General Chat

this young women sitting in the street with a babe in arms, wrapped in a torn blanket, then further up there was yet another with a child asleep on the side of the road. I felt ashamed of myself.

Karen thank you for that, i realise that there are these people who do this sort of begging for a living, and i did come across a few of these which oddly enough looked well presented. i only saw the 2 women with children. In all the time i was in Portugal i only came across 5 people begging, i did not give money, but i confess to giving food for the children, just in case ? it is difficult to know what to do when in a strange country. but it did upset me when i saw the kiddies. but you have made me feel less guilty, so thanks for that. Shirley

Karen, Totally agree, there are probably very few really needy cases. Where we live in Spain they sit near the supermarket trollies hoping for the returned Euro deposit. My wife saw a man begging with his dog, so she gave a tin of food to the dog. Derek

Karen, glad you put that on. i was going to say the same, these professional 'mothers' can be seen in Paris and Italy too. Ann Glos

Its not just abroad......... our regular local beggar used to take about £40 worth of copper a day in to the newsagent to change and tell them how good a week he had had........... averaging about £300........... one weekend made £275 on the Friday and Saturday so was having Sunday off. (and its not a large town). Another one used to commute from the city daily because he could make a lot more here. Mandy

There is a man who has a girlfriend in the next block to where I live. He stays there. In the mornings you see him go out and you'll find him sat in the shopping centre with a blanket round him and his dog........so many people are duped. I feel sorry though for the genuine homeless people. There but for the grace of God go I. L

Please, please, dont forget that there are people out there that really are homeless., through no fault of their own. Shirley

Shirley, please do not feel bad....we have people on the street in St. Georges who stand in the same place every day, to start with you feel guilty or give them a coin.....but believe me its hard to be hungry here and I would imagine it's the same there! There are some genuine cases I'm sure but there are probably more that go home to a reasonable house with most things they need. You have to work hard for what you have. Jacquie xxx

I have worked with the homeless for thirteen years, and yes there are the odd few who try to work the system, but most are very sad lonely people, who with out help don't stand the slightest chance of getting their lives back together. Shirley

You don't have to go to Portugal, only Tottenham Court Road to see very young children begging. Their mothers are usually a short distance away watching. You sometimes get the women with a baby down the underground. Most beggars in London are smoking which I cannot afford. David

If there are young children begging in this country while their mothers stand near by and watch, then i would like to know why Social Services haven't stepped in ? has anyone ever reported the fact that children are being used in this way? Shirley

Shirley, It is not uncommon to see mothers with babes in arms begging at the traffic lights. These are Romany Gypsies that migrate to the Algarve in the summer months. What amazes me is that they drive Bmw's and Mercedes Benz. Lindy;-)