Blast From The Past : The Golden Days Of The W9 Night Shelter... By Jim Thomas.

Back in the late 80's early 90's, every night in the Warwick Avenue Shelter, was magic. The place was alive and full of characters.

Doing the knowledge was just the beginning, you learned more about the job from your colleagues in the shelters than any blue book.

We were  London Taxi drivers, icons, respected by the public and everything was possible.

For the late night drivers in the Warwick Avenue shelter, night after night, was always the greatest of all times. Probably down to the young female staff members, who showed the drivers what hospitality was all about. 

Most of the long standing friendships I've enjoyed in this trade, stem from the many hours spent in fantastic company in W9.

We had amazing sing along parties ....who could ever forget the late big Steve's rendition of 'I lost my tart in Fat Sam's disco'... karaoke nights, heated debates mixed with the occasional visit from a celebrity such as Pat "Bomber" Roach, Paul McGann (before he became the doctor), Dennis "Minder" Waterman, Kenny 'Faces' Jones, Boy George's drummer John Moss, Kiki Dee and even Mad Frankie Fraser, all regulars at the window.

Many actors living in Maida Vale would stop at the window and get a sandwich on their way home from the theatre. 

We'd sit there till just before 3am and then file over to the Victoria Casino which used to burst around 3. 

A maths teacher we nick-named Clive Sinclaire, regular rider to Richmond who swore he had an unbeatable system, they all thought they had a system. Some nights you'd see a saddened familiar face and hear, "done me dough tonight, will you take me and I'll pay you tomorrow"....and we did.

Another regular rider was Great Train Robber Gordon Goody. He used to go to East Dulwich. 

I remember saying to him once, "which way do you prefer to go Mr Goody?"

He came back menacingly "You can go whatever way you want son, but you're only get 11 quid". 

He then sat back and read his paper.

The original hit squad was born and ran from Warwick Ave shelter. We had regular hits on the Hombres, the Talk of the town, Sports Cafe, Tiger Tiger, OnAnon and Swallow Street. 

We even had a mechanic (Norman) who used to do running repairs in the middle of the road outside. There were a few complaints from local residents (mainly from the vicarage on the corner) but most were happy to have us there, as burglaries in the area were rare.

It was a sad day when we got the news that the shelter had to close at night,  but to our surprise, along came the original Royal Oak Cab Cafe', waitress service, pool tables and a 24 hour shop, fuel pumps and a hand cab wash, the fun was to continue.

There are still 11 Cab Shelters scattered around central London but most are in danger of disappearing.

       Johnny Anderson was Mr Royal Oak.

I nick-named the original Royal Oak "The Anderson Shelter" and got the idea for my first ever blog after talking to John about promoting the trade on Twitter. 

Unfortunately, both the Royal Oak and the new Royal Oak are now sadly gone and the only 24 hour dedicated Cabbie eateries and rest stops are the Kings Cross Taxi Centre -in Bookers car park, Camley Street- and Great Southwark Street. 

It will be a shame to see our historical cab shelters disappear, but drivers seem to prefer the chains of coffee shops and fast food restaurants, so it's possible, they will eventually go. 

Remember, when the go, they go for good!

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