Cabbie takes chat to a new level (From Swindon Advertiser)

Cabbie takes chat to a new level

7:40am Friday 19th March 2010 in

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A SWINDON taxi driver has turned the stereotype of the talkative cabby on its head with his own joke message to outwit passengers.

Tony McLellan, of Colchester Close, Toothill has had a note up for the past week telling his customers they need not make polite conversation with him.

He has then given them a list of complex head scratching subject matter to choose from to engage him in discussion if they wish to.

The 69-year-old Irishman, who has been a cab driver in Swindon for the last 13 years, said: “It was just done to have a bit of a laugh. Tongue in cheek is the expression I would use.”

Mr McLellan, came up with the unusual slogan after reading an ongoing debate on talkative cabby drivers in The Daily Telegraph.

His message reads: “The driver will not instigate a conversation, but should you wish to have one please note that I have a good grasp of the following topics: theology, myotonia, synaesthesia, gnosticism, phyletics, Daniel’s 70 weeks, myrmecology, synapomorphy, cyanosis, as well as an opinon about shyster politicians.

“The only subject I profess ignorance of is ‘er indoors.”

Mr McLellan, who used to run a pub in London’s East End, composed most of the message while driving along the Great Western Way.

“I was driving and was thinking about this because the customer wasn’t talking,” he said.

“I don’t force the issue, if they don’t want to talk I won’t say a word.

“If a customer wants to talk, I’ll talk, I usually use a number of topics I’m reasonably well read on from the university of life, but I don’t force myself on anybody.”

Though Mr McLellan said he is well read due to his spare time waiting for jobs, he confessed he did not know much about the topics beyond a basic dictionary definition.

He said: “I just checked out what the words meant.

“I’m not an expert in all these things, but I know what they mean.”

He said he has had some reaction from customers.

“They become afraid to talk, they think this guy’s a right brain box.

However, he said if he encounters a true expert on one of these subjects, he is not too worried about his sketchy knowledge being exposed.

“I’m too old to worry,” he said.

Though Mr McLellan does encounter silent passengers, he said in other cases he can end up performing the role of counsellor as well as cab driver. He said: “You have people that have had a row with their girlfriend. They’re telling me about their love lives, girlfriends and boyfriends and asking what should they do.

“It’s amazing what people tell you especially if they get a few drinks in them.”