A Knowledge of London space

Our dining room is no longer for dining. It is now a 'Knowledge of London room'. Our table is now a massive laminated map, scattered with other maps, books, note pads, pens, post it notes and study guides. There's also a couple of pin boards and magnetic board on the wall for extra important bits.

It is the least used space in our home (other than the spare room, which is currently storage). It has a nice big table, and a large comfortable red leather corner bench. Its away from the TV and other general distractions, except the cats, who like to get involved and lay over anything you're using. 

No excuses now eh??

Maps!

Clemmy, working away

Roxie x

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Today The Knowledge is off.

We're not cheesy romantic types, so a night off from brain work and a Chinese take away will do just fine.

I did however post a quick question onto a forum at lunchtime asking if blue plaques were still considered points which could be asked, as I always thought they were, but the points guide we have doesnt have a blue plaque section. Anyway, turns out TFL got rid of them, which is good. To be honest, I cant imagine many people get into a Taxi and ask to be taken to a particular blue plaque do they??? I suppose it was about the general knowledge of London rather then being a pick up/drop off.

www.wikipedia.org

We're going to go back out on the road tomorrow evening after work or Saturday, we're still trying to work out the best time of day, especially as we're in a car and not a bike so we cant easily scoot through traffic, we're just wasting time and fuel. We had to cut last Sunday afternoons trip short because there was just too much traffic everywhere, trying to drive around the quarter mile radius was a nightmare. So weekend daytimes might not be the best option. Evenings, I was a bit worried about not seeing things properly in the dark, but we will have to give that a go. There's also early mornings before work, but I think thats a bit too much! We already leave for work at 6:15am, but if we have to then we have to.

Everything is still such a learning curve. If anyone is learning in a car and has any advice on times of day, that would be helpful.

I started this post by saying today is a day off, but I've just spent ages thinking about it. Thats a good sign I suppose, it should always be somewhere in your mind.. even on your day off :)

Roxie x

Road and Street

ROAD STREET ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD PLACE ROAD ROAD STREET ROAD STREET CLOSE ROAD PLACE ROAD STREET ROAD CLOSE CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET STREET ROAD CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD PLACE ROAD ROAD STREET ROAD STREET CLOSE ROAD PLACE ROAD STREET ROAD CLOSE CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET STREET ROAD CLOSE ROAD PLACE ROAD STREET ROAD CLOSE CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET STREET ROAD CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD ROAD STREET ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET CLOSE ROAD STREET ROAD ROAD STREET ROAD PLACE ROAD STREET ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET ROAD STREET ROAD STREET ROAD STREET STREET

Help.

Love Roxie x

All Systems Go

Hi everyone, Clem here.

It's been a while again since our last post - as we have mentioned previously the application process for the knowledge is quite long winded but I'm pleased to say that we've now been accepted into the process and can begin!

Our blue book arrived in the post a few days ago, packed with all 320 runs as well as a suprising amount of information to help us learn the routes properly and be able to recount them in the correct manner during an appearance. Routes must be relayed in quite a basic fasion, (eg "Left Kingsway, Right High Holborn, Set down on Left.") which brings me my first enquiry - how do you describe a roundabout? "Second exit" etc doesn't  seem to sit right.

We've also purchased a kind of Knowledge starter kit from Knowledge Point (a knowledge school), which includes a gigantic map of the 6 mile radius centered around Charing Cross, a detailed overview of the first 80 runs and points, and an audio guide to ensure you can pronounce road names correctly and to help you prepare for appearances.

We're approaching our initial learning with a sense of both excitement and trepidation. The sheer amount of things to learn is daunting at best but I'm hoping that once we settle into a learning technique the path ahead will be clearer. Our first run begins in the next few dsys, so fingers crossed!

Knowledge Point

Clemmys application came back successful, and he recieved the welcome pack etc. So we can now begin The Knowledge!

I havent actually applied yet, and my medical examination I did have, expires this month. But I'm not as confident about the whole thing, so I want to start learning before applying, I cant see the harm in this? I have no criminal record, poor health or driving convictions. So if it goes really well I could apply in a few months and we should remain at the same stage as there is a maximum of 2 years before the first test. The more I read about how difficult it is, the more scary and impossible it feels. Although Clemmy is feeling quite confident so hopefully his enthusiasm is catching because I am anything but confident and I haven't even touched a map yet!

So we have an introduction guide and a list of runs. What now?
After reading other blogs and forums we realised we need to have some sort of organisation to the learning and most people opt to follow a Knowledge Schools way of learning. Having looked at the 2 main learning styles for The Knowledge both WizAnn and Knowledge Point we decided that they both seemed equally successful and simple to follow, but we both felt more comfortable with Knowledge Point. Learning the points as you go along, with the runs feels better.

We have ordered a large laminated map of london, a smaller map, the first 80 runs and a couple of other bits (we need all the help we can get). They should arrive in a few days.
It still all looks very daunting, but I think we just need to start, its supposed to all make a lot more sense as you go along.. I hope this is true. As soon as our equipement arrives we will make a start on

RUN 1: Manor House Station N4 to Gibson Square N1

We will let you know how we get on...

Roxie

Application SENT!

I just had a look, and our first entry was in May, and now its November we've sent off an application at last! WOOHOO!

It was a bit more fiddly then we expected, and so ended up slowly going through the application process (plus we were a bit lazy about it), from the full medical (£55), and then paying and waiting for the CRB check and then changing the address on Clemmys driving licence and then paying to actually apply.

We sent it off last week. So that is at least out of our hands now. Now we wait. It could take months to come back. Im at the CRB part of my application, I need to get round to collecting my birth certificate from my sister, and then its a case of having the money to pay for all the parts of the application especially just before Christmas. Actually that reminds me, apparently the cheque I used to pay for my medical bounced, and so they have sent me a couple of letters telling me to come in and pay in cash. Problem is, I dont have a spare £55 at the moment so I better hope I dont get ill and need to see a doctor in the near future..

But atleast we can start - I cant imagine there will be any problems with my application form, so I will just start learning with Clem as soon he gets a reply. Its quite exciting. Although I will definetely get on with my forms, then its much more real.

If anyone knows of any couples who have done this, I would be really interested to hear about how they got on.. or didnt, perhaps.

Although I do doubt anyone actually reads this.. let alone know somebody in a similar situation.

Our meal at The Cube by Electrolux

Clemmy here, Hello!

On Friday we were lucky enough to enjoy a fantastic meal at The Cube by Electrolux, a temporary restaurant placed on top of the Royal Festival Hall by Waterloo Bridge. Roxie had won the opportunity through a competition in Woman and Home magazine. We looked it up and discovered that the lunch price was £175 per person, this really was a once in a life time opportunity.

We arrived and were shown upstairs, and handed a free glass of champagne so sip as we admired the fine view from the roof terrace. Obviously this is not something we are used to so we made sure we took in as much of this experience as possible. We were also offered canapés of Horseradish Ice-cream sandwiches, which were surprisingly delicious given the unusual combo of ice-cream and horseradish.

Hungerford Bridge

A brilliant mosaic of the world, made of millions of Lego bricks

Secret Garden on the South Bank

Waterloo Bridge

Soon our jackets were taken and we were ushered inside. We found a long table, to seat 20, laid out in the most immaculate fashion. Pots of herbs provided decoration, napkins were very neatly folded, and cutlery was laid out in blocks instead of the traditional "start from the outside and work your way in fashion".

We were sat down quickly on crazy 'pod' chairs, and introduced to our chef for the day, Sat Bains.  Bread and butter was offered by the very attentive staff, and we eagerly awaited the first course.

 

This was a fantastic course. It was Loch Duart Salmon, served with miso, passionfruit and oyster. Compliments emanated from the other diners as this one was eaten, and rightly so as it was lovely, even the little pickled mushrooms. Served with a white wine that clearly cost more than a tenner, my introduction to high dining had begun.

The second course was a salt baked celeriac, served in truffle juice. This was certainly the simplest course, but I liked it nonetheless. The truffle juice was my favourite taste in the entire meal.

The third course was the most traditional. It was slow-cooked mutton served with shallot 'textures' and lamb ragu. I've never eaten mutton before, though I do like lamb so this was quite familiar and highly tasty. I also found this one very filling.

 

The cheese course followed. It was a cheese known as 'Beauvale blue', which is only made into 6 wheels per year according to Sat Bains. It was served on top of a warm banbury cake with a port syrup glaze. The cheese was very sharp, and was almost too much but I persevered. This course was served with a glass of port, which I'm sorry to say I just found too strong.

Finally, the start of three dessert courses. A little pudding of three layers - Chocolate, yoghurt and coffee. My favourite dessert course by far, since I'm so into chocolate. It was served with a glass of red wine, which was very very sweet.

A lovely fruit course followed, consisting of pickled berries and a cheeky side of cornflakes, served over a breakfast bowl compote. I really enjoyed the fruit here.

To finish, we were served something very interesting. Lollipops made of mango, white chocolate, and curry. Somehow the curry (not something I normally think of as a dessert) really added to the taste, and I loved the presentation inside a wooden block.

Unfortunately, the meal was now over, and it was time to leave. I don't think I will ever have a lunch of this calibre again, I certainly can't afford one! I tried to make sure I appreciated every moment because of this, and we were very lucky to have the opportunity.

Update

Hi there, Clemmy here.

I can only apologise for taking so long to update this blog.
We're both still well and very much still alive but have not updated due to a move to a new flat. I'm pleased to say that we have upgraded from one bed to two bedrooms, and with a 27' living room to boot - needless to say, I'm pleased! We've mostly unpacked by now, but there are still a few stubborn boxes which remain untouched.

We still plan to begin the knowledge together soon, and have both obtained medicals, but had to put further progress on hold during the move. However, we will no doubt restart very soon.
The Smart car is still pottering along nicely, and should soon be due it's first service as we've already added 7000 miles to the clock. It's saved us an absolute fortune in travel costs over the previous months and still achieves around 76mpg on average, and I will never stop appreciating not having to pay congestion charge. I maintain that this will be the perfect vehicle for people in our position to practice routes in, especially as summer is starting to draw to a close (already!).

Tomorrow is a day off for us both, and a rare treat! We've been fortunate enough to win a free lunch at The Cube, a temporary restaurant atop the Royal Festival Hall. Lucky indeed, as lunch tickets at this venue start at £175 per person normally, and include a 6 course meal cooked by Michelin star chefs in front of you. This isn't something we're used to at all, and we'll probably never have something like this again so we'll certainly appreciate every bite :).

Night all,
Clemmy.  

London Bridge Olympic Rings

I've had to stay at home this week with an injury, So I haven't actually seen these for myself. But huge Olympic Rings have been put up on Tower Bridge to mark one month until the London Olympic Games begin. 

http://www.itn.co.uk/home/48763/Olympic+rings+on+London27s+Tower+Bridge

I think they look really good.. but then they mention the price.. £300,000! 

Good investment? 

Bird Cage hat anyone?

The Royal Ascot yearly race meeting is on at the moment. Horse Racing is not something I usually take much notice of. However, The Royal Ascot has been on the news a bit recently, because they have changed the dress code slighty, (I think) to make the Royal Enclosure a bit less 'common'. They've banned fascinators and strapless dresses among other things.

However in the Grandstand, where the commoners are allowed to be, they still allow all hats and fascinators, and when I was reading The Independent online earlier, I came across..THIS...

From: 

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/grace-dent-its-class-war-at-ascot--so-give-me-aintrees-finest-fillies-and-their-38-fascinators-any-day-7866521.html?action=gallery&ino=1

I thought I would share

The only thing that springs to mind is Lady Gaga...

Our vehicle

Hi there, Clem here.

I thought I would quickly post about the car that Rox and I will be using in order to do the knowledge.

We put a lot of thought into what to buy, and did consider a pair of mopeds as this appears to be considered the right way to do things. However, we live over 30 miles away from central London, and so a little scooter starts to become unappealing when you realise that you will have to travel for well over an hour on it before you even reach the start point of your first run - add to this the famous British weather and the potential for a very cold winter, and you end up with the realisation that you need to find something else. We settled on this:

Tah-daaaah!

It's our new Smart Fortwo cdi.

Room enough for two inside, and exceptionally practical. Our one comes with a panoramic sunroof (which will be a tremendous advantage in a car with already good visibility, hopefully most useful in learning landmarks and not missing street names, etc.), Sat-Nav (to be quickly ignored whilst learning, but handy to have for other uses), and a 800cc diesel engine (which is the best part - delivering 82mpg in town, and allowing the car to be exempt from both road tax and congestion charge).

To drive, the Smart is quite fun. Very nippy due to weighing almost nothing, and can turn on a sixpence. Quite easy to park too, though it doesn't feature power steering.

We look forward to learning in this, and now the journey up to London won't be a damp nightmare before we even arrive.

Fossil Fish for sale in London

Christie's is an Auction House in South Kensington, London which sells all sorts of collectables, antiques, art, wine, furniture etc. I've never actually been (I doubt I will ever have enough money even if I wanted to). But I do occassionally look online at the crazier things they sell. I mean even if you have too much money to spend, would you buy a 17th Century Elephant bird egg? I mean what would you even do with it?

Here's a few of my favourite recent sales..

Fossil Fish for £3,750 - it doesn't even look nice.

They also sold a taxidermy Flamingo for £7,250

A pre-17th century Elephant bird egg for £12,500

A pair of curved Mammoth tusks for £15,000. 

A specimen of petrified wood from the Lower Triassic for £1,250.
(I don't even know what it is)

Childhood Naivety and the sick Doctor

As I might have mentioned in a previous post, I was due to see the GP this morning, and thought that it would be a good chance to do something productive and hand in my Health Form at reception and start the long winded process of getting the examination done. We aren't normally around the area when the practise is open because we work quite far away so this was a good opportunity I thought.

Anyway, obviously it didn't go to plan as usual and I received a voicemail at 9am this morning (20 minutes before the appointment) saying that the GP has called in sick today. So I rearranged for next week as it was nothing that can't wait and headed off to work, where I arrived 3 and half hours late. They knew I was going to be late, it can't be helped, everything is good, everyone's happy.

But.. Although this was what happened in reality. I was surprised by own reaction to the news that the GP was sick. In fact I'm still not quite over it.

 THE DOCTOR HAS CALLED IN SICK!!?? WHAT IS GOING ON!? HOW CAN A DOCTOR BE OFF SICK!? SHE'S THE DOCTOR, THEY DONT GET ILL, THEY MAKE YOU BETTER! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, MY DOCTOR IS... SICK! WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO WHEN THE DOCTOR IS SICK? WAIT UNTIL I TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THIS HAPPENING!! I WILL HAVE TO SAVE THE VOICEMAIL, OTHERWISE NO ONE WILL BELIEVE ME!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not being completely naive, and I wasn't annoyed about losing the appointment or the waste of morning. The sensible part of me was thinking, Of course any person can get sick. Maybe a Doctor has more opportunities to catch horrible contagious illnesses off of snotty, rashy, pukey people. They're still human, with the same problems as the rest of us.

But, every now and then, the "Wow, the Doctor is sick" thought would come back. Which I could override with the sensible explaination. No one else seemed to be as surprised as I was about this, a few people even said "oh yeah that happened to me a while ago" like it was nothing unusual.

It was like fighting the truths of childhood naivety all over again at the age of 24. When things you thought could never happen, happend, or nice things you believed suddenly become not so nice. Of course as a child these include everything from death and illness to Santa and Tooth Fairies etc. But has anyone else had this again as an adult? Maybe it's just me...

Roxie

Aladdins Cave. Lewisham, London

So we were leaving London Sunday afternoon because I was working in the morning, and accidentally we went via Lewisham because of the amount of roadworks and traffic on our usual route home. This is when we passed this interesting place...Aladdins Cave Lewisham...

There was a young couple walking down the road, carrying an extra large Starbucks sign, presumingly from this shop which was quite a sight. This and the interesting, antique looking furniture, mannequins, and a large model camel outside, we decided to make a stop and have a look. we can't resist having a nosey in these kind of shops. There's a couple of shops in Crystal Palace, South London that look a bit like this, and we can spend ages looking around them. But we found this shop was different..

I've been wanting a mannequin in our flat for ages, but it's proving difficult to convince Clemmy that it's a good idea. Something about you will wake up in the middle of the night with one at the foot of your bed looking at you, or when you're looking into the bathroom mirror brushing your teeth and seeing one behind you.

There was a LOT of chairs. We weren't even sure how you choose and buy them..

Or how about some outside chairs....?

Outside they had a lot garden furniture that looked like it was from pub gardens, a pile of radiators, lots of catering equipment, sinks, toilets, fireplaces. I don't know how much damage can be done with it all sitting outside, but I guess that's the only place to keep it.

Then there was the more grand looking things inside..

I wish I had a use for a traffic light, I really do...

  

 

There was much more items then what I have mentioned here.

If you are ever passing through Lewisham or live nearby I would recommend giving this place a visit. You probably won't buy anything (well you never know, you might find something you never knew you wanted), but it's still worth a visit, or knowing its there if you ever do need to buy an over sized Santa.

We never bought anything in there, and there wasn't prices advertised so I wouldn't be able to comment on how much anything costs. But if I ever do convince Clemmy to let me buy a mannequin and decide to go there I will let you know how pricey or reasonable it is.

...Actually a Mannequin wouldn't fit in a Smart Car without sitting in the passenger seat, and that would be a funny sight!!

Roxie

I need to boil my eyeballs

London World Naked Bike Ride!!

I was at work this morning, and on the way home I looked out of the window near Victoria Coach Station and got the shock of my life... I saw a bunch of FULLY naked cyclist. Well that woke me up.

You will be pleased to know, I didn't even have time to get my phone out to take a photo to share with you. Apparently it's something that happens every year all over the country so watch out there might be a crowd of naked cyclist around a corner near you....

---> http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/ <---

As a quick note on our progress on The Knowledge application, I am handing my medical form into the GP on Tuesday, where they need to then ring me a few days later with a price (even though I and they already know the price) and then I can book myself in with a specific GP a week or so later. So we're edging closer. Slowly.

Roxie 

Medical Assessment

Hi all,

I'm Clemmy, the male half of the cabbie couple. I'm still engaged in the application process and can't wait to get started.

I've recently had my taxi medical, and as this was the first medical of any kind that I've had I thought I would write about it here.
In order to even book my medical, I had to first visit the doctors surgery on a prior occasion to book and pay for it, as well as hand in my half completed tfl medical form. I was suprised to find out that I was going to have to wait two weeks after booking until the medical took place, but there was nothing that could be done so I handed over my £55 and waited.

The days rolled by and before long it was time. I had to go in armed with my medical form (retrieved from reception) as well as a urine sample (to check for diabetes I presume).
I saw the GP, who first asked me a variety of questions about my medical history, ticking off boxes on the form as we went. It was all fairly standard stuff - do you have a history of blackouts? Epilepsy? A drinking problem? etc. I was fine on all counts, with exception of the slight case of asthma that I suffer from - however, this was not a problem.

I also had to undertake an eye test, which included a test of my peripheral vision, and I'm very proud to say that I read right to the bottom of the chart without issue. Next, I had to pop up onto the couch and have the doctor perform some sort of cycling action with my legs, I passed this as well, but it all felt very silly.

I was out of the GP's office in a flash, and I'm glad to say that I'm now certified as medically fit to begin the knowledge! :D

Starbucks Holborn

I was in London yesterday, and I came across THIS...

                                                            

                               ...a queue just to get into Starbucks!

The queue was going all around the inside of the shop too. I later found out it was happy hour, half price on Frapps, So I'm a little less shocked. But still, I dont think its worth queuing that long for a drink just because it's half price? Or is that just my impatience?

Roxie

Who are the Cabbie Couple?

Hello!



Firstly, we'd like to apologies for the poor and slightly cheesy blog title. We've discovered that neither of us are particularly creative and that is actually the best we could come up with after thinking for days.

This blog has been created because we have decided to learn the London Knowledge and become London Black Taxi drivers together…as a couple. Before anybody shakes their head and tuts and says it will never happen, we haven’t made this decision lightly, in fact we’ve discussed and researched the whole process in quite a bit of detail and decided to give it a go after months of talking about it. 

Whilst doing some of this research we couldn't find anthing about couples doing this and it would have been useful for us to read so thought we would do it instead. We did however find a few very entertaining, interesting and informative blogs and accounts made by people learning The Knowledge or as life as Cabbies which gave us a lot of realism into what is involved and how tough it can be before and after you've qualified so we also want to contribute as we've found them so helpful. Hopefully we can be of help to others, and also use this as a tool to ask questions we want to ask too.

Before we forget what the title of this entry is...We're a couple in our twenties from South London. We live together and recently migrated to Surrey. But still work full time in South and Central London, jobs which we plan to keep throughtout this process (We have a plan, to work around this, all will be revealed later). We have 2 Cats and 3 Guinea Pigs. We will blog both seperately and together about how it's all going. We're feeling optimistic and positive at the moment, of course this will all change when things get tough!

Roxie and Clem

If anybody wants to contact us our email is:

cabbie_couple@yahoo.co.uk