We use the disabled taxi twice every week, so we have got to know the taxi drivers quite well.  They are a varied bunch of people!

Chrissy is on a drastic diet because her brother is getting married and she is trying to lose 15 kilos (30 pounds) - proudly showed me how loose her jeans were after the first week (lost 4 kilos) but Christmas has got in the way since then and she is getting discouraged.  She also believes in the Rapture, and tells me she is a medium, and she does hairdressing at home when she's not driving a taxi.

Robyn is a primary school teacher and does regular days teaching in Sydney, which is a 90-minute drive each way.  She drives the taxi in school holidays, because they are putting an upstairs storey on their house.

Neal is always keen to finish his shift because he is building a mud-brick house in his spare time.

Christopher has written a book that he is trying to find a publisher for.  A historical fiction set in the time of Carthage and Hannibal.

But our favourite driver is Ross.  He is in his 50's, has no children but he has two cats and a disabled wife - I think a physical disability plus some sort of dementia, don't like to pry too closely.  He likes the shifts to be fairly slow, so that he can dash home and check on his wife and bring in the washing or whatever.  Ross treats his wheelchair passengers with such care and tenderness, carefully tucking in the blanket, gently putting Don's slipper back on his foot when it falls off.  He always greets Don with, "How are you going today, my friend?" and asks with genuine kindness, really wants to know.   He refuses even to take a tip, always insisting on giving me back every cent of change due. One of Ross's passengers had to go to hospital for a couple of weeks - an old man who lived alone but often got the taxi to the club for a meal out.  So Ross went to the man's home every single day, to feed his cat for him.

There are people in every walk of life who are sheer gold.