Spare change mate?

I'll often give beggars spare change if I have any, and usually buy a big issue (well give them a couple of quid and let them keep the mag) if I'm in Glasgow or somewhere with a big issue seller.
Aggressive/in your face beggars get nothing.

When we were in Barcelona on holiday last year we passed a woman sitting on a blanket ouside a shop window on Paseo de Gracia holding what looked like a baby. I took a double take as I wasn't sure if it was a baby or a doll at first and then commented to my wife about how sad it was seeing a woman with a baby begging for money and as we stopped at traffic lights talking about whether the baby was being used to help her make money she appeared behind me saying something in Spanish with her **** half exposed feeding the baby. To say I didn't know what to do or say is an understatement, we crossed the road as the lights had changed and walked on, thankfully she didn't follow.

All we could think was that she noticed me looking over and thought we'd be more likely to give her something. It's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to us on holiday and came close to freaking me out.
 
i normally just give them my wallet and my PIN. i also give them my address and a list of things to say so that my mum will sleep with them.

i dont believe in handouts. i'll buy a big issue if the guy is putting effort into selling it (ie. not stood there looking at the floor cradling his stack of big issues)

there's a guy in birmingham who was amazing...i really wish i'd had £1 on me because he definitely deserved it!
 
If you get up our local City Centre at about 8:30am you can see all the 'beggars' standing around chatting on their mobile phones getting ready to take up their patches. I did a bit of busking in Hanley over two weekends during the early 90's and me and my mate made over £400 on each weekend. The trick is to empty the hat so theres only about £2 of change in it all the time.
 
Around here there seem to be an awful lot of "homeless" people getting given money during the day who mysteriously vanish after 11pm...

I have never and would never give to someone asking me for spare change or "bus money" in the street, I don't think you're doing them any favours in the long run.
 
Sic said:
i normally just give them my wallet and my PIN. i also give them my address and a list of things to say so that my mum will sleep with them.
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Thanks for the chuckle Jasper :D
 
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Having lived in London i am pretty used to Beggars. Down there they are persistant and you learn just to look them straight in the eye and shout **** off ryhmes with duck.
Buskers totally different though. I go out my way to chuck a few coins in and if i haven't any on the way up i give on the way back down.
I am with Slinky on the food giving. I would like to see there face if you ignored the money request and went into a bakers and got a loaf and some cheese. Away you go mate feed yourself.
All the beggars i have come across have alterior motives for begging. The dole provides minimum money but people live on it without begging.
Those beggars that are outcast should not be kept on our streets by handouts but routed to the organisations that help them back into a normal way of life or at the very least provide the medical help they may need.
Benches are full all over the country with alcoholics getting aggressive begging for Gissa pound mate type crap.
It's wrong in my opinion and theres more than enouth justification to either do what i do or be polite and just blank them as you pass. Either way don't give in.
 
I don't give to beggars, I don't donate to charity.
I do donate my time to charity which I see as far more worthwhile than feeding someones Super Tennants addiction or funding the salary of a random charities Director.
 
I find the beggars in Plymouth (the ones who hang out in the subways near the Uni) aren't there before 10am and they dissapear after 5.30pm. Dodgy people.


Eastbourne took some interesting action against beggars. They put up posters in all the shop windows saying. "Some beggars beg to buy drugs and alcohol.", except the word "some" was a lot smaller than the rest.
 
There a dude next to a place a visit maybe 4 times a day, if I where to give him my change every time I'd be hungry :D
 
Johnny Girth said:
What a load of bull, beggers don't make anywhere near 30k. That'd be £100 a day. That's insane, I've only ever seen them with a few pennies.
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If they sit there for 10 hours thats only 10 people an hour to give them as little as a quid..
 
Sic said:
.. i'll buy a big issue....

there's a guy in birmingham who was amazing...i really wish i'd had £1 on me because he definitely deserved it!
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AH-HA! Rumbled, they're £1.20 tightwad :p
 
I rarely donate money to charity apart from the odd Big Issue when I feel like it and the seller has earnt it.

I do, however, donate blood platelets regularly. I've just come back from an hour hooked up to the machine and received my 25 donations award. As far as I'm concerned, that's my donation to charity, and it's a pretty special one too!
 
I always tell them to get a job.

Why should i pay through the nose for them? If i had spare food or drink on me i would give it to them, otherwise i wont give them anything.

There is no excuse for not working, getting factory or agency work is easy and requires little effort. I got it in 10 minutes when i was a student by filling out some forms and turning up for a free minibus there.
 
Johnny Girth said:
What a load of bull, beggers don't make anywhere near 30k. That'd be £100 a day. That's insane, I've only ever seen them with a few pennies.
I'm sure £100 a day is a bit high, but if the odd person gives them £1 then they could easily get not so ridiculously far off that. I don't think many people are naive enough to think that the few 2ps sitting in the hat are all someone's made, any big coins swiftly get put away in a pocket.
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Bri said:
AH-HA! Rumbled, they're £1.20 tightwad :p
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who said i didnt already have 20p in my pocket, smartass!?

also...it's been a while since i bought one because the sellers are so dirty...i mean, havent they heard of showers?!
 
Lostkat said:
I rarely donate money to charity apart from the odd Big Issue when I feel like it and the seller has earnt it.

I do, however, donate blood platelets regularly. I've just come back from an hour hooked up to the machine and received my 25 donations award. As far as I'm concerned, that's my donation to charity, and it's a pretty special one too!
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I deliver the blood/platelets to hospitals out of hours as my charitable act!
 
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