Uckfield Entrepreneurs
Tamas Csoma moved to England over 13 years ago with his wife Emese, both keen to work hard but having found their native Hungary a difficult environment for ambitious young entrepreneurs. Tamas found work as a housekeeper at the Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club, where he worked long hours, later becoming a manager. Emese, a make-up artist and beautician, works freelance, including at the Glyndebourne Opera House. They moved to Uckfield and bought a car, using it also to make extra money doing deliveries after hours. Tamas started taxi work three years ago, gaining new customers who appreciated his ready availability (“24/7/365”) and his close attention to detail. Quickly, he became a popular choice in a town known for its limited taxi coverage.
Taxi drivers in Uckfield cooperate with each other for the fares available, which are, perhaps predictably, heavily weighted to the weekends. It’s in their collective interest to ensure that anyone in Uckfield wanting a lift gets one, whether it’s to Buxted, Brighton, Gatwick, or London. The town is not an Uber speciality. But Tamas says that the English are much more accustomed to taking taxis than Hungarians, although he is also aware that in today’s economic conditions, taxi drivers often need to have additional income from other employment.
Tamas likes Uckfield. He describes it as a town where people know and respect each other. People are friendly, neighbours are helpful; it’s a safe environment. He lives in Rocks Park, his son and daughter are at school, and life is good, but his work commitments haven’t allowed him much of a holiday so far. He only knows about some places in England because of his customers’ fares.
But he and Emese went to Cornwall last year and they loved it. Also, he enjoyed a birthday surprise from Emese, going to Taff’s Well in Glamorgan near the hill that famously became a mountain in the 1995 film with Hugh Grant. A bit like Uckfield, a busy town that’s famously a friendly village.