Golden Apple of Discord

To watch humanity is my little game. We the People are predictably vain and selfish. Anything could become the Golden Apple of Discord. One night, me and a fellow rider Julian P., we stopped in front of that NCP car park on the corner of Lexington and Brewer St. in Soho. A young couple was passing by. She was one of those ladies who imprudently wear a very high heels and then you can see them stumbling around like disabled (if you have a disability, please, turn a blind eye at this metaphor) up to about 3 am. Later, fed up and shitfaced, off they go shamelessly bare-feet, holding tight their stilettos. The couple saw our rickshaws and brazenly asked for a free lift. As it wasn't happening for the first time, I quickly rose to the occasion and, innocently, asked them where were they going. As usual, it apparently was "just to that corner there". Hearing that I offered them a lift for a fiver. They said it was too much or that they didn't have any cash on them... "I see." I played along. "If so, I can give a free lift to the lady here but you, sir," - I addressed the fellow - "will have to walk." She was delighted and immediately moved towards my rickshaw when he literately pulled her away and moved on. "What are you doing?" She squeaked defiantly. "Are you looking for an argument?" He answered boldly and kept pulling her away. Struggling on her high heels she followed clumsily. Eris the Greek goddess of chaos, strife and discord laughed loudly in my ear. ^_^

Eris by telthona1

Dinner with Swedish king

Love, love, love! Sudden and unexpected strikes of passion - isn't it what human nature is all about? "Sex and violence" - was the song from The Exploited. The lyric succinctly, however very accurately indeed, describes what humans like to do the most, when off duty. A lot of booze is also (not) to be (v)omitted. When everything goes smoothly enough, there's no need to throw up nor fight. Winner takes all. That may even include a lost, lovely bird willing to spend the rest of the night with you. A hotel room is all you need.

Unfortunately that is the root of all problems. London town is a busy one. No matter day of the week, hotels are always full. A rickshaw rider is very often asked for help. I am never overenthusiastic about this kind of a challenge. It takes ages to find a vacancy and not every customer is generous enough to appreciate your efforts. And as the wind blows emotions grow cold... You not gonna believe it but there are some jokers out there who dare to offer one a "no room - no fare" deal...

Sometimes there's no choice left. Something is better than nothing. It's always a long journey and we talking here about visiting about 15 - 20 hotels minimum. Often a customer believes that he possesses some magic powers and insists on doing the talking himself. That leaves you alone with the pray for a while. One lady once kept assuring me (and probably herself as well) that: "He's not seedy, you know?" As if she knew him forever. But that's exactly how we click, isn't it? The short lasting feeling of "it seems like we've been knowing each other forever" is a key factor.

Another night I met that couple. That guy was Swedish, really cool and well spoken. He informed me right away that in case I find them a room he will get me a dinner with the Swedish king. How could I refuse? It wasn't easy. Journey was long and challenging. I was even stopped by the police who performed some routine check on me. My passenger kept shouting that he will pay all the fines, even though the officers assured him that there were no fines whatsoever. Finally we found a place. Object of his desire had the highest high heels I have ever seen in my life. I'm sure he deserved it. He was a gentleman and he knew well how to prove his appreciation in terms of money. At least that time finding a hotel for my customers was a good fun.