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A story from the Irish Times that made me laugh
What colour should our taxis be? Your entries
Saturday, July 16, 2011
On Wednesday we launched a contest to come up with a new look for taxis after the National Transport Authority said they should all be the same colour. Here are some of your ideas
Margaret Casey:
I’m standing alone on O’Connell Street
It’s cold and it’s wet and it’s grey
But along the road comes a rainbow
And it brightens up my day
“Are ya righ’ there luv?” says my hero
As I slip along the back seat
And he starts to sort the world out
While I begin to feel my feet
“The weather’s bleedin’ gorgeous
We can always do with a shower
I was in A&E yesterday
In and out in an hour!”
“The Government’s doing a mighty job
Getting rid of all the debt!”
The rainbow effect has started
There’s hope for Ireland yet!
Nicky White:
I propose that the new taxi colours be the 2 Tone colours of black and white. Used by the musical movement of the same name in Britain in the late 1970s, they have obvious resonances with that economically bleak period and current-day Ireland. The most successful 2 Tone song titles and band names, such as Ghost Town, Gangsters and Madness, also seem relevant to Ireland. We don’t yet have any ghost towns but are well on the way with our ghost estates. More seriously, symbolically these colours may also help to defuse the racial tension in the industry right now.
Giles O’Reilly:
When Johnny Cash fell in love with Ireland, back in the early 1960s, legend has it that he coined the song Forty Shades of Green in the back of a taxi heading to Dublin airport, so it is only fitting that we respect Mr Cash’s brainwaves. The concept of 40 shades would mean that surely across the green spectrum there would still be a chance for taxi drivers to show their uniqueness while belonging to the same tribe.
Joe Phelan:
I propose that all taxis be painted a weak shade of yellow, to reflect the typical taxi driver’s jaundiced view of the world. The interior should be black, to reflect the despair felt by many punters at having to pay through the nose while listening to a familiar script about the woes of the taxi trade.
Sarah O’Farrell:
Turquoise is the colour of communication (taxi drivers like to talk) and clarity of thought (they need to know where they are going). It’s the colour of calm (handy in traffic jams). If you mix blue (the sea – we are an island) with green (Ireland itself) you get turquoise. Perfect.
James O’Keeffe:
Instead of having just one uniform colour, wouldn’t it be great if the taxi colour could change when you got into it, depending on your mood or disposition. So red equals I’m angry, don’t talk to me; white equals I’m gonna be good tonight and easy on the sauce; green equals I’ve had too much to drink, take me home; or maybe I’m just being ridiculous here . . . the colour should be a nice beige.
Lucy Monaghan:
GAA county colours could be used: Dublin a Greek blue with a white stripe from bumper to bumper over the roof; Cork could be red with a white stripe; Galway wine with a white stripe; and so on. This colour system would prevent fly-by-nights and encroachment by unauthorised cars from outside the designated area. The taxi registration (permit) number should be printed on the roof to facilitate aerial recognition.
Stephen Walsh:
What colour should our taxis be?
Not brown – for that’s too hard to see
Not yellow – that’s just for the Yanks
And red, white and blue – I’d say no thanks
Cream gets too dirty – too hard to keep clean
And it would be far too Oirish to paint them green
Purple’s out of fashion and grey is too cold
And we simply can’t afford silver or gold
No if we want to welcome the Celtic Tiger back
Why not paint them in stripes – coloured orange and black?
Kay Hegarty:
A taxi to me
should be easy to see
Therefore yellow, no other
is the optimist’s colour
So we hope it will come
as we wait by the phone
And we hope that our journey
is pleasant and cheery
Hope also the vehicle
is clean and accessible
That music stays low
and the windows don’t blow
And that when we arrive
fresh from our pleasant drive
Hope to scrape enough cash
to hand over and dash
And the winner is..... Joe Smith
Irish taxis should, I think,
Be painted candy-apple pink.
Eye-catching, day and night;
Pink’s a colour that will excite.
Taxis would be efficient and fun,
A transport of joy for everyone,
Young old, tourist Paddy
Lad or lassie, Mammy or Daddy.
Pink is not a colour of choice
(except for Barbie and Mick Wallace)
So this colour revolution
Would also eliminate confusion.
Some may laugh, some may jeer;
Some may even think it queer
To use such a vivid cab as link
But all users can say they’re “in the pink”
Mr Smith wins a €100 book voucher
_________________
Kind regards,
Brummie Cabbie.
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