People living rough

SocketRocket said:
Not a quote per-se , more the implication.
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I've made two comments. The second one has been read exactly the way it was intended by another poster who appears to have the same knowledge of the subject as I do, knowledge the OP freely admits he is lacking. If you, or others, have chosen to draw something more from those than was actually stated it says more about you , or them, than it does me, as does supporting a "quote" made up by another poster. Goodnight.
 
Blue in Munich said:
I've made two comments. The second one has been read exactly the way it was intended by another poster who appears to have the same knowledge of the subject as I do, knowledge the OP freely admits he is lacking. If you, or others, have chosen to draw something more from those than was actually stated it says more about you , or them, than it does me, as does supporting a "quote" made up by another poster. Goodnight.
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Bit deep that! All that was suggested is that some people don't understand what a decaying human body smells like.
 
Have to admit l don't know what a dead body smells like, nor for that matter what human faeces smells like in quantity. Pretty rank in either case i guess. So i assume that if i smelled something pretty rank in a location know for smelling rank, then I'd not draw any immediate unusual conclusions?

But on a lighter side (if there is such a thing when it comes to sleeping rough) we have a guy who runs a rowing boat operation on one of our lakes. He was trying to sell some old boats and took a potential buyer round the back to where they were all lined up - upside down, to stop them filling with rain. "There you go" says the seller " they are not a bad size". "Big enough to hide a body in" jokes the buyer. "Okey, dokey, out you come" says the seller continuing the joke and rapping on the side of a boat. To which a voice replies, "Alright, sorry, I'll be out in a minute." And out clambers a smart clean young bloke - in sense of being washed, clean shaved, clean clothes etc - who then apologises and explains he'd come down to London about a month before. He'd got a job but could not find anywhere he could afford to live and under the boat was the best place he'd found so far.

Actually, when you think about it, apart from the surprise of finding him, there's sod all "light" about the story at all. All too bloody common around here that folk can't afford a proper place and all too easy for people to fall off the radar...
 
I visited Canterbury about 20+yrs ago. A mid evening stroll around the city centre. At the time sleeping rough didn't seem that common oop north. I was gobsmacked at the amount of people settling down in shop doorways, and I must admit to feeling a bit threatened by the volume of begging.

For the 5th/6th richest economy we have some serious problems in this country. We're in serious danger of heading towards a USA-style of underclass.
 
I've been working in Southampton this year, I was last working there 29 years ago. One thing that is really noticeable is how many rough sleepers/folk begging there are in the city centre. Very sad to see. Hard to know what to do too... I often buy sarnie/drink for folk I see...but there has to be a better solution
 
Regarding beggars. I was in Cheltenham recently and there was a man begging in the Town Centre he looked absolutely pathetic sat on the floor wrapped in a blanket. I went into a Starbucks over the road and bought a hot drink and a sandwich for him. I noticed he just put it on the floor behind him and that there were a number of other drinks and food packages there. It seems it was money he was after. I believe there are a number of professional Beggars around that make a reasonable living from it.
 
While down in Edinburgh last weekend i noticed at fair few people sleeping rough in Princes Street, pretty much every other doorway had someone sleeping in it. Also a a fair few beggars around During the day.

Times have changed i know but when i was at University there some 30 years ago, you never saw a beggar or anyone sleeping roungh in the city centre.

But then saying that you only got Tourists for the Tattoo and the Festival back then, now the place is packed all year round
 
There but for the grace of God go I...

In voicing our views on this we should not forget that we are all vulnerable, in one degree or another, to events that could lead us to the streets. It may seem very unlikely, but for many who have ended up there it was very unlikely and not part of their life plan - but there they ended.

For that reason I will very often pop a few bob to someone on the streets without any thoughts of trying to discriminate between one and another - and I wish them well. A few bob I do not miss - and goodwill is free.
 
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patricks148 said:
With Inverness being a tourist area with people wild camping on the green spaces around the town, prob where they shouldn't. there has also been a few migrant workers also living rough in tents.

Theres always a few a about the canal and the old quarry. which i often pass while walking my dogs.

Anyway one tent which i assumed had just been left abandoned was found to have badly decomposed body inside this week. Ive been past this a fair few times and i have been having to put them both on leads when we do go close to it due to the smell, the last few times. I assumed the smell was human waste which is quite common with people sleeping rough.

can't believe ive been walking past a dead body for months and it can't have been just me!!!!

pretty worrying
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Yep, that must be a strange, unsettling feeling.
 
SocketRocket said:
Regarding beggars. I was in Cheltenham recently and there was a man begging in the Town Centre he looked absolutely pathetic sat on the floor wrapped in a blanket. I went into a Starbucks over the road and bought a hot drink and a sandwich for him. I noticed he just put it on the floor behind him and that there were a number of other drinks and food packages there. It seems it was money he was after. I believe there are a number of professional Beggars around that make a reasonable living from it.
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There most certainly are - but as I would not be able to differentiate I do not try, and simply give a little to those I feel inclined towards. If 20% of those I give to are 'professional beggars' - well they won't get rich from me - and my little might go a bit towards helping the other 80%. I do not resent the 20% as that would affect my giving to the 80%.
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
There most certainly are - but as I would not be able to differentiate I do not try, and simply give a little to those I feel inclined towards. If 20% of those I give to are 'professional beggars' - well they won't get rich from me - and my little might go a bit towards helping the other 80%. I do not resent the 20% as that would affect my giving to the 80%.
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I'm sure your kindness is appreciated but as I said before, outreach workers and those volunteers who work with rough sleepers would prefer you gave them a hot drink or/and food rather than money. It leads to all kinds of problems.
 
Old Skier said:
I'm sure your kindness is appreciated but as I said before, outreach workers and those volunteers who work with rough sleepers would prefer you gave them a hot drink or/and food rather than money. It leads to all kinds of problems.
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A bit like 'Dont feed the pigeons!'
 
Its a tight line between being generous and being a mug.

the current Mrs148 and i were out in town one night last winter and there was a guy looking pretty miserable in blanket off Church St ( very windy most of the time) she took pity on him and gave him £20 to get himself a bed for the night, as this is what he told her he needed to get in Hostel. As soon as the cash was in his hand he was on a bike chained up nearby and off up the road, a bouncer came over from the pub over the road and said " he will be off to get drugs with that"
 
patricks148 said:
While down in Edinburgh last weekend i noticed at fair few people sleeping rough in Princes Street, pretty much every other doorway had someone sleeping in it. Also a a fair few beggars around During the day.

Times have changed i know but when i was at University there some 30 years ago, you never saw a beggar or anyone sleeping roungh in the city centre.

But then saying that you only got Tourists for the Tattoo and the Festival back then, now the place is packed all year round
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Yes there are a few hobo's kicking around and it's about time that they were moved on, South is a better climate.
 
patricks148 said:
Its a tight line between being generous and being a mug.

the current Mrs148 and i were out in town one night last winter and there was a guy looking pretty miserable in blanket off Church St ( very windy most of the time) she took pity on him and gave him £20 to get himself a bed for the night, as this is what he told her he needed to get in Hostel. As soon as the cash was in his hand he was on a bike chained up nearby and off up the road, a bouncer came over from the pub over the road and said " he will be off to get drugs with that"
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Meh, so what. If that is what get's him through a night on the street then so be it.
 
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