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Huzzahtheredcoat

Reddit URLhttps://www.reddit.com/user/Huzzahtheredcoat
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  • I've also just noticed a light has gone out on the right street lamp..... I have failed by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sat 23rd Feb 2019 10:01am)
  • Guess your not counting Aldi or Lidl... by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 24th Mar 2019 1:23pm)
  • I've had a chat with my old man, he's a taxi driver, he doesn't think there are any German butchers... he could think of some polish stores but no German. Bakeries his only suggestion is Cottonrake at 497 Great Western Road. He said there use to be on south side but thinks it's gone wholesale. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 24th Mar 2019 3:31pm)
  • I did see a 57 running around in the old Glasgow Corporation colours! Looked glorious! by Huzzahtheredcoat (Fri 21st Jun 2019 11:49pm)
  • This is a Glasgow sub, do any of us actually speak "English"? Last time I was home I noticed that even the local Scot Squad had started giving up on the English Spelling of Police and just started branding themselves Polis. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Thu 25th Jul 2019 12:26am)
  • Buchanan Galleries are just along the road and have a massive multistory carpark. For the duration you'd be parking it would cost between £10-£13. Doesn't seem cheap, but might be cheaper than parking further afield and having to use public transport. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sat 7th Sep 2019 1:47pm)
  • I've never known St Andrew's day to really be celebrated. At all. It's not like St Paddy's or St George's where folks go to the pub and get rat arsed on Guiness or Lager (delete as applicable). Scots defo put mor focus on Burns night (I can tell you the date for that but ask me when St Andrews is not a clue!) by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sat 30th Nov 2019 12:43am)
  • There was definitely a smattering of events in London (yes I know doesnt represent the whole country)... plenty of Morris dancers in Trafalgar Sq. Then as you say the bunting goes up in the pubs and the barmaid decides to have the st geos cross painted on a cheek or both. Its definitely not like St Paddy's. However you know when it's coming in England. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sat 30th Nov 2019 10:26am)
  • Cant wait to tell my Grandkids about the stories of the underwater neighbourhood of Govan... and the story of the sunken transport Museum that the PS Waverley stands guard over. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Tue 10th Mar 2020 9:07pm)
  • Glasgow has been trying to rebuild and regenerate since 1945.... it's just stopped and started for many different reasons over time. It may no longer be the second city of the empire, but is smiles better due to people making Glasgow... till the bubble bursts and we come up with another motivational slogan and redevelopment plan! by Huzzahtheredcoat (Thu 12th Mar 2020 12:53am)
  • I dont think taxis are sitting at ranks... but to be fair I haven't ventured out much, or was paying attention to them. However I know my step-mother used one last week. I have seen a number of private hires running around. My advice, if you want a black hackney give Glasgow Taxis a bell and book in advance. If you want a private hire give your local one call. Personally, I'd go for the hackney anti theft screen offers you and the driver some protection and there is card machines for contactless. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 3rd May 2020 1:54pm)
  • Spooked that as I sit here with my coffee and morning rolls and square sausage, reddit decides to bring this to my attention! by Huzzahtheredcoat (Mon 18th May 2020 11:51am)
  • Yes, I've been to Polmadie today, they are open to all refuse. Must have an address in Glasgow and be under GCC. Limited hours 1000 - 1545. Edit: now with extra LMGTFY https://glasgow.gov.uk/hwrc by Huzzahtheredcoat (Thu 25th Jun 2020 5:35pm)
  • Its great, raises my faith in humanity... even in the biggest crisis on decades people still want to help others! by Huzzahtheredcoat (Wed 8th Jul 2020 12:35pm)
  • Yea, there sending me 2-3 letters a month asking me to book in (I can't at the moment due to work related travel) but still nice to see that que and a wait - even if they are early, aren't deterring folk from meeting their appointments. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Wed 8th Jul 2020 4:55pm)
  • Was really really weird, being asked to mask up to go into the bank... by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 12th Jul 2020 1:58am)
  • Suppose I better buy a flat in Springburn soon... before the gentrification gets into full swing! by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 26th Jul 2020 10:55pm)
  • You realise it would likely be turned into a hotel you couldn't afford to or wouldn't bother staying in... or turned into apartments. Possibly, an already public room would be converted to a restaurant. The GPO building next door is nice but you ain't exploring it unless your renting an apartment there for £1000 pm. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 2nd Aug 2020 10:22pm)
  • Time to dig out the pound notes! by Huzzahtheredcoat (Tue 4th Aug 2020 2:37am)
  • Bring back the Corpy! by Huzzahtheredcoat (Wed 17th Mar 2021 7:58pm)
  • Just don't ask how the build of the new Ferries is going... by Huzzahtheredcoat (Wed 17th Mar 2021 8:22pm)
  • You mean Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd. A nationalised shipyard since 2019? The subsequent report discovering that said Ferries were less than half built and that 95% of the design had still to be agreed by CMAL, who is also owned by the Scot Gov. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Wed 17th Mar 2021 11:18pm)
  • Black Hacks are definitely not faring better. My Dad's a recently retired Hackney driver after 30-ish years, godfather and mother's partner both cabbies and my godmother owned and ran a Private Hire Company in North Glasgow years ago. The issues for the hackney's can be broken down into 3 areas. Uber and self-employed drivers, industrial changes and lifestyle. So a bit of background, 15 - 20 years ago taxis in Glasgow were split between the Hackney's and Radio Cars (Private Hires). For ease I'll refer to them as Taxis and PH's. Taxis are regulated and licensed by GCC, everything from their vehicle requirements to fares is set by the council. A benefit of this regulation is that legally they are permitted to pick up passengers from the street and have primary access to taxi ranks across the city. PHs are licensed by GCC, however, the licenses have to be sponsored by a company GlasGo or Uber for example. These are fairly unregulated so they can use standard cars and set their own fares, as such generally they undercut the Taxis. They cannot pick up passengers from the street, only pre-booked collections and they use to be limited by their radios ranges, hence why there use to be a number of PHs across the city. The two could work somewhat in harmony. PHs swept up routine contracts (some school work) and in advance bookings. I.e. you know you need to be at a meeting on Friday, so you call ahead and book a PH. Taxis do the majority of ad hoc work old dears coming from the shops, tourists landing at the airport and the weather changing suddenly so people dive in a taxi to get around the city. An example of this harmony is a Saturday night. PHs got people into the town as they knew where and when they were going. Taxis get them back out, when they just need to get home! Uber Uber up ended this harmony. No more needing to hope there's a taxi on the rank, no.more scrabbling for a telephone number to be told that PH doesn't cover your area and no more needing cash to pay the fare. Instead in seconds from your pocket you can book an Uber, see where he is, pay in advance and bish bash boosh done. Uber can also to a degree undercut the PH, who is also undercutting the Taxis. A fabulous race to the bottom! So now taxis are sitting on the ranks not making money. PHs arent getting as many call outs. People have lives to support so they move on. Industrial changes Let's be frank, the average age of a cabbie is likely somewhere between the late 40's to mid 50's. A good portion are later 50s gusting pension age or over. They, like my old man, have driven for so long that is now more habit and particularly in the Glasgow Taxis circles they have built friendship groups and societies on their ranks. PHs on the other hand (excluding Uber) are generally on average slightly younger mid-late 30s/40s. In both groups those that have been in a while are being faced with industrial changes, which are hurting the taxis more. So the older boys decide to retire, do less hours and or cab share. The younger guys who have families to support and want some more job security tend to jump ship to Uber ( who iirc offered(s) a bounty to drivers who already have their licenses), Amazon or one of the other delivery companies. So what are these industrial changes that are upsetting the old boys. Firstly, GCC have introduced a requirement for all drivers to pass an English language course. Not a terrible request, however, the driver has to pay for it upfront (it can be claimed as an expense later on your tax returns) and there are no grandad rights. So the fact you have been driving since there were horses and carts on the road is seen as an irrelevant. This is onto of the various other driver courses, that have dubious benefits and deliveries. Then there is the environmental changes. Emissions charges, banning of diesel vehicles, etc, etc is gradually forcing taxi and PH drivers to look at changing their vehicles. For the older drivers, who aren't making as much money, the prospect of shelling out £45,000 - £60,000 for a new electric Hackney is unpalatable. PHs fare a little better, as they have a bit more flexibility in their vehicle choices. Lifestyle Taxi driving can be a very antisocial life style. To make most money you need to work the evenings and weekend nights. This means that your days are often written off having coming home at 3-4am. If you have kids this van be challenging as they want you up to play at 8am, before you go back out to work again between 4-6pm. This then blends into the next point. People generally suck. Through the day its mainly old dears, people going to medical appointments, some school work (put the pen down kid!). They are infrequent ad hoc and usually now very valuable jobs. Occasionally you get a gem, a Glasgow Airport to Edinburgh Airport or Central Station to Carlisle due to strike or fall down in a transport link. As I mentioned earlier the money is really in the night work and that brings violence, crime and drunk people. If someone pukes I your taxi its off the road for 2-3 hours. If they are drunk you have the challenge of getting the fine and their fare off them - which takes more time and then you need to find somewhere to clean the cab out thoroughly. This turns a profitable evening into an unprofitable one rapidly. Even if someone doesn't puke (or other bodily fluid dump on your cab) you then have fare dodgers, who will give you a bogus address and bail out to get money from the house never to be seen again. If you are lucky someone will be stupid enough to give you a real address or better yet be incredibly dumb and mention their intentions while in the cab on the way. Violence and crime aren't limited purely to night - get stuck in parts of the city after an old firm match and you may have your taxi damaged, similarly some parts of the city kids throw stones and bricks at taxis. Then there are the punters that start getting aggressive and the crem de la crem, those who hold you at knife point for your float and earnings. There use to be a good counter to crims if they got in your cab - the automatic door lock and drive to the nearest police station. Now many police stations are gone or unmanned at night. The hassle and expense mounts. Some drivers hit breaking point and walk away, others switch to cab sharing by doing reduced hours (and then suffer when the cab is taken off the road due to damage or inconsiderate punters). Its a hard life for frequently less and less pay. I don't know what the solution is... self driving cars? But I, nor my old man for that matter see it improving. And it's not just limited to Glasgow. There may be a day where the iconic black hack is just in films... by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 17th Oct 2021 3:16pm)
  • Yea, it's not a fun experience for either driver or passenger. At best the impact is minimal (I mean the very best is they miss entirely) a chip in the paint, that then goes through dents to broken lights to shattered windows and injured people at the worst. It was a bigger issue in the late 90' through mid-00's. It still happens occasionally, but I suppose the fact that most kids are hurling abuse at someone playing COD means they arent hurling stones at taxis? by Huzzahtheredcoat (Mon 18th Oct 2021 8:21pm)
  • If I wasn't as tired as I am, I'd write some epic lore as to the war between cabbies and needs that would match if not surpass the Canterbury Tales and LOTR. Alas not tonight. It's the same as any yobbish behaviour, why vandalise (by vandalise I mean sharpie-ing your name on a telephone box, not the Banksy level street arts or even gang tags - they have a purpose... of sorts)? I seem to recall at that time nationwide there was reportedly some concentration of such incidents happening to Police, Fire, Ambulances and in rare instances trains and lorries. Probably stems from boredom, showing off to your mates (admittedly there is some skill required to hurl a stone through a window of a moving vehicle!) And black hackney's are a plentiful, easily identifiable target. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Mon 18th Oct 2021 10:21pm)
  • Yes, heard in the NW, trying to figure out what it was. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Mon 21st Feb 2022 3:05am)
  • Answered this a few months ago, think it's a serviceable response that will fit here. Warning; it's a tome! My Dad's a recently retired Hackney driver after 30-ish years, godfather and mother's partner both cabbies and my godmother owned and ran a Private Hire Company in North Glasgow years ago. The issues for the hackney's can be broken down into 3 areas. Uber and self-employed drivers, industrial changes and lifestyle. So a bit of background, 15 - 20 years ago taxis in Glasgow were split between the Hackney's and Radio Cars (Private Hires). For ease I'll refer to them as Taxis and PH's. Taxis are regulated and licensed by GCC, everything from their vehicle requirements to fares is set by the council. A benefit of this regulation is that legally they are permitted to pick up passengers from the street and have primary access to taxi ranks across the city. PHs are licensed by GCC, however, the licenses have to be sponsored by a company GlasGo or Uber for example. These are fairly unregulated so they can use standard cars and set their own fares, as such generally they undercut the Taxis. They cannot pick up passengers from the street, only pre-booked collections and they use to be limited by their radios ranges, hence why there use to be a number of PHs across the city. The two could work somewhat in harmony. PHs swept up routine contracts (some school work) and in advance bookings. I.e. you know you need to be at a meeting on Friday, so you call ahead and book a PH. Taxis do the majority of ad hoc work old dears coming from the shops, tourists landing at the airport and the weather changing suddenly so people dive in a taxi to get around the city. An example of this harmony is a Saturday night. PHs got people into the town as they knew where and when they were going. Taxis get them back out, when they just need to get home! Uber Uber up ended this harmony. No more needing to hope there's a taxi on the rank, no more scrabbling for a telephone number to be told that PH doesn't cover your area and no more needing cash to pay the fare. Instead in seconds from your pocket you can book an Uber, see where he is, pay in advance and bish bash boosh done. Uber can also to a degree undercut the PH, who is also undercutting the Taxis. A fabulous race to the bottom! So now taxis are sitting on the ranks not making money. PHs arent getting as many call outs. People have lives to support so they move on. With this Uber drivers have become semi-professional market manipulators. They know there is scarcity and know how to use the app to drive up prices, they won't take anything except surge rates and very short journeys are not worth their while. Industrial changes Let's be frank, the average age of a cabbie is likely somewhere between the late 40's to mid 50's. A good portion are later 50s gusting pension age or over. They, like my old man, have driven for so long that is now more habit and particularly in the Glasgow Taxis circles they have built friendship groups and societies on their ranks. PHs on the other hand (excluding Uber) are generally on average slightly younger mid-late 30s/40s. In both groups those that have been in a while are being faced with industrial changes, which are hurting the taxis more. So the older boys decide to retire, do less hours and or cab share. The younger guys who have families to support and want some more job security tend to jump ship to Uber ( who iirc offered(s) a bounty to drivers who already have their licenses), Amazon or one of the other delivery companies. So what are these industrial changes that are upsetting the old boys. Firstly, GCC have introduced a requirement for all drivers to pass an English language course. Not a terrible request, however, the driver has to pay for it upfront (it can be claimed as an expense later on your tax returns) and there are no grandad rights. So the fact you have been driving since there were horses and carts on the road is seen as an irrelevant. This is ontop of the various other driver courses, that have dubious benefits and deliveries. Then there is the environmental changes. Emissions charges, banning of diesel vehicles, etc, etc is gradually forcing taxi and PH drivers to look at changing their vehicles. For the older drivers, who aren't making as much money, the prospect of shelling out £45,000 - £60,000 for a new electric Hackney is unpalatable. PHs fare a little better, as they have a bit more flexibility in their vehicle choices. Then another nail is the current cost of living increase, hackney's have to be serviced to a high standard (believe it or not), these services and cleaning of the taxi are becoming more expensive. Shifts are long so there's food charges like every other worker... That's before we talk fuel. Lifestyle Taxi driving can be a very antisocial life style. To make most money you need to work the evenings and weekend nights. This means that your days are often written off having coming home at 3-4am. If you have kids this can be challenging as they want you up to play at 8am, before you go back out to work again between 4-6pm. This then blends into the next point. People generally suck. Through the day its mainly old dears, people going to medical appointments, some school work (put the pen down kid!). They are infrequent ad hoc and usually now very valuable jobs. Occasionally you get a gem, a Glasgow Airport to Edinburgh Airport or Central Station to Carlisle due to strike or fall down in a transport link. As I mentioned earlier the money is really in the night work and that brings violence, crime and drunk people. If someone pukes I your taxi its off the road for 2-3 hours. If they are drunk you have the challenge of getting the fine and their fare off them - which takes more time and then you need to find somewhere to clean the cab out thoroughly. This turns a profitable evening into an unprofitable one rapidly. Even if someone doesn't puke (or other bodily fluid dump on your cab) you then have fare dodgers, who will give you a bogus address and bail out to get money from the house never to be seen again. If you are lucky someone will be stupid enough to give you a real address or better yet be incredibly dumb and mention their intentions while in the cab on the way. Violence and crime aren't limited purely to night - get stuck in parts of the city after an old firm match and you may have your taxi damaged, similarly some parts of the city kids throw stones and bricks at taxis. Then there are the punters that start getting aggressive and the crem de la crem, those who hold you at knife point for your float and earnings (less frequent these days!). There use to be a good counter to crims if they got in your cab - the automatic door lock and drive to the nearest police station. Now many police stations are gone or unmanned at night. The hassle and expense mounts. Some drivers hit breaking point and walk away, others switch to cab sharing by doing reduced hours (and then suffer when the cab is taken off the road due to damage or inconsiderate punters). Its a hard life for frequently less and less pay. I don't know what the solution is... self driving cars? But I, nor my old man for that matter see it improving. And it's not just limited to Glasgow. There may be a day where the iconic black hack is just in films... by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sat 28th May 2022 11:55pm)
  • No worries, it's a complicated issue that I've got experience with... the thing to note is the last part. Glasgow is not the only city experiencing this. I took a couple of taxi rides in London last autumn, I picked drivers with the next electric taxi as I wanted to see the difference, and the issues in Glasgow are similar to London... and I'd bet Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, etc.... by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sun 29th May 2022 12:24am)
  • You are correct 2013 was the last proper consultation, it was decided to make s modest change, to change from pink tarmac to grey in time for the Commonwealth Games... Some of the proposals were.. odd.. and would not have achieved the desired result of a nice place to sit as I think 3/4 of the 6 designs included water features taking up most the space.... they look awful IMHO. [BBC Article from the time](http://BBC News - George Square revamp: Six designs on display http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-20948763) by Huzzahtheredcoat (Wed 8th Jun 2022 2:43pm)
  • I go by the Greater Glasgow metric as subscribed to be the Scottish Registrar. If its good enough to count the population by and list births, deaths and marriages then its good enough for me. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Thu 29th Sep 2022 10:41pm)
  • See Scotrail. Nationalised does not nagically mean sunshine and rainbows. Nor does it mean more drivers magically appearing out of no where. Yes, nationalised buses mean that the money goes back into the treasury, but never confuse that a government asset not being driven by profits to equate to better pay, resources and investment. Nationalised assets can be cut out due to public budget cuts, public assets can be run the cheapest way possible, so the gov can cream the "profits" to another department. Nationalisation is not a magic bullet. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Fri 14th Oct 2022 2:51pm)
  • Not seen the low hanging fruit yet. Get a wish.com gothic frock style coat, some black rope, and pretend jewery and a traffic cone hat. Go as the Duke of Wellington statue by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sat 15th Oct 2022 12:24pm)
  • I mean it's getting dashed in the bin, but I've taken the time to read it. Reminds me of a Malcolm Tucker quote, out of context. Blimey! A letter, I didn't expect that! Handwritten, you don't see that anymore - old school. respect. Still not drinking the coolade. by Huzzahtheredcoat (Sat 27th May 2023 10:36pm)