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In Which I Name And Shame
October 9, 2007 by Mike
Sintra
Here's a little BesideTheSeaside special.
Here's the taxi, registration 70-44-JZ, which tried to overtake me in the middle of Sintra this afternoon as I was riding.. just above the speed limit.. up a steep hill in a crowded, busy part of town. Just as the schools were disgorging their children for the day.
As it pulled out to overtake I slowed down *in horror* because he was speeding the wrong way towards the crest of a hill and had *no* way of knowing if it was clear. On the contrary, we both knew the road was busy -- lots of cars had just passed us going in the other direction. I slowed down.
Sure enough, a bus came over the hill, the taxi braked sharply.. I had to accelerate to allow him to nip in behind me.. the bus roared past.. horn blaring.. full of old ladies, just to emphasise how *stupid* the taxi had been.. and then.. I can almost laugh now.. he got so furious that he was still behind me that he pulled up *so* close that I thought he was going to ram the bike. *Bastard*! Remember, we're still driving through town.. but then.. we're forced to stop for a road junction.. a road junction this local cabbie must have known was coming.. and yet he *still* tried a suicidal overtake moments before.
So, driver of the creamy-white Mercedes, registration 70-44-JZ, you skinny, white haired *maniac*, you check-shirt and jeans-wearing and you're-too-old-to-dress-like-that *psychopath*.. when we were stopped at that junction and I got out my camera and took a picture of you, here it is.
"Famoso.. celebro.. sua taxi!", I shouted at you, in cod-Porrtuguese.
Yeah, well you're not going to get 'famous' here. But the Internet's a funny thing, and if just *one* tourist in beautiful, timeless Sintra ever even *hesitates* to get in yr cab.. the creamy-white Mercedes, registration 70-44-JZ.. because they found out here that you're not fit to play with a Tonka toy in a sandpit, let alone get behind the wheel of a real, live car.. then Tim Berners-Lee can die a happy man.
That registration number again -- 70-44-JZ.
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By steve | October 17, 2007 9:23 PM
Good work, citizen.