Clearly these were people who never needed to get south of the river!

London’s black cabs have been voted the best in the world in a poll of travellers. Since 99% of the hotels in which the voters would have stayed would have been north of the river they will never have heard the, probably illegal words, "ain't goin' there mate".

Yes - they are quaint. Yes - they almost always now where they are going. Yes - if you are "lucky" you will get an opinionated cabby who will chew your ear off in a dialect distantly related to English.

But they won't go south of the river and therefore they must be spurned!