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ensure that his usually bedraggled appearance was cast off in favour of a leisure suit jacket and some corduroy slacks.
     
    “ Looking good Jimmy.” Joshua said as he stood to greet his source.
     
    “ Well, I don’t come to these posh places very often. Thought I’d make an effort.”
     
    Joshua shook Jimmy's hand firmly and asked him what he would like to drink. Jimmy hesitated as if embarrassed by his regular brew.
     
    “ A pint of bitter please.”
     
    “ Any particular?”
     
    “ Nah, anything thanks.”
     
    Joshua watched Jimmy from the bar. He could not help but feel sorry for the cabby, he was indeed a fish out of water and he fidgeted incessantly on the luxurious chair as if he felt he did not deserve the privilege to sit there.
     
    Joshua placed the frothing vessel before Jimmy who swiftly whipped it from his grasp and chugged a third of the glass before Joshua had the chance to sit back down.
     
    “ I'm very glad you came. It sounds like you have quite a story to tell. I just want you to know that at this stage I’m just gathering information. I can't guarantee anything you say will be put into print, however, if you are OK with it, I may use your account in detail, is that alright with you?”
     
    Jimmy nodded, never looking away from his pint. Joshua could detect his unease and decided to take it easy at first.
     
    “ So Jimmy, You've been a taxi driver for a long time then?”
     
    “ Yup.” The answer was short and to the point but Joshua would need more than monosyllabic answers to his questions if he were to progress. Joshua tactically altered his tack.
     
    “ I bet your taxi cab was a bit different when you started out eh?”
     
    “ Hmm, yes, very different. Drove like a tank, cold, uncomfortable ride, although that never bothered me. I'm into classic cars from the 60's and 70's, they didn’t have air conditioning in those days did they?”
     
    Joshua smiled and nodded. He knew that at heart, Jimmy was a conversationalist, all he needed to do was dissipate the nervousness. Joshua decided then that he would not even mention the reason why he was there until after dinner and a couple more drinks. Best to fill Jimmy's stomach then tackle the issue at hand.
     
    Jimmy certainly took Joshua's hospitality and ran with it. Unable to resist the mixed grill, Jimmy chose the most expensive meal on the menu and then gorged himself on a platter of well cooked meats whilst washing them down with a quantity of ale. Joshua hoped that the end product would be worth the hit to his pocket, he was not on expenses yet. As the beer flowed and the desert menu was offered, Joshua could barely get a word in edgeways as Jimmy bent his ear about the state of the London highways, taxi politics and a dispute with his neighbour concerning a tree that overhang his garden fence. Joshua knew that if he didn't get him upstairs soon that he would talk, eat or drink himself into a stupor and be a lame duck in terms of a productive interview.
     
    One chocolate torte later, Joshua invited Jimmy to his room with the enticing lure of a bottle of single malt which the journalist had cleverly bought earlier. Jimmy came across as a good fellow, not the brightest but the 'salt of the earth', a well meaning loner who had seen better days. As the taxi driver swirled the pungent whiskey around in the glass, he looked up to the ceiling, his eyes were glazed. Joshua could tell that this was going to be a big ask on Jimmy, he had obviously been emotionally traumatised by his experience in whatever manner it transpired. Joshua pulled his striped tie away from his collar and took a seat opposite. The room suddenly fell unnervingly quiet as they realised they were at the business end of the evening.
     
    “ I know that you're not going to believe a word I tell you.” Jimmy started. Joshua expected this, his subject was not wrong. Joshua was always sceptical to begin with and offered the chance to be proven incorrect rather than