For just over fifty years now, the taxi trade in Edinburgh has staged a yearly day out for groups of handicapped Children in the City - both physically and mentally handicapped. The idea is pretty simple - you get taxi-owners to volunteer their cabs for one day a year, you decorate the cabs and fill them with deserving kids, then you drive them to a suitable site with food, drink and amusements laid on, then stand back and let the kids enjoy themselves.
     Step One.      Getting Taxis for the outing isn't quite as easy as it should be, there is a hard core of regular volunteers but unfortunately every year there is a also a reluctance on most taxi-owners part to take even one day of from trying to earn as much as possible. I am pleased to say that the Company I work with - Central Radio Taxis - has been the best represented of the Companies at recent outings, but there is still room for improvement. As the taxis run in convoy through the city, disrupting traffic, the Police quite reasonably limit the number of cabs to 100, but even getting this number out of a total fleet of just over 1000 isn't always possible. This year we were lucky enough to enlist the help of several East Lothian Taxis to make up our numbers.
     Step two.      Decorating the taxis is left up to the individual drivers, mostly it consists of tying on as many balloons as possible, but some of the more imaginative efforts have to be seen to be believed. A couple of years ago the owner whose taxi I was driving (he couldn't drive it himself as he was one of the Committee organising the Outing), had managed to dress his taxi with a kilt - complete with sporran at the front and tam o' shanter on the roof.
     This years winner of the best Taxi float was Derek Brown (left) with the USS Enterprise - and there is a taxi in there somewhere - although there were some people commenting that Captain Kirk seemed to have put on a bit of weight! The balloon cars also showed the occasional flash of originality with "Jungle Book" (right) being probably the best example.
     Step three.      Preparing the inside of the cab is even more important than the external appearance. The number one essential is a good water-pistol! Both for self-defence and also so that you can get your retaliation in first. Other obvious essentials include a spare water supply, a change of clothing and a towel (or two). If I've somehow given the impression that one of the main priorities on the outing is to soak everyone in sight, then I've achieved my aim. But it should not be forgotten that the main purpose of the day is to make an enjoyable trip for the kids in the back of the taxi, so I always make sure that there is an adequate supply of sweets, juice, crisps etc., just to tide them over for the run from where they are picked up to the gathering point at the car park of Murrayfield Stadium ( where you receive a supply of sweets, crisps etc. as you come in). Some of the drivers dress themselves with more care than others, the examples shown here being among the more extreme! These outfits are usually changed pretty quickly, being the equivalent of painting a large bulls-eye on your back for the benefit of the more enthusiastic kids with water-pistols!
     Step four.      Once all the Taxis have arrived and the best decorated Cabs and Drivers have been judged, it's time for the procession to form up and proceed under Police escort through the city. As an aside I am sure that the job of being the Police escort must be some sort of punishment detail as the poor coppers are assured of being absolutely soaked before they even get to the main road! Nor are they the only ones, as you might imagine the procession attracts a fair bit of attention, and everyone watching from the roadside and from other vehicles on the road run the risk of being showered from the passing cabs. Particular attention is always paid to any Traffic Wardens spotted, I've even seen them chased up side streets by particularly vindictive taxis determined to take their one chance of the year to get their own back! The procession makes its way to Yellowcraigs with a mandatory stop at Musselburgh where everyone heads for the famous Luca's Cafe for their delicious Ice Cream which is handed out for all.
     Step five.      Having arrived at Yellowcraigs, everyone leaves their Taxis as quickly as possible to get down to the serious business of enjoying themselves. As well as the important duty of filling up any remaining space with the food on offer there are the other distractions such as pony rides, puppet show, bouncy castles, face painting and anything else the organisers have been able to think up. For the tired (or lazy) there is always the beach where one can relax and recover from the exertions of the trip down. One of the highlights of the afternoon is to watch some of the more energetic (or stupid) Taxi drivers make fools of themselves competing as teams and individuals over the Assault course set up by a team from the Army who very kindly lend their support to the Outing. I am delighted to say that it was a team from Central Radio Taxis which won the event again this year.
     Eventually all good things must come to an end and the Taxis are loaded up again and depart to return their cargoes to their various destinations. The return journey is not a procession and each Cab takes its own route, and since the passengers are usually keen to get home to tell their parents all about their day the trip is normally faster than the rather sedate pace taken on the outward run. This might account for the trail of balloons all over the roads leading back towards Edinburgh.
      Even after the last Taxi has departed however, there still remains the task of clearing up and preparing for the next year, and I'd like to take this opportunity of putting on record a vote of thanks to all the volunteers who put in such effort not only on the day but all year round to make sure that the kids (of all ages) enjoy themselves. And a special thank you to Scott Henderson for letting me use his Taxi on the Outing.

I would also like to put in a credit for the pictures used above. This page has been lying "under construction" for ages whilst I tried to find some pictures to liven it up. All the people I spoke to said "Sure I've got some photos somewhere, I'll bring them as soon as I find them." Eventually, a trade magazine - Taxi Trade Today - brought out an issue with a large feature on the outing and I've stolen their photos, so I'd like to say thank you to them.