At some point when walking through the streets in London, you will no doubt be accosted by someone asking for a “bit of change please”. It is a personal choice for us and mostly I will not give money to a stranger but rather buy him food or a cup of tea, what ever their need may be. Today, I was approached in the Mission by a gentleman who asked if he could lend him £2 in 20p coins. He gave his promise to return it by the weekend; so I gave. on handing it over, and intrigued as to why he needed so many 20p coins, I asked him why he needed the money and was there anything else that could be done. The reply he gave blew me away…
He came in every morning and had his shower and used the bathroom but once on the street there was no where to go and rather than get into trouble with the police, he wanted to be able to use the public convenience which costs 20p. and a couple of quid would cover him he reckons for three days until he got his next payment.
Wow! How we take things for granted; what do you do when you need a pee and no 20p?
One Response
Tony, That is so true, even down here in the ‘colonies’ we find people having problems finding a loo. Hope all is well. Cheers John and Christine