OH the weather outside is frightful … but Glasgow Taxi drivers are just delightful!

Where am I going with this?

I simply want to highlight a few fantastic gestures (and they won’t be the only ones) by drivers over the past week or so which deserve a little praise via this platform. We’ll start over at Glasgow Taxis HQ, from where again a little was given back this Christmas via the support of a few smaller, and less well known, charities in communities across the city. 

The FareShare festive campaign handed out around £1500 in total to some good causes just in time for Christmas, with driver Kevin McEntee on hand to dish out the cheques. 

This included some £776.41 going to Geeza Break based in Parkhead, while another £602.11 went to Well-Fed Scotland CIC in Whiteinch, both as deserving as they were appreciative with the monies going to very good use. 

The giving back continued on Christmas Day when dozens of drivers gave up their time to transport 60 people who live alone in the North West of the city and took them to Petershill Park to enjoy Christmas dinner together.

This supported an event organized by the Partick Thistle Charitable Trust, as part of the SPFL Trust’s Festive Friends campaign, an event which completely transforms the Christmas Day experience of these people. 

It’s heartwarming stuff but it’s also a fair effort by the drivers to be available at lunchtime and then dinner time, when they may otherwise have been spending time with their own families, so I take off my Christmas cracker hat to them all! Bravo to everyone involved. 

Speaking of Thistle, I must also give a shout out to driver Billy Mclachlan who does the Firhill pre-match shift at all home games, helping the elderly and those with mobility issues up that hill to the Jackie Husband Stand ahead of kick-off. 

And there he was on December 23, on a Friday night when the rain was lashing down, offering his services for the greater good – fair play Billy, again a great effort and one which makes a real difference to many people who might not otherwise be able to attend. 

Finally, I can’t write a full column about Glasgow taxi drivers doing good without giving a plug to next year’s annual children’s trip to Troon, organized by the Glasgow Taxi Outing Fund. Save the date –June 21, 2023 – the 76th annual trip. See you there. And with that, the final column of the year is done and dusted – I hope it put a smile on your face. 

Thank you for reading, Happy New Year when it comes and here’s to more of the good stuff in 2023. 

Stay safe!