Pick and Mix
Celebrities Owning Cabs
Who on earth would want to own a London Black Cab apart from a working cabbie? Well it would seem there are quite a few well known people who are prepared to put up with its many faults. Uncomfortable, poor braking, rattles, high tyre wear, unless heater and yes some go up in flames. Oh, I could go on ad infinitum.
People who are easily recognisable like the anonymity that a cab gives you in London, coupled with its 25 foot turning circle.
Here are a few unlucky owners. Kate Moss’s cab was given to her by friends, whom according to reports included Sadie Frost, as a gift appreciation for the lavish gifts that Moss gave them over the years. It is entertaining to learn that a popular and glamorous model like Kate now owns one of these vehicles. But research the net and you will find Kate Moss is not the only celebrity owning the ubiquitous London Taxi Cab.
Amongst them are: the California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who has purchased a fleet of London Black Cabs to be exported to California for his own personal use and entrepreneur Larry Smith who has bought the exclusive rights to the vehicles after they caught his eye during a family holiday to England in 2000, film director Stanley Kubrick, actor Ian Butcher, Stephen Fry and even Prince Philip have owned them.
As you never know now times are tough, we cabbies could face some competition from them.
Cab Shelters
Looking like overgrown garden sheds; these distinctive buildings can still be found on the streets of London, offering shelter for the drivers of hansom cabs and hackney carriages (taxis) since 1875.
Because cab drivers weren’t allowed to leave their vehicles when parked at a stand, it was difficult for them to get a hot meal while at work, so The Earl of Shaftsbury (God bless ‘im) and a few philanthropic chums decided to create a cabbie’s charity in 1874.
Entitled the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund, the charity set out to construct and run shelters to provide cabbies with “good and wholesome refreshments at moderate prices”. Between 1875 and 1914, a total of 61 shelters were built at cost of around £200 each.
Because the shelters stood on a public highway, the police stipulated that they weren’t allowed to be any larger than a horse and cart.
Even with those restrictions, the huts still managed to wedge in a working kitchen and accommodate between ten and thirteen men. The shelters came with seats and tables and were stocked with books and newspapers, usually donated by the publishers and other benefactors. Gambling, drinking and swearing were strictly forbidden.
Still maintained by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund, thirteen of these shelters still exist
(all now Grade II listed buildings).
The surviving shelters can be seen at:
Chelsea Embankment; Grosvenor Gardens; Hanover Square; Kensington Park Road; Kensington Road; Russell Square; St George’s Square; Temple Place; Thurloe Place; Warwick Avenue; and Wellington Place.
Pedometers
If you happen to be in Japan and are constantly fretting over the high cost of taxis, then a tiny plastic gadget called Taxi Walker might just deliver peace of mind this winter. Costing about £13, Taxi Walker is a belt-style pedometer that measures how far you’ve walked in any given period and converts it into the equivalent taxi fare.
The idea is that next time you fancy a taxi ride in Japan you should set off on foot instead and then gloat at how much you’ve saved when you reach your destination.
It couldn’t take off over here, could it?
