The generosity of off-duty taxi drivers
…
ABOUT SIX MONTHS had passed since I’d left Sheffield for London. People were starting to make plans for Christmas and I, with my newfound confidence and appetite for adventure, wanted to celebrate it on my own. I wanted to do it differently.
I can’t remember why I chose Barcelona. Perhaps someone had recommended it. Perhaps the city had risen to my attention through watching their football team. Perhaps it was the cheapest or most accessible destination on the 25th of December.
A few days before my flight, I heard that the London Underground doesn’t run on Christmas Day. Google said it was 20 miles to Heathrow Airport from my house share in New Cross, and taxis were obviously way too expensive.
A bit of research revealed that there were a few Heathrow-bound coaches leaving from Paddington, but that was on the other side of town and just as unreachable.
The answer was obvious and, in my opinion, entirely in-keeping with the spirit of the trip: I would walk to the airport (and maybe try to hitchhike if I could).
The plan was set. I calculated that the marathon-length walk would take me around seven hours without stopping, so I gave myself eight.
I didn’t have to worry about dragging a suitcase behind me as I only took a backpack.
And I drew ‘HEATHROW’ across a piece of A0 card to wield as I walked.
Setting off from the little terrace house on Barriedale during the pitch-black hours of the icy Christmas morning, I walked briskly with a smile and a spring.
Within just 25 minutes, when I was beside the big Sainsbury’s on the Old Kent Road, my sign attracted the attention of a passing off-duty black cab driver. He pulled up alongside me, shaking his head, “Any other day of the year, mate.”
It turned out that as well as driving taxis, he was an electrician, just like me.
He drove me all the way to terminal 2, charged me nothing for the ride, and wished me a Merry Christmas.
I was at the airport nine hours before my flight.
⬥
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The artistic superpower hidden in your subscriber list
Between 2011 and 2017 I made what art boffins would call "socially engaged art"—art that somehow involves the public in its conception, production, and/or presentation.
The world is filled with angels, just when you need them!
My son loves doing thru hiking and has walked many trails in and outside of the U.S. One thing he impressed on me was how hikers depended on the kindness of drivers to bring them to trailheads or drop them off in towns to buy supplies. He asked me to be aware of where trailheads are and when I see people who look like hikers to consider offering them a ride. In the thru hiking world random acts of kindness are very much valued and practiced.