Nissen Hut, Any Good?

Who is behind The Nissen Hut blogsite?

Will we ever know? Maybe one day we will, but for now we have to accept that this site has an agenda all of its own.

They say that immitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and the Nissen Hut has plagerised the style of the most succesful London Taxi Trade blogsite, The Anderson Shelter. Their names are reminiscent of the old WWII air-raid shelters, although I believe the Nissen huts were not quite as bomb-proof as the Anderson Shelters of the same period.

The Anderson Shelter is a very forthright and pro-active forum for taxi drivers and is run by Jim Thomas, a licensed London taxi driver of many years experience. Jim has been at the forefront of the battle to stand up for the rights of taxi drivers at a time when lawlessness on the streets of London have become the norm over the last several years.

The unfortunate thing is, though, some within the London taxi trade do not appreciate Jim's hard and effective campaigning! Why? It would seem as though the largest of the trade organisations that purports to fight for the rights of London's taxi drivers is more interested in preserving the status and benefits that come from such a position. This organisation is the Licensed Taxi Driver' Association (LTDA), headed by Bob Oddy.

Mr. Oddy sits on the Board of Transport for London (TfL) and has earned himself the nick-name of "Silent Bob" because of his silence over many of the issues that affect the working taxi driver in London. His acquiesence on many of the trade's issues have made him very unpopular with many in the trade, but somehow, this silence seems to have preserved his status on the TfL Board. Very strange, indeed!

Anyway, back to the Nissen Hut blog: This blogsite was setup to discredit the good work of the Anderson Shelter, and there is a growing suspicion that the authors of this site are a number of people who support Bob Oddy's lack of action. Well, I think it is more accurate to say that they are part of his inner sanctom of beneficiaries, rather than supporters of his inaction; it would appear that Bob has but a few supporters, but their voices are spread far and wide within the London taxi trade fraternity, mainly through the official trade publication of the LTDA, Taxi Newspaper. Promotion of the Nissen Hut can be found in the bi-monthly editions of this organ with increasing regularity.

The Nissen Hut has not made any attempt to hide its plageristic style; why would it? Alas, though, it does not offer the reader the same opportunities to reply to its articles; it seems to run a very tight ship, unlike the Anderson Shelter, by discouraging comments from readers that do not agree with its content. I wonder why?