23
Aug
2016
By Calvin at 13:55 GMT, 7 years ago
This morning I was in a stationary queue of traffic in the Uxbridge Road Hayes waiting to turn right at the Grapes Public House when I noticed a clean and tidy fellow, with a crutch, limping along the central reservation towards me. As he limped and winsed painfully past each car he knocked on the windows and held out a polystyrene cup hoping for a little change.
This is a dangerous place to practice this illegal behaviour, because the reservation is extremely narrow and so is an accident waiting to happen for a bloke with a gammy leg. What both surprised and annoyed me at the same time was that the lady in the car immediately in front of mine opened her window and threw a few coppers into his cup. Not only that, but she chose to do it just as the lights turned to green and then, in order to really annoy her fellow road-users, stalled her car resulting in me and all the cars behind missing the traffic light phase! I must admit that I was tempted to sound my car horn with much gusto, but having counted to 10 I thought better of it. Mind you, that didn't stop the drivers behind me and what a din!
But that’s not what beggared my belief.
I turned right and then left into the Sainsbury service station to get some petrol, and then afterwards drove a little further down the road to the Sainsbury local to get some food.
I came out of the supermarket and got back into my car and started it up. While putting on my seatbelt and looking at the rear view mirror who should I see, but the same beggar from earlier. This time, however, his crutch was being held horizontally under his arm as he skipped along the footway chatting merrily away to his mate on his hands free mobile phone!!
This is what beggars belief and gives a very bad name indeed to the more honest beggar.
Actually, when I worked in central London I would see this all the time, so if you want to give and don’t want to be taken in then give to the charities that help the homeless and please don’t by stuff or pay for services offered when you’re sitting in a traffic queue – it can be at best annoying to other road users and at worst dangerous.
You know it makes sense!
