[garinda]

I remember the very first time I saw soneone on the street begging. It was in Paris in the late seventies. At that time I hadn't seen any in England, not even London, and certainly not around here.

Cut to ten years later, and London was awash with them, and they were a real pain. I never gave money when pestered by beggars. Although I have given food, drinks, and cigarettes to them, if they seemed in need of whatever kind of sustenance was applicable.

It's sad to see people living on the streets for whatver reasons, but I hate seeing people begging. I always promised myself that if I ever found myself in those circumstances I would play a penny whistle or something. As I believe you should never get anything for nothing, and it would restore my morale if I relied on my wits, rather than on the charity of others.