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[laurythecab-blog]

30years a cabby.

Well I've achieved it.

Next Friday 2/11 is my thirty year celebration of becoming a London cabby.

I have the knowledge . It remains the hardest thing I have ever done, but I am intensely proud to wear “"the green badge” and it has given me a reasonable living.i have had many interesting conversations along the way, and picked up a few celebrities too.

I've said in a previous blog that it has been my relationship with Jesus that has made this possible. It's his supernatural peace that has seen me through the stress of the job and the ups and downs of the challenges life throws at us.

It doesn't make life or the job easier, but it's just great knowing that I can share it with God and seek his peace.

I still get angry at other road users and I'm far from being a good driver, but He has shown me that to forgive others and be forgiven for my attitude is far better than holding on to anger or bitterness ,which obviously applies to all of life.

My faith is based on what God has done in the past , my love for him is there as he continues to work out His purpose in me, and my hope is what he has promised me in the future,as he does for everyone who believes in Jesus.

I did three years hard graft to get “"the badge”   But what's happened ever since, I have to give the Glory and thanks to God.

[laurythecab-blog]

on my travels

It is very difficult being a coeliac to dine out or order a takeaway meal and having to enquire what options are available to me on the menu.i have found that all the major pizza chains are up to speed, as are most Indian restaurants.

Small independents do  their  best, so when I come across a small cafe with a good range of gluten free options,I like to mention it.

One such place is Nuggs 1286 in the middle of Salisbury. A medieval building dating back to yes you guessed it 1286 with Nuggs the first occupier,and

You can still some of the original oak beams, separating the two levels of the house.

Now the food.

Some may think that a main for just under £8 is a bit expensive  , but when you consider the size of the portion and that my wife and I ate at three pm and didn't need to eat again til the following morning, then you know that we think it is value for money.

The wife who is non coeliac chose the 6oz pure beef burger with bacon ,cranberry and Brie  , home made slaw and fries.

For me the range of gluten free food options was the best I had seen for ages.

A high street coffee chain just a few doors away offered a gf chicken wrap and bake well tarts. That was it

Here at Nuggs there were several cakes, toasted sandwiches and mains.

They even offer gluten free sausages if you fancy a fry up.

I chose the liver and onions with creamy mash and peas. It was excellent.

I had never seen liver as gf option before so I had to have it.

full marks and praise to the couple who run this.

I will make sure we visit Nuggs when're we are in this area, and thoroughly recommend it as a warm and friendly place totally ,value for money and choice.

[laurythecab-blog]

The sycamore tree and a taxi driver

Tuesday the first of July is my birthday, and I have decided to take a day off from driving my taxi. There is nothing nicer in my opinion than having a day when there are no concrete plans, and I can find time to indulge in whatever takes my fancy. It was a glorious sunny day, and so after breakfast I took myself off for a cycle. I have a favourite route that takes me through and above the Darenth valley, and this is the route I plan to take today,I am trying to get fit ,and there are lots of challenging hills. I cycle though Sutton at hone and on to farningham,meeting my first challenging hill as I cycle towards eynesford , well it’s challenging for me. Eynesford has a ford by the bridge, but I am not tempted to cycle through it,choosing the stone built bridge instead. Then it’s a steady climb towards shoreham and otford. This is where looking over to My right I see the spectacular view of the valley and the lavender fields below. I could hear bird song, and see butterflies dance before me.

This idyllic view was so different to the setting I found myself in the week before. I was in prison, not as an inmate! but as a facilitator on sycamore tree This is a course based on restorative justice, and run by a group called prison fellowship a Christian faith based national organisation. 16 inmates attend each of the six sessions, and learn there are consequences to their crime. On week three, they meet a victim,it may be of a burglary, or a more violent crime, and get to hear how the victim, the community, and the families of the perpetrator and victim are all effected. I would say that week three is the pivotal week of the course. Anyway, there I was on week six watching these young men receiving their certificates, some even getting up and apologising for their crime and lighting a candle as an act of restitution . Some will have written a poem or drawn a picture. Their victim is vicariously represented by the community of volunteers who help deliver the course and invited guests. The course is known to reduce reoffending, and for some it is part of their sentence plan. I do not make judgement on the young men, I don’t know of their crime, nor am I Interested I see men just like me,that may have been misguided, easily led, or just taken the wrong path, men that have a future beyond the walls of prison life. We are not allowed to promote our faith , though it is faith based yet I know that when I go in, I am taking Jesus to these men. They may not realise it, but I know that he is there among us. Sycamore tree does not work for everyone, and some will remain unaffected by it. It makes it more challenging as a facilitator , but does not deter me. Jesus came to eat and live with sinners, he does it with me, and I will continue to do it with those who for whatever reason find themselves incarcerated. On my bike ride, I see Gods wonderful creation over the fields of Kent. In prison, I see that same wonderful creation led astray by sin which has stained this earth. I see my wonderful God in both. I delight and am refreshed in the Kent countryside, and it will remain a good place to spend some time off- just me and God, but I am delighted too, and edified, and excited , and passionate for the God I meet In Prison. Jesus the great shepherd of the lost is there, and I know that that is where God has called me.

Sent from my iPad

[laurythecab-blog]

The sycamore tree and a taxi driver

Tuesday the first of July is my birthday, and I have decided to take a day off from driving my taxi. There is nothing nicer in my opinion than having a day when there are no concrete plans, and I can find time to indulge in whatever takes my fancy. It was a glorious sunny day, and so after breakfast I took myself off for a cycle. I have a favourite route that takes me through and above the Darenth valley, and this is the route I plan to take today,I am trying to get fit ,and there are lots of challenging hills. I cycle though Sutton at hone and on to farningham,meeting my first challenging hill as I cycle towards eynesford , well it's challenging for me. Eynesford has a ford by the bridge, but I am not tempted to cycle through it,choosing the stone built bridge instead. Then it's a steady climb towards shoreham and otford. This is where looking over to My right I see the spectacular view of the valley and the lavender fields below. I could hear bird song, and see butterflies dance before me. This idyllic view was so different to the setting I found myself in the week before. I was in prison, not as an inmate! but as a facilitator on sycamore tree This is a course based on restorative justice, and run by a group called prison fellowship a Christian faith based national organisation. 16 inmates attend each of the six sessions, and learn there are consequences to their crime. On week three, they meet a victim,it may be of a burglary, or a more violent crime, and get to hear how the victim, the community, and the families of the perpetrator and victim are all effected. I would say that week three is the pivotal week of the course. Anyway, there I was on week six watching these young men receiving their certificates, some even getting up and apologising for their crime and lighting a candle as an act of restitution . Some will have written a poem or drawn a picture. Their victim is vicariously represented by the community of volunteers who help deliver the course and invited guests. The course is known to reduce reoffending, and for some it is part of their sentence plan. I do not make judgement on the young men, I don't know of their crime, nor am I Interested I see men just like me,that may have been misguided, easily led, or just taken the wrong path, men that have a future beyond the walls of prison life. We are not allowed to promote our faith , though it is faith based yet I know that when I go in, I am taking Jesus to these men. They may not realise it, but I know that he is there among us. Sycamore tree does not work for everyone, and some will remain unaffected by it. It makes it more challenging as a facilitator , but does not deter me. Jesus came to eat and live with sinners, he does it with me, and I will continue to do it with those who for whatever reason find themselves incarcerated. On my bike ride, I see Gods wonderful creation over the fields of Kent. In prison, I see that same wonderful creation led astray by sin which has stained this earth. I see my wonderful God in both. I delight and am refreshed in the Kent countryside, and it will remain a good place to spend some time off- just me and God, but I am delighted too, and edified, and excited , and passionate for the God I meet In Prison. Jesus the great shepherd of the lost is there, and I know that that is where God has called me. Sent from my iPad

[laurythecab-blog]

Wonderful art

We have some fantastic art galleries in london, but none has a painting in that compares to the one I awoke to.,the view from my window. Overlooking our back garden, the sun already casting dappled patterns on the grass, the flowers in their glory, butterflies dancing about, three of them . And birdsong as the tits fly from tree to tree, and compete with the pigeons and magpies for food( there others too, but not sure what they are) I am not a poet and cannot express eloquently the picture I see before me, but it is the most beautiful of sights.in God we have the supreme artist, who loves us and delights in his creation, and his creatures. God delights in us, what a wonderful thought.

[laurythecab-blog]

A view from my taxi

Well I have finally made it, my first ever blog. I have been a london cabby for almost 25 years, which means I have done “the knowledge"and saw me out in all weathers for three years on a moped learning the streets and roads of london. It remains to this day one of the hardest things I have done,but the most satisfying. I may not have the correct grammar, or write in the most interesting style, but I have a qualification that most cabbies feel stands alongside a degree. I want this blog to reflect my views as a cabby, and as a Christian too. My faith and driving will always be linked. It is while driving my taxi that I cried out to God, " if you are there, (and it was a big if) give me peace in this very stressful job". Well God certainly heard me, because although there are still many times when I get stressed with the job, there is definitely a difference in me , since asking for his help. Twenty years ago I discovered that God is real! .
It was then that Jesus became the biggest part of my life. .I love london, all of it , not just the smart places to eat or shop, or the impressive buildings like Westminster abbey( to this day I have not been inside), but also the london of fish and chips,pie and mash and jellied eels. .I love talking about london, to those who will listen, and it is through this blog that I hope to share my london with you, good places to eat, where I take the good lady, and the history. The places I like to go to . Saturday evening, the sights and sounds of a london summer broken by the deep throat roar of a Maserati and a Porsche . Two rather quieter Audi r8's were there too, as was I in my taxi. I was holding my own with this ensemble of super cars but did feel somewhat the odd one out . I think they were all on some kind of city cruise and I was part of it, that is until the lights went to green and they all vanished in a Blink of an eye. It was the weekend of the great cycle event in london,a great idea, and I can understand the appeal of being able to cycle in our great city without fear of inhaling exhaust fumes and colliding with bus lorry or car, but - the road closures add an extra challenge to me as I strive to find alternative routes. Most people when you explain understand and are happy for you to try your best in getting them to their destination. The problem occurs when ,like my first fare on the Saturday morning English is not the first language. In this case the family were chineseThey managed with the aid of their map to explain that they wanted to go the short distance from their hotel on the south side of the Thames on Albert embankment to Westminster tube on the other side of Westminster bridge. I knew that Lambeth and Westminster bridges would be shut so headed off to cross vauxhall bridge. That was closed too, so back along Albert embankment we go. As we reach the bottom of Westminster bridge I try to communicate what is going on but they look at me blankly, so , stopping the cab , I got into the back and rather dramatically mimed that the bridges were closed, and pointed out on their map where they were and where they needed to go, I indicated with my left hand that they needed to turn left and cross the bridge, smiling and nodding to confirm they understood what i had said,They paid me and off they walked , straight Into the main entrance of st. Thomas's hospital!!