OPINION: Beggars, beggars, beggars again...

It is said you can understand what type of society you live in by the numbers of beggars. Or the amount of wealth by those who do not have much.

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen...” It is the usual public train announcement of professional beggars. They are banned on public transport, but they are always there. Asking. Pleading. Begging. Soliciting.

“Good afternoon everyone. Sorry to bother you once again. But I haven’t had anything to eat today...”

Or

“May I have your attention please? I really apologise if I am causing offence. But I am looking for money to book a room and in a hostel...”

Everyone knows them.

One lady beggar though, is very creative. Carries magazines. She offers them for free; (if you donate something)... Some of the homeless do better too.

They take part in selling a very famous London monthly homeless magazine called The Big Issue. Early this week, Twitter put out an announcement by the Big Issue Foundation. It asked for volunteers to help sell the publication, specifically on 27 November.

That makes those who do such jobs more serious. But those who just beg. There is something going on....

The first thing is to avoid looking raffled and rattled and annoyed and disturbed, each time they appear. Try not to despise the homeless and penniless.

Once I sat close to someone (I don’t want to reveal whether they were male or female) but the mouth was folded then opened wide like a blanket.

I thought this individual was going to yawn but it was an expression of disgust. True the beggar really smelt. Most never shower or wash for ages and so the odour is strong.

But you learn to bear it.

You have to.

Everyone does know the unwritten code of civil conduct. Manners.

Oh yeah.

“...Do not look raffled and rattled and annoyed and disturbed...”

One of these autumn evenings, when the cold starts to bite and bite and bite and bite, we sat, three friends, talking of good old days. Times when there were no suicide bombers and fears of such maniacs.

We laughed and recalled days when there was no need for condoms. No Aids and HIV. We laughed remembering when there were no mobile phones.

“How did we cope?”

“We did.”

“But how?”

“You remember when the phone in the house rang? It was a big MOMENT!”

“Yes!” we all chimed.

“Phone ringing. Someone THERE? Pick it up! Hello! And those days you would keep quiet, while ONLY one person spoke on the phone. These days? Everyone is talking on their gadget, sorry, GADGETS, their house, their cell, their mobile phone. ME- ME – MEEEEEE. Everyone is looking at some electronic gadget. ME- ME – MEEEEE! No one looks at anyone!”

We laughed.

And soon, da-da- da- da...

“Sorry ladies and gentleman. Can I have some spare money please? Anything. I have nowhere to sleep tonite...”

Silent knocked in for a few seconds. Someone opened their purse. There is always someone opening a wallet to give something to the beggar. Sometimes no one gives anything.

The beggars are real people. When this one was gone. The conversation changed.

We wanted to know how someone ends up homeless, food less, penniless.

It is obviously, clear in Africa, where 80 per cent of the population does not go beyond primary school. But here, in the rich world? School is free. Facilities are available. You can get educated, if you want. When you want...

One of us said: “Maybe the parents died. Then he was taken into social care. Maybe there were forms of abuse. Ran off. Ended up in streets. Maybe she was Ok. She had everything then started smoking weed...”

SMOKING weed.

Now that is an interesting subject for 2018. London is always stinking of Marijuana. You find someone at a bus stop corner, outside a shop, in buses even, with children around, babies in prams- but still this SOMEONE smokes that dreaded, wretched plant.

A plant that some want legalised. It is very hard to understand why people do not get it. Smoking Marijuana contributes to mental health problems.

Science and medical journals have increasingly affirmed that substance abuse (Marijuana, cocaine amphetamines, and excessive alcohol) may make symptoms of schizophrenia (a form of mental disease) worse. But it is not just drugs.

Poverty is an issue. A few months ago this column pointed out how beggars and people with mental illnesses increased across London.

The Vagrancy Act of 1824 states that it is illegal -and against the law- to beg or sleep on streets. Charities figures released in 2018 -pointed to a 169 per cent increase of the homeless since 2010.

No wonder the amount of people strolling on trains and asking for money keeps rising and rising...