As Valentine’s Day approaches, some of us will wonder what to buy our beloved. And some of the less romantic among us won’t – complaining that it’s just another Hallmark Card celebration…

Gerry was very much in the nostalgia camp. Every year he went out to buy twelve red roses. Very romantic! And being a creature of habit, every Valentine’s Day, twelve red roses would land up at Mum’s shop. Of course, she would have told him not to buy roses, but he ignored her and bought them anyway. 

On a less romantic level Dad enjoyed chatting to everyone when he was out from taxi drivers, to waiters and bar staff. He loved having craic with people. And he would always get into the front seat of the taxi and talk the ear off the driver. More often than not, the driver would tell him a funny story and Dad would be doubled over laughing in the front. Which, of course, made the taxi driver laugh even more. A hefty tip would often follow…

Dublin Taxi Drivers and Valentine’s Presents

Gerry wrote a great article for the Belfast Telegraph about encounters he had with taxi drivers all over the world. The funniest story is from a Dublin cabby who went to the trouble of buying his wife french silk lingerie for Valentine’s Day. But he couldn’t have foreseen where the knickers ended up!

My….Dublin cabby told me about Joe Dolan and his wife’s knickers. Apparently, the cabby had splashed out one Saint Valentine’s Day on some very expensive French silk lingerie for his spouse.

Two nights later, wearing the aforementioned fancy underwear, the spouse attended a Joe Dolan concert, during which, like many of her kind, she, in a moment of madness, threw her knickers onto the stage at the heavily perspiring Joe.

Finding the same Joe Dolan in the back of his cab recently, the driver related this sorry tale. I’m sure Joe Dolan raised an eyebrow when the cabby told him how much money had been invested in the exotic lingerie. And I’m sure Joe Dolan was surprised when the cabby seriously asked if, under the circumstances, he could have his wife’s knickers back. What use would the knickers be to Joe anyway and surely he doesn’t just throw them all away, does he?

He told me that Joe obliged him with a hefty tip. Well done lad, thought I.

Life according to Gerry Anderson: A gabby cabbie and a throwaway remark to Joe…
By Gerry Anderson, The Belfast Telegraph

Gerry and Joe have both passed on. Possibly to the great stage in the sky where the good people of heaven no longer require anything like a pair of silk knickers, whether to wear or throw at perspiring showmen.

And while I will be careful about my Valentine’s presents and where they end up, I think that the craic to be had on nights out and from sharing stories is where true love is found!