A talk with a Bulgarian taxi driver

 

I went to do outreach in a South London suburb I have never been to before and my boss let me book a taxi.

On the way out I was tired and apprehensive about the day so although I picked up that my driver was not English by birth, other than a few pleasantries I kept quiet in my own thoughts.

On the way back I could relax.  My second driver was Bulgarian.  I told him I had been to Sunny Beach and Pampolova about 25 years ago and that I loved it and I saw dancing bears.

This got us talking about Gypsies and then because we were talking about culture – Muslims and Black people.  You realise how multi-cultural and tolerant London is when he told me that in Bulgaria they would not serve Gypsies or Muslims in the same shops.  According to my taxi driver there are Muslim towns in Bulgaria where they are allowed to have Mosques, but nowhere else.

I asked him if he spoke another language apart from English and he said Russian.  As he doesn’t like where he lives in London I asked why he had not considered Russia.

I have never been to Russia, but he told me that outside of the big cities they don’t have shoes.  They must have something on their feet, but he didn’t tell me what.

He said that in Bulgaria – away from the coastal resorts – they own their houses and flats, but you can’t earn enough to live on.  He said that food prices were the same as England.  If you wanted to buy a television you would need a bank loan.

He talked about the ‘luxury’ of having more than one child.  He was very anti people having children they could not afford.

 

He told me about his fares.  Every evening/night some 2,000 taxis go to Canary Wharf because after 10pm bank workers there can all get taxis home.  He also said he did a lot of picking up train drivers and taking them from one station to another to pick up different trains.

It was an interesting hour.

 

The attached photo is protesting flats against more high tower building blocking their light in Golden Lane Estate EC1.