I walked past a homeless man today during my lunch hour (assuming he was homeless) and he was singing a reggae classic "Give me hope Joanna". But as I got closer I realised he was using the word 'dope' instead of 'hope'. I now don't know whether he genuinely didn't know the lyrics or if it was a cry for help. I am bored at work. (This did genuinely happen today though)
Have you seen those ones camped out in awesome tents at Great Northern Square? They've got stoves and bacon and running water and porterloos. 21st century homeless.
To be fair, this guy looked like he had been out for months. Potentially a bit crazy but who can tell? There is one near the job center near the lowry hotel who has a cracking tent.
I was once asked for some dosh outside the Trafford Centre and when I declined the bloke shouted to me and my missus in a broad scouse accent... "You ****ing tight Geordie bastard" ?!? It made me ever so happy I never parted with my change.... ****er !
I don't mind the homeless, they've just fallen on bad times and some of them are really decent guys, I can spot the idiots straight away but I'll stop and speak and help a lot of them throughout the year, it's not always by choice that they've ended up on rough ground. One of them tried to sell me a brand new tube of Anusol for £1 once, I just gave him the £1.
I never give to 'newbies' on the block... But often give to 2 longtime 'street dwellers' in Darlo. I once watched a programme about an English fella from Surrey who used to travel into London daily to beg, it was unbelievable the lavish lifestyle he had (& an amazing house / wife too)... It made me think twice about 'giving' for ages.
There's a couple of guys in the center that have been there forever. A girl from my work saw some slapper give a homeless man sh!t for no reason outside the Tesco on Deansgate. She went in and bought him a sandwich which was very unlike her (to be nice I mean)
Yeah they are always outside there, at the cash machine asking for tenners The one I used to speak to most has gone, I've not seen him in about a year now, he was in and out of strangeways all the time, he used to come to my office and wait in reception and my boss would give him £20 for the weekend on a Friday, half an hour later we'd see him passed out at the bus stop... he told me he used to take about £300 on a weekend begging and spend about £150 on drink and food and give the other £150 to other beggars who had no banter!
You trip over the beggars around Kings Cross and Euston. And you guys are right, its easy to recognise those who really need it after a while. I've stopped giving them cash like I used to when I first moved down here, but I'll buy them a sarny or a can or two if I know them by sight. One cheeky bugger picked a basket at Euston Sainsbury when I said I'd buy him some scran one day
I nearly pissed on one in an ally two minutes from Kings Cross, looked like a down and out yardie, I only noticed him when I saw the whites of his as my cock was dangling over him **** my load. I was ruff as ****, early hours and it freaked me out. I was off! Walked into King Cross for the first train and was instantly approached by a homeless Irishman who burst into old school jokes which weren't coming out right because was hammered. It was freeking my bro out more so he threatened him and he went away. Comedown's walking the streets of London in the early hours is ****ing scary!
It's all becoming a lot more, gentrified, I think the word is now, and more safer in the immediate area. Just stay west of the station, away from the Pentonville Rd side. Unless you're heading to the titty bar on Caledonian Rd
I'd been a club just south of London bridge so approached kings cross from I think the south east. This was about ten year ago. St Paul's was lovely off my nut I seem to remember.
But then it would have gone cold when the warmth wore off, cold, wet, pissed-on, pissed-off 'Hog. Poor thing. Oh well.
