The heirs to centuries of tradition, London’s taxis are a reassuring presence for those labouring in the capital – the promise of a swift journey should such be needed or wanted – and for visitors, even first-timers who will know the vehicles from a hundred films and TV programmes, or in the case of younger tourists from chunky die-cast models. They qualify, therefore, as a great British institution.
Long before they were motorised the horse-drawn hackney cabs of London were a welcome sight on the great thoroughfares of that city, as their turn-on-a-sixpence descendents remain today. And a sound of course – the characteristic engine note of the majority part of the music of the streets. For fares within the cabs that sound also includes a conversation with the cabbie, or sometimes his or her monologue as few drivers are short of views and small-talk. That communication often opens with the gambit: “Guess who I had in the back of my cab the other day?” though you may spot some famous people in the front of the vehicles too: Stephen Fry and Prince Phillip both drive them for anonymity and practicality; and the 1980 Mastermind winner Fred Housego didn’t drop the day job when he went on to establish a media career.
Whatever your opinion of their opinions, however, London cabbies are respected for The Knowledge, the amazingly demanding test of routes and landmarks they must pass before being granted their taxi licence, an ordeal brought to life by the late-great Jack Rosenthal in his TV drama of the same name. For some reason I can’t recall him including refusal to go ‘south of the river at this time of night’ as part of their training though.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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