 57 years Henry III: 56 years Elizabeth I: 44 years In 1707, the Kingdom of England was united with the Kingdom of Scotland as the Kingdom of Great Britain (watch this space). Then in 1801 it became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, finally settling as Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

As far as England is concerned, twenty one of our earlier Kings and Queens and in point of fact with some disputed, had failed to last as long as ten years on the throne. There were one or two occupational hazards to the job as the recently exhumed Richard III could probably have testified to.

The well received play “ The Audience”, with the role of the Queen first reprised by Helen Mirren and now by Kristin Scott-Thomas, brings home the length of service of the Queen as she is seen having audiences with a whole string of Prime Ministers. She fulfils a similar pivotal role as head of the Commonwealth.

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, the longest living reigning Monarch is Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama XI) of Thailand, with 68 years and counting. The Queen is at number two, ahead of Abdul Halim of Malaysia on 56 years. In terms of all known verifiable reigns, it seems that Sobhuza II of Swaziland heads the list with 82 years from 1899 to 1982. Of better

known existing Kingdoms the next best would probably be Louis XIV of France who lasted 72 years in the C17th and Emperor Hirohito of Japan who survived 62 years.

The Queen is most unlikely to allow any kind of fuss from the Palace. It will no doubt be business as usual, maybe a picnic in the grounds at Balmoral. I suspect that the public and retailers will find their own ways to celebrate (or cash in) what is certainly a most historic occasion. The next more likely celebration milestone would be the Queen’s forthcoming 90th birthday next April.

Clearly, the retrospective view will have a lot to take in. The new Elizabethan era has, after all, spanned the working lifetimes of pretty much all of us and the lifetimes of the vast majority. Survival is the name of the game and the individual can and indeed has, in the Queen’s case, gained respect based on her dedicated performance in the domain of public service.

Each holder of the post takes on the mantle of monarchy and wears it in their own fashion. The Head of State has never been more visible and observed and any deviation from serenity is commented on and judged. Many holders of lesser public offices have felt the burden and been unable to carry it.

In wish fulfilment terms, how apt are the words from the National Anthem, “Long to reign over us”.

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Curiosity Corner Roger Sligo on the mysteries of hidden London

Time for Two Boys THE CHURCH OF ST MAGNUS was rebuilt in 1676, by Wren, after being one of the first buildings destroyed by the great fire of London. It was said to be one of Wren’s finest works. The tower has an octagonal lantern, crowned by a cupola and a short spire, its both picturesque and effective. The arch beneath once formed the approach road to London Bridge, The St Magnus Clock which in 1760 had to be widened due to the increase in traffic. This possibility had fortunately been foreseen

by Wren, so when widening was needed it was completed without any difficulty, although it damaged an otherwise beautiful building.

The carved clock projecting from the tower was erected in 1709, at a cost of £485, being donated by Sir Charles Duncombe, in fulfilment of a vow he once made. When as a poor young boy, Duncombe was left for some considerable time, waiting in a cart for his master to arrive on London Bridge, lost from his employer for not knowing the hour; he promised he would donate a clock to St Magnus, if he ever became rich.

A BOY AND TWO GIANTS Two giants striking a church clock bell were a magnet for pick-pockets and the childhood obsession for a small boy. These enormous figures have been looking down on busy Fleet Street for almost three and a half centuries, with an intervening century respite in the seclusion of a villa in Regent’s Park.

St Dunstan-in-the-west was built on the north side of Fleet Street during the tenth century. St Dunstan’s survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, that was purely because of the determination of the Dean of Westminster and of forty young school boys on bucket

patrol. Although the building was saved from the fire the original clock or “Dyall” as it was called, was badly scorched. However, it still kept time, nevertheless it became difficult to see the clock face from any distance.

Thomas Harrys, a clockmaker from nearby Water Lane, approached the church authorities about making a new timepiece.

He offered a new clock complete with two figures to beat the bell for £80, but eventually settled on £35; although it is said that he scaled back his original plan. The new clock started measuring time from 28 October 1671 onwards after the removal of the old one.

A rather young and mischievous child who often played-up his nursemaid was taken one day to watch the giants beating the bell at St Dunstan’s; she found this calmed the boy’s bad behaviour. The visits were made into a regular treat and as a reward for his less disruptive nature. One day while he stood watching the giants tolling the hour with his nursemaid, he boasted that when he grew-up and became a man, he would buy those giants for his own home.

In 1830 it was decided to demolish the old St Dunstan’s in favour of road widening and the replacement church was set thirty feet back.

It was arranged to auction the clock and its giants and the highest bidder was the Marquis of Hertford – the little boy who had vowed to one day to own it!

After paying the £200 guineas (£220) for his beloved timepiece, he had it removed to his villa in Regent’s Park. Built by Decimus Burton on six acres of Regent’s Park, the new villa had the clock and giants refurbished and installed on the front garden of the villa which he named St Dunstan’s Lodge, in their honour.

For a century the giants remained in Regent’s Park, striking the quarter hour for successive the residents of the villa. During the First World War, St Dunstan’s Lodge was loaned to Soldiers’ and Sailors’ who had been blinded and for many years the charity was known simply as St Dunstan’s.

In 1935, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of King George V, the new owner of the villa Lord Rothermere, the newspaper publisher, returned the giants and their clock back to St Dunstan’s Church, where they remain to this day.

A year later the villa was sold to Barbara Hutton, the heiress of the Woolworth fortune and renamed Winfield House, Hutton eventually gave the building to the United States Government and it is known today as the American Ambassador’s residence.

I Shall Rise Again...

WHILE IN THE VICINITY OF ST PAUL’S the Phoenix over the south portico of the Cathedral is also deserving of our attention. hen Sir Christopher Wren needed a brick to serve as a marker for the centre of the dome, he directed a Stonemason to bring him a stone. The ground being still littered with rubble from the old cathedral’s charred remains and indeed some were used for the new cathedral foundations.

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The very first stone handed to Wren was from a broken tombstone with the single Latin word RESURGAM which translates as “I shall rise again” written on it. Wren thought this a very fitting omen for his masterpiece, which was rising from the ashes of the old St Paul’s.

Next time you are passing have a good look for this old marker, another of London’s little gems!

The RESURGAM stone

FATE

SOMETIMES THINGS CAN HAPPEN when a change to your usual pattern develops into an unplanned chain of events. ne such day happened to me recently when my usual route into town, the A13, became blocked due to a road traffic accident. I took an alternative route along the A127 and A12, something I rarely do these days.

As I approached the traffic lights by Newbury Park Underground Station, a man looking a little distressed and worried came rushing towards me. I could see he was wearing a Radio Taxis jacket so I pulled over, even though I was not plying for hire in this location. He looked extremely worried and in a bit of a panic, so I opened the window to see what he wanted.

He asked if I was going into town and said he had an appointment at Bart’s Hospital and that there had been a fatality on the underground line and the service had been suspended.

Without hesitation I of course said get in! He had left for his hospital appointment with time to spare, but because of events and delays it was touch and go if he would make it on time. He told me he had been diagnosed with skin cancer and he was going to see a specialist to see what treatment they could give him. He also said he had not been working since being diagnosed with the illness and that he usually worked the nightshift, mainly covering the LU accounts. We had a good chat on the way through and I discovered his name is

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Ashley Morris (B025) and I’m pleased to say he made it to the hospital with plenty of time to spare.

I gave him my email address and asked him to let me know how he is doing. I had an email the day before I intended writing this article (fate again). It reads: Hi Roger, First of all, thank you for picking me up at Newbury Park station and taking me to St.Barts.

I arrived in good time and had my PET Scan with no problems. The results showed that there was melanoma cancer but, thankfully, it had not spread to any other parts of my body.

I had it removed together with the lymph glands under my right armpit as this is the main method by which cancer spreads to vital organs. This was done on the 13th April at the Royal London Hospital.

I am at present at home with a drain in under the arm and am looking forward to tomorrow when hopefully it will be removed.

I see the consultant again in June at the Royal London, so until then I rest and catch up on some TV. Once again thank you.

Ashley Morris (B025) Ed: I know we will all wish Ashley a speedy recovery – he probably won’t be quite ready to go back to work yet but in any case – hurry up Ashley and get back to covering the LU jobs!

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The Francis Crick Institute

By Peter Gibson, Business Project Management DURING THE RUN UP TO THE GENERAL Election, the Party Leaders participated in a series of one on one interviews with Evan Davis. The interviews themselves turned into the usual pantomime of the interviewee talking over the interviewer and it quickly turning into TV verbal babble. he star attraction of this series of interviews for me was Francis Crick, or at least what I discovered to be, The Francis Crick Institute – the building in which the interviews were conducted.

The interior of this, soon to open, addition to the Kings Cross redevelopment, resembled something out of the film Blade Runner. The Francis Crick Institute will be situated in Midland Road next to the British Library opposite St Pancras Station and it is a biomedical research centre currently planned to open in early 2016.

The Institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Imperial College London, King’s College London, the Medical Research Council, University College London (UCL) and the Wellcome Trust. The Institute is planned to have one and a half thousand staff, including twelve hundred and fifty scientists, with an annual budget of over £100 million, making it the largest centre for biomedical research and innovation in Europe.

The Institute is named after Francis Crick the British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins.

The Institute itself is a unique partnership between six of the UK’s most successful scientific institutions. Its work is helping us to understand why disease develops and to find new ways to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections and neurodegenerative diseases. The institutions are: ● Medical Research Council ● Cancer Research UK ● Wellcome Trust ● University College London (UCL) ● Imperial College London ● King’s College London (KCL) The Institute is a new state-of-the-art seventy nine thousand square metre building. Construction began in July 2011, with researchers originally expected to be able to start work in 2015. Construction and fit-out of the building is budgeted at approximately £660 million.

Inside the institute technicians will conduct groundbreaking medical research to understand why disease develops and find new ways to prevent and treat illnesses such

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as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections and neurodegenerative diseases.

London is now a world city and a global centre for research and biomedical invention. This project will bring the world’s best biomedical science researchers together and accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge medicine in the capital.

The Crick Institute will promote itself as a ‘driver of excellence’ in biomedical research and innovation, developing ideas for public good through collaborative research within the institute and with top academic and scientific establishments across the country. They will maintain close contact with industry and healthcare organisations so that the NHS and its patients will benefit for many years to come from the new treatments and technologies that have been developed and which will be developed as a result of discoveries made at the institute.

The Francis Crick Institute will become an engine for discovery.

Academics, doctors, engineers, computer experts and others will be working together in multidisciplinary teams with the common aim of improving people’s lives, through research, into today’s biggest health challenges.

The institute will tackle cancer, heart disease, stroke, neurodegenerative conditions and infectious diseases.

The roots of these and all diseases lie in the altered functioning of cells and their interactions within the body.

Developing a better understanding of biological processes in health helps in understanding why diseases develop as they do and how they might be treated.

The institute will also facilitate the development of effective drugs and diagnostic testing by fostering a culture that values and will promote the active translation of research and by building extensive links with clinical centres and the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

LIVING CENTRE One section of the Institute will be the Living Centre.

This will sit at the heart of the local community engagement programme. Through the Living Centre the Crick aims to create a community facility that will help to improve health and wellbeing in the local area.

When it opens in 2016, we expect the Living Centre to be an inclusive and welcoming community space; one that offers affordable services and is driven by the needs of the community.

The Living Centre will be a two-floor, 450 square metre community space on the Ossulston Street side of the Crick building. It will include a bright and welcoming reception area, a large space for exercise activities, two meeting/training rooms, and smaller rooms for one-to-one sessions.

Francis Crick

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John Vigus, Radio Taxis Resident Parking and PCN Specialist...

“Driver, can you stop here for a minute, I need to get a bit of shopping and pick up my cleaning?”

Sounds familiar?

Then a few days later a penalty charge notice (PCN) arrives in the post. A £130 fine (£65 if paid promptly) and it seems that there are no grounds for appeal and you are the one who ends up having to pay.

Would you do this if you were in a private car? No? Then why would you think you could get away with it because you’re driving a taxi?

It is the driver who is in control of the vehicle and who has to take responsibility for the decisions he or she makes. If your passenger asks you to stop somewhere that you know you shouldn’t, then you should politely point out that you are not allowed to stop there, that you are not prepared to break the law and risk getting a £130 parking ticket. You can then courteously suggest you might find somewhere else more appropriate under the circumstances to stop along the way.

I am surprised at the number of enquiries I receive along these lines and not just from taxi drivers. I often see vehicles parked outside shops either on yellow lines or, even worse, unlawfully parked partially on the footway so that other vehicles can conveniently pass by.

No consideration is afforded to pedestrians using the footway and sometimes we are all guilty of being a bit too lazy to find a safe and lawful place to park.

Some of the areas for grounds for appeal for example might be, perhaps if the sign is missing or if the parking attendant has used the wrong contravention code, then I can be certain of a successful challenge otherwise it is going to cost you, NOT YOUR PASSENGER! Taxis can wait in the same place for no longer than three minutes when making the initial contact with and the passenger getting to the vehicle.

Pictured above are some examples of unlawful parking, which will not allow us a successful appeal.

John Vigus.

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Uber and the Taxi Trade, a Marketing View

By Robert Stead UBER IS A PHENOMENON, IN THE best and worst senses of the word, the company generates a lot of coverage and a great deal of emotion. Many would argue that the current valuation of the business is completely beyond rationality. But what’s underneath this? How do they stack up against the cab trade from a marketing perspective? ood marketing people will always start by taking a customer view. To keep this view concise they will look at the ‘4 Ps’ of the marketing mix; Promotion, Place of Purchase, Price and Product to see how they stand against their competition.

Looking at how Uber competes with the taxi circuits in each of these areas illuminates some key issues and suggests some ways ahead too.

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PROMOTION This is a measure of how well potential customers know about the product. Are they aware of it?

Uber is a global presence, and promotes its services widely online through its Google partnership. There is lots of coverage of Uber, not all positive for sure, but pretty much anyone who might need transport in London knows about it. That said I’d argue that the Black Cab is at least as well known amongst London travellers, the vehicles are iconic and the “London Cabbie” is a part of traveller folklore.

Ultimately there isn’t a big difference here.

PLACE OF PURCHASE Are customers able to buy the product where they wish to, when they wish to?

There isn’t a great differentiation here either. A street hail has advantages over a pre booking when cabs are easily available. When cabs are not easily available or when the traveller is looking for certainty, a phone or

App booking is preferable. The Uber app can make booking easier but I’d argue it’s really about the certainty of getting a vehicle and not the ease of booking that makes an App attractive instead of a street hail.

However, one point to keep in mind is that legislation governing cabs and private hire, hasn’t really changed to account for the rise of the App. The legislation is constructed based on the basis that being able to accept street hail passengers is a significant advantage for a cab driver; the quid pro quo for this advantage is the requirement to have a specialist vehicle and a specialist driver who has done the Knowledge and undergone all the necessary checks.

Booking apps, including Uber, have partially removed the advantage of being able to accept street hail; however the need for a specialist vehicle and specialist training remains for Cab drivers without any equivalent requirement for private hire being imposed.

PRICING How much is the customer asked to pay, does it reflect the suppliers costs?

There are several differences here. Firstly history has given the cab profession a legislated and metered pricing mechanism, plus the costs of complying with vehicle and licensing requirements. No competitor is required to have metered fares or is compelled to use specialist vehicles, it’s very easy for a market entrant to compete on price. So they do.

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The metered fare mechanism that exists today is still sensible for a 1 mile trip in central London but it’s very difficult to justify using the same mechanism to price a return trip to Stansted. Pre booking can allow for some negotiation or fixed prices, but it’s the exception.

When a cab is pre booked, extras such as run in charges, waiting time and gratuities can be difficult for some customers to accept in comparison with a flat fare.

By contrast Uber has almost complete control of pricing, no legislation applies. If things are quiet they can reduce prices, if they are busy surge pricing applies. No other booking service can do this as directly. Uber also make someone else pay for the price variations, if it’s quiet, the driver gets less, and if it’s busy the customer pays more. It’s not a pleasant approach, but it is effective.

The other aspect of pricing and payment, which is important to customers, is being able to pay by card.

It’s completely inexplicable that in 2015, after many years of TfL surveys indicating that passengers want to pay by card, that it’s still possible to get into a cab and not be certain that card payment will be possible.

Imagine travelling by tube and paying at the destination station in cash having started the journey uncertain if you will have enough cash to pay. Exactly.

I have acquaintances who choose to use Uber purely because they can pay by card.

Ultimately legislation implies that a Cab will be at a premium price to an App booked minicab, if the service is equally premium and the customer appreciates that, no problem. If not then either the service or legislation, or both, need to change.

PRODUCT At Radio Taxis we describe a cab as “The Best Way to Get Around London.” It is and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The navigational benefits of The Knowledge, using bus lanes and the all-round experience that comes from being a cab driver are unsurpassed. No private hire vehicle and no untrained driver can offer a truly comparable service.

Taxis must have wheelchair access, a small turning circle, and privacy screens. Shortly there will be emissions regulations too, all will benefit the passengers who need them and Londoners in general.

When Radio Taxis was founded a “Black Cab” was for everyone, now over 60 years later the impact of legislation and the cost of compliance with that legislation has a price. In principle meter rates are set with this higher cost in mind but Private Hire cars do not have to meet the same legislation or pay the same price.

Booking Apps for Private Hire have made it almost as convenient to book a car as a street hail. A taxi is certainly a better service especially in central London, but it’s often at a premium price too. Some customers will be very happy to pay the premium for the better service, some will use street hail and some will need to use a cab for reasons of wheelchair access or capacity.

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Most travellers are individuals, booking for themselves.

They do not need pre booking more than a few minutes ahead, nor do they necessarily need full management information, nor a credit account nor indeed any of the other elements associated with corporate travel and in which we as an organisation specialise. This is awkward to provide and requires a lot of interaction with the customer, often face to face.

Uber won’t do this and there is a clear advantage to Radio Taxis here.

WHAT’S NEXT? Legislation is certainly a step behind the reality of booking cars by App. Compliance forces higher costs on cab drivers but not anywhere near as much on Private Hire drivers. The rise of the App means that street hail isn’t the commercial advantage it used to be.

Uber didn’t create this situation but they have certainly interpreted it to take maximum benefit. Ultimately I believe the current interpretation of the legislation is distorting the market at the expense of the cab trade.

This distortion will need to be removed.

In reality, taking a black cab is now buying a premium product at a premium price. The customer needs to see the benefit of the premium. Taking credit cards consistently would remove one fundamental advantage held by Uber. Taking a more open minded approach to fares on longer journeys, particularly pre booked ones would be another positive step.

The telephone booking service provided by Radio Taxis is another part of this premium service.

Finally we can work where Uber choose not to, in the high service pre-booked corporate world.

THE MARKETING PERSPECTIVE Uber, like any other App based minicab service is a fact of life, things will calm down and the valuation will drop; but it’s unlikely to go away. Uneven application of the legislation has distorted competition, this will take time and political will to change. The best marketing response by the Cab Trade for now, is to actively deliver the premium service to match the pricing and to carefully build up pre booked corporate work.

Worthing Veterans Trip 2015

By Roger Sligo

TUESDAY THE 16th JUNE WITH AN EARLY START, well for me, 5:30am is an unfamiliar time of day for travelling... irst port of call was picking up Tracey Fuller from her home near Wood Green and then collecting our veteran for the day Mr Ken Watts from his home in Islington.

Bachelor ninety year old Ken, who doesn’t look a day over seventy and on his second from last day of freedom before tying the knot with his long term partner Eileen, of more than thirty years. Eileen, being eighty-four years old herself, could easily pass as twenty years younger than she really is!

It didn’t take long before Ken revealed his long term association with the London taxi-trade, after revealing spending his entire working life with just one cab company.

If you were to take out his four years of national service that is a staggering fifty-four years in total. When Ken started work at York Way Motors Ltd (formerly Levy’s of Kings Cross) at the tender age of thirteen, from initially doing mechanical work, body work, spraying and electrics, Ken has done it all. Just for working so many years with the same company, Ken should have been awarded medals to go along with the many he already has for his brave military services.

He served with the 2nd battalion Devonshire Regiment on the first wave of D Day landings, being just nineteen at the time. His army service runs from 1943, before finally beinf demobed in 1947.

Any one of us, who thinks they have done their job for much too long, should take a leaf out of Ken’s note book – he said he; “just takes life as it comes” – maybe that’s why he is so contented and modest with all he has accomplished.

This year after stopping off for our traditional breakfast stop at South Holmwood Village, we continued with the aid of those wonderful Legion Outriders supporting our convoy, stopping traffic for us at roundabouts – if you didn’t know them you could

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Ken and Eileen Watts

ttalion a b d n 2 e th h it “Ken served w t on the n e im g e R e ir h s Devon s, being g in d n la y a D first wave of D e time!” th t a n e te e in n just

Worthing convoy

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coast instead.

We were given another concession allowing all the one-hundred and thirty taxis to park along the shoreline. It was such a wonderful sight to see all these normally gridlocked cabs enjoying the seas fresh air as far as the eye could see!

Inside our very own driver Melvyn Zeff, (Radio Taxis V146) was as usual Master of Ceremonies, a job that he does extremely well – calling for the customary minute silence to remember those no longer with us.

After which there were speeches from the Mayor of Worthing Councillor Michael Donin, accompanied by the Mayoress Ms. Linda Williams. I was saddened when it was announced that Mr Harry Joel MBE, one Ken behind a low loader’s wheel

be excused for thinking they look a little bit menacing, but a nicer gentle and friendly bunch of bikers you would be hard pressed to find.

This year there was a change of our destination venue, from the Civic Hall to the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing. Situated on the promenade leading to the pier it was ideal for the war veterans, as they were by the seaside, instead of having to make an extra journey either walking or taking a cab to visit the coastline and get their sticks of rock.

Travelling through the narrow street as we did, The packed Theatre Hall

of the original founders of the charity, who had made every trip since the first one in 1948, was unable to attend, with his daughter Mrs Lee Suzanne Smith standing in for him and making a speech on his behalf.

I know I speak for everyone connected with the taxi trade in wishing Harry a full and speedy recovery.

The Rt Hon Dr Julian Lewis MP for Lewis East was the guest of honour and made a good speech about the need of the armed forces in peace time. He also relayed

Lee Suzanne Smith with her husband

where all motor vehicles accept buses are banned, with us having special permission to use this direct route to the pier. Looking in front and behind at the long line of taxis, jammed-packed non-moving cabs, reminded me of a recent UBER demo, which appeared to have moved from London, launching itself onto the south

The Polka Dots

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Tracey with the Vito she sponsored

a story of an elderly cab driver who once picked him up and disclosing the fact that his driver had been in bomber command during the Second World War. He asked the cabby; “Did they not lose 50,000 men?”

His reply was 55,500 to be precise, adding with a touch of wistfulness the following words “I sometimes wonder if it was all worthwhile?” To which my reply was “indeed it was. Without you we would not have a free country today!”

After the speeches and a nice fish and chip dinner some of us wandered outside for some fresh sea air.

It was there that I noticed my veteran for the day Ken, looking at an old Austin Low Loader parked outside.

I said to him I bet he had worked on a few of those in his day. He nodded in agreement. I asked him if he wanted to sit behind the wheel which he was delighted to do.

Opposite the vintage cabs was a Vito which Tracey Fuller had sponsored in memory of her dear late mother Jean Fuller. Tracey had been looking all day for this taxi and there it was as if placed here by magic!

After our stroll it was back to the theatre for some old songs provided by The Polka Dots, The Andrew Sisters style trio, with plenty of foot tapping by the audience.

As we loaded-up our precious cargo of veterans for the return journey and were driving off the beach promenade, one of the Pavilion’s Marshals said “see you next year” After such a great day I think he is right!

Roger Sligo.

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Roger Sligo asks: WIN £50 “Where am I?” *

“Where am I?” THE LAST CONTEST IN OUR SPRING issue had you all stumped. Only one brave driver, K. O’Leary, stuck his neck out, unfortunately making a wrong guess with the Surrey House Museum, London Road.

With no correct answers we have a rollover this time, with our prize doubling to £50 worth of M&S vouchers!

CLUE: My first picture was taken of a derelict house in South East London, which in Victorian times was originally a museum. It is close to a market and not very far from the first railway line into the centre of London.

This time our picture clue gets a little easier, with the tablet inscription on the front wall of the building revealing; “This Museum Was Erected By A. T. Taylor 1890” Who was A.T. Taylor? But more importantly…

Where Am I?

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Think you know? Then email your answer, together with name and call sign to: mvn.editor@radiotaxis.co.uk or send via snail mail to: Mountview News Editor, Mountview House, Lennox Road, London N4 3TX. The winner who correctly names the location of this contest will receive £50 worth of M&S Gift Vouchers!

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The Mountview Puzzler Page

CLUES ACROSS 1. Eager involvement (10) 8. Stream of water (5) 9. Take as one’s own (5) 10. Ball game (4) 12. Guard (6) 14. Language communication (6) 17. Fruit (4) 21. In addition (5) 22. Boundary (5) 23. Executives (10)

Jotting space

MOUNTVIEW SUDOKU Give your brains a really good work out!

CLUES DOWN 2. Pertaining to warships (5) 3. Solid (4) 4. Apportion (5) 5. Concerning (5) 6. Friendly (5) 7. Boast (4) 11. Enemy (3) 13. Doze (3) 14. Water vapour (5) 15. Consumed (5) 16. Loud, resonant sound (5) 18. Yellowish citrus fruit (5) 19. Mongrel dog (4) 20. Shut with force (4)

HAVE A GO AT THIS ISSUE’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

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