Traveling with Travis, or was I traveling back in time?
The FLK has an exciting new way to get to work.......
I took a Taxi cab to work last week. Not the luxury it may seem at first glance, I’ll explain further down this read why...
A nice morning, the sun was breaking through and shining in the way it does from time to time in late spring in the UK. Being half Swedish, I was brought up with the concept of ‘Mooning the Sun’, but this isn’t really the birthright of Scandinavians alone. When the sun comes out here, in the UK, for most, a smile will follow and shadow avoidance will commence.
The route taken by the Taxi driver that morning, let's call him ‘Travis’, was different from my usual route when using a bus to the office, a route I have used for nearly 8 years.
Main and occasionally busy roads, especially around peak travel times, were that morning, replaced in part with blurred views of peoples front gardens, curtains, colourful front doors, a felled dustbin or two, ransacked by a fox who can no longer live off the land or whom simply crave second hand plastic goods… And finally, the green of the Kentish countryside. Farming land in view and full of life.
Five minutes into the journey we passed my usual, scheduled bus. One that has become a little more packed in recent years, possibly a sign of the return to ‘normal’ after the pandemic.
I seemed weirdly excited, sitting forward to see if I could glimpse any of the regular punters, almost as if they were close friends. Were these people comrades of the commute, had I betrayed them by getting a cab? Shit, what would they say…….
‘The bus is nooooo longer good enough eh..?’
(John Cleese voice)...
But who was I missing out on this sunny morning, I had no names, never even spoken directly to any of them. In times of boredom, whilst listening to tunes, I’d rather make up their backstory than engage.
I’m not being harsh on myself, I don’t think a shared bus journey to work, pre 7am is strictly compatible for idle chit chat with strangers, they don’t seem bothered to engage either, being in your own world of spotify or you tube can feel a more comforting or safe space to be.
Travis placed his foot down and the bus was soon a spec in the rear view, so I had no idea if the…
Two people that get on the bus by mistake were there today - ‘This bus doesn’t go to the Hospital’ is the usual slow paced, eye rolling and loud retort from the driver, just as they panic and eventually jump off in the arse end of nowhere.
‘Student with hood up girl’ is there, headphones on and desperately it seems, trying to keep the outside world at bay. Hands pushed deep into her pockets as someone possibly saw her fidget once.
‘Large middle aged shortsighted man’ is onboard and spread akimbo across his double seat, who takes the considerable time and effort to shake his head and grumble at every bumped pothole, every bell ring, every arm stretched to stop the bus, every traffic light, every little old lady searching for her pass, every…. well you get the idea.
I felt relieved not to be in that space, that morning. Here I was, sitting in a nice car, window rolled down, a warm breeze, legs stretched. Yes, this was much better. But as we drew further on, I felt a nagging pressure to engage. I was sitting up front next to Travis.
(Please don’t hold me personally accountable for AI generated images, I’m new to all this)
I don’t like the idea of being ‘chauffeured’ around, ironic as I don’t drive and so have been hitching lifts most of my life.
To be honest, I think it's a ‘class’ thing. I’m working class, a grafter, just like cab drivers, yeah I’m paying for their service, but I want them to see me as on the level. In my tiny brain, if I don’t make an effort to engage, this situation becomes one of ‘hired help driving one's master from a to b’, rather than a cabbie, in reality probably financially better off than myself, merely taking a fare.
The ‘ride’ would be over 30 minutes and that's a long time for me, unless asleep, to shut up.
I know this reads as class driven bullshit, but I’ve always worked in a service providing industry, one that over the years has, on occasion, led to working in subservient environments, and I hate them.
I needed to talk to Travis, to pass the time, to chat, to let him wax lyrical for half an hour as he might not get another chance that day. I realise as I type this, that I may seem slightly mad, but bear with me.
What would my starter question for ten be? Well I opened up with the safety of the…..
‘Isn't the weather pleasant’,
then on to…..
‘More road works, would you believe it’.
Well yes Traivs would believe it and he encouraged me to book the fare 15 minutes earlier next time. Opps. Still I hung in there and followed up with the doozy of…
‘That was my usual bus we just passed, it is usually packed these days’.
Yes I know, riveting. I promise, I am getting to the point.
‘Filled with people DFL, no doubt.’
Was the reply from Travis.
DFL, meaning to the people of Kent, ‘Down From London’. A polite and backhanded way to identify ‘You ain’t from round here… are you Boy’.
I’m DFL too, but didn’t want to possibly sour things, just as Travis had ‘opened up’.
Then, despite how relaxed I had been, my seat became just a touch less comfortable.
The theories of a man called Travis.
Oh dear. My gut was telling me not to slide down the helter skelter I was now standing at the top of, but I just couldn’t help myself. So woosh, off I went, speeding down the loops and craaaazy bends of:
‘A deal with Lewisham council’, ‘blacks’ (humans with darker skin), ‘lack of jobs’, ‘Brexit, Nothing changes!!!’, ‘DEI’ (really!) ‘EDI’ (this was a bad thing for Travis), ‘The Reform party’, ‘Farage is brilliant when interviewed on TV’ (BLOODY) ‘Trump’ (Can I not escape him?), ‘Stupid human rights and the EU’, ‘This country isn’t ours anymore’, ‘Shia Law’ and …
‘Hope for the future’.
A nice way to finish.
These were not sound bites from the right hand drive, right wing, Travis had thought as carefully as he could about each point. He linked each with scenarios he had seen, changes in his community, things he didn’t like, personal experience.
Travis was genuine and at the same time on an exhausting bandwagon. I had 10 minutes left of my journey, traffic permitting.
I couldn’t disagree with how he felt, that's personal to him, even if his words were disagreeable to me. There was little or no personal malice involved on his part, but there was a bubbling undercurrent of a voice that had gone unheard for too long.
And from my point of view, a voice of willing ignorance.
His rhetoric was not something that is new to me. I heard it as a child from my English grandparents who were Londoners, From my father from time to time, before he eventually mellowed. From close friends and if I am honest from my own lips, once upon a time.
But this was in the past, a different time in society, a different me, before I had obtained my experience of what life can present to you.
I wasn’t shocked by what Travis said, but it did drive home the changes we are potentially on the cusp of in the UK. Traditional ideas of left and right in a political sense, no longer make social sense to so many, Travis and I have that in common.
So what did I do? This was early, pre my morning coffee. I could still taste toothpaste.
My silence was about to give me a problem, if I didn’t engage then it posed a question, was I not respecting his authenticity? He genuinely believed what he was saying.
That problem I could ponder for roughly 8 hours because as if by magic, I was outside my office. However I had pre-booked a return and asked if Travis would be available later that day to collect me.
I’m a little younger than Travis, my skin colour is a tanned version of his, my hair a little shorter than his, but annoyingly greyer, and our accents are similar. Our social experiences seemed similar, on the surface.
I’m not a narcissist either. It may seem or feel here, that I spent all day thinking about how I could take this mild mannered racist down a peg or three, that I wanted to lay a trap for him, to get one up, to tell him he is wrong. But he isn’t wrong, he is authentic to his experience and it's not my place to argue, but it is my place, if possible, to share a different outlook and try to relate with people.
The sun was still present on the way home. My garden is calling me……
Hi Travis, thanks for coming back.
It was a lovely day, the sun was so bright today, summer ‘round the corner…’
It reminds me of the summers I spent with my mother in Sweden as a child.
Yes my mother was Swedish, she moved to this county in the 1950s.
Funnily enough she did work yes, for the NHS, for 40 years.
No, my father was from London.
Yes you are right they do have high immigration rates in Sweden.
But no, I don’t think they don’t attempt to ‘’mix’, I prefer integrate, as we do here, I think it causes lots of problems down the line. Everyone feels alienated to some degree..
Yes we do have problems here too.
I moved to Kent 8 years ago. I love it.
When we moved, it was only my direct neighbours that said hello to start with…
Yes, that was a lonely place to be. Imagine moving somewhere alien to you or unfamiliar and no one taking the time to say hi even.
I wonder how those ‘black faces’ that have just arrived DFL feel every morning Travis?
How did my mum feel? Back in the 50s she said that Englishmen were gentlemen, they held the door open, stood up for a lady, doffed a hat or cap, said good morning, waited in line, helped their neighbour.
Yes she loved England.
Yes she saw lots of change. So did my father. So have I.
No she didn’t need DEI but that is the American term for a system of hire. EDI is similar but not an equivalent in the UK now.
How do I know?
I’m disabled so I’ve engaged with EDI at work. It helped me with my confidence around my disability, in turn I’ve been able to open up more and get out of the shadows. After all, being disabled is nothing to be ashamed of.
Yes, I learnt a lot, a lot about other disabilities, some my co workers have now felt they have been able to share.
Funny you should say that, as it covers all forms of how diverse our society is now, so I’m better informed on many things.
Yes it's a label I guess, in the same way Human is a label too, don’t you think?
No, I'm not scared to learn more or tackle things I don’t know much about or agree with, it's why I’m talking to you Travis.
EDI put me on a road where I could come to terms with my difference as it's getting more difficult for me now.
Oh what is? Life is.
I have been able to engage more with services that can assist me with day to day.
What services, well that last one was ‘Access to Work’, have you heard of it?
Yes, well that's what enabled me to use your cab service today, you’ve got paid, so it can’t all be bad can it mate.
I wanted to portray a more open and accepting viewpoint. In its nature less aggressive and divisive. But did I change his mind?
Travis listened. Possibly he felt as trapped by my comments as I did by his, but unlike me he engaged in real time and asked questions. At the end of the day I was his fare, maybe he was trapped by that also.
Was he showing me the good traits my mother would recognise in the Englishmen of the 50s? Were we agreeing to disagree? Or was he just happy to see me jump out at the end of my journey.
More information on ‘Access to Work’ schemes in the UK can be found from the address below. Engaging with this won’t necessarily mean you will need to engage with Travis either. I just want to help with expectations there…