The taxi driver begins in the usual way:
“Where are you from?”
I tell him Birmingham, which is near enough the truth.
“Not Yorkshire?”
“No, not Yorkshire. Why Yorkshire?”
“Jack the Ripper.”
“Jack the Ripper murdered people in London. In Victorian times. You’re thinking of the Yorkshire Ripper. That’s a much more recent case.”
“They never caught him.”
“Who? The Yorkshire Ripper? Yes they did. His name’s Peter Sutcliff and he’s in prison serving a life sentence. But Jack the Ripper, you’re right, they never caught him. They say that there was some connection to the Royal Family and his identity was protected. I don’t know. It’s never been proven, though there are theories of course. … Anyway, why are you so interested? Do you think all Mat Salleh’s are serial killers?”
He laughs and is quiet for a moment.
Then –
“Sherwood Forest,” he says.
“Sherwood Forest? That’s where Robin Hood lived.”
“You been there?”
“Passed through it in the car. It’s not as exciting as forests here. Anyway, Robin Hood was just a legend.”
He falls silent again.
“Buckingham Palace.”
“Yes, Buckingham Palace. So?”
“You been there?”
“Yes. Once.”
“What was it like?”
“Pretty boring. Lots of paintings. Shame we weren’t allowed to go round the gardens. Now that really would have been interesting.”
“You can’t go into the gardens?”
“No. Only when the Queen has garden parties and you have to be specially invited for those.”
He’s quiet for a minute.
“Queen Victoria.”
“What about her?”
“They chopped off her head for being unfaithful.”
“Not Queen Victoria. Ann Boleyn got her head chopped off and she was Henry VIII’s wife. I’m not sure about the other wives who got their heads chopped off.”
“She was unfaithful?”
“No, Henry VIII wanted a son and she couldn’t give him one so he got rid of her.”
But I’m curious. Where does his knowledge, albeit a little muddled, of all things British come from? Has he been watching documentaries on Discovery channel?
“I don’t watch TV. I’m a scholar. I read books. But you. You’re British but you’re not so interested in history?”
I tell him that I don’t like history when it’s about Kings and Queens. But I like it when it’s about ordinary people.
“Like you and me,” I say.
“And Jack the Ripper.”
3 comments:
at least you get an amateur historian! i get taxi drivers all riled up against teh govt, young kids, and asking why i was not married. eesh.
so funny! I love talking to cab drivers! Here, once they know I am from malaysia, they asked abt everything from Dr M, twin towers...and why I want to live here when the weather is so unpredictable.
yes, ben to the garden party but only certain parts of the garden are opened to the public.
dz - most taxi drivers ask me "How many kids you got?" and when I say none, they say "Why not? Your fault of your husband's?"
Kak teh - taxi drivers the world over love to talk ... and I've plenty more funny taxi driver stories.
Post a Comment