We should return to the days of the workhouse.

Those were properly Christian times.

That, in the City, is quite ironic when we've been hosing hundreds of billions on QE, guarantees, insurance etc in the vain hope that the City won't just hoard it.

It's not just London. There was an investigative prog on recently trailing gangs of Romanian criminals. They operate widely across the country and whilst they are notorious they are not alone.

They come over for 4 - 5 months at a time. The women and children are posted outside mosques, shopping centres, stations, etc. which are judged an easy bet and forced to beg all day until picked up. They make thousands, but are essentially slave labour and see none of it.

The men drive their plush 4x4s around the country, claiming and signing on in as many identities as they can manage.

Then they go back home for the rest of the year to their million pound mansion houses built by begged moneys and UK benefits.

There are many truly destitute and in need but there are many and an increasing number of thieves gangs and professionals. And worse still, by giving to the gangs, you're actually doing your bit to perpetuate that particular slave trade. If you want to salve your conscience or do something to help, then I think it's better to seek out the local homeless charities and give them your money or your time or both.

I'll mention it first ... I never ever saw a beggar (except the very occasional drunk) until Thatcher's time.
"Care in the community" they called it.
I guess Northern Line stations don't count as being in the community.

There we go, straight into the usual arguments.

Not just the UK either.

The worst instance I had was arriving at Gard du Nord in Paris and being targeted while getting out of a taxi and paying the driver. The woman actually made a grab for the cash when I told her 'non'.

How true, working there (stealing their jobs and women) in the early '90s i used the Gare du Nord at all times of the day and night, the metro trains and stations were full of beggars. Had my passport stolen whilst at GdN it is quite an intimidating place.

There was a spate of Eastern European women dragging their kids round towns and cities not too long ago, a sight already common in most Med tourist towns. Seems to have vanished where I drink, not sure if it's prevalent anywhere else - but you would catch the women distracting people with various trinkets with flashing lights, roses, etc, while the kids circled looking for pockets to pinch. Other times they would crowd you and hands would be wandering, looking for wallets, etc. Several times I had to get pretty loud and physical to get them away, once the police collared them. I've seen several full-blown fights break out when things have escalated.

I also remember many years ago walking round Manchester with my girlfriend. She spotted a beggar, complete with dirty clothes, tatty blanket, pleading sign and tired-looking dog. He was a neighbour of hers with a job and a car, still living with his parents in Bramhall, Cheshire, a very wealthy area. Apparently not uncommon.

Doesn't sound like Old St tube has changed much. Was my local station when living in Brunswick Place circa 1990. Was an intimidating place late at night. Always plenty of down and outs about. Never bothered me mind. I waa always good for giving them spare change and a fag.

If you think about it, I suppose it's a prime and easy target - tourist predictably removes cash container from wherever they normally keep it, to do transaction, outdoors.

We once had a bag snatched in France from the back of a hire car off Mrs Aardvark's knee. It was at red traffic lights near the hire car pickup point, with hindsight obviously an obvious spot for rich pickings with bags crammed with valuables for holidays, and tired tourists unfamiliar with the area. Might as well have had a neon sign on top saying "ROB THIS". Before we could do anything, bag and thieves disappeared the wrong way down a dual carriageway on a scooter.

In Madrid I've had the noisy-people-pointing-at-loose-change-on-the-ground routine with lots of jostling around the legs.
Another time it was a splash of what looked like bird on the trouser leg and a girl trying to mop it off with a hankie.
Both times it was to try and distract from the lad behind me with his fingers in my pocket.

Both times, I lashed out at the lad ... and the crowd blocked me as they disappeared.
With hindsight, I reckon they had a couple of mates specifically to do that blocking.

Mens toilets there used to be bad. Needed to get in out quickly if you wanted a pee!

Good point.
We'd better give to beggars because, if we don't, they might take their talents elsewhere.

Back in the day, our truck dealer in Dublin was based at Summerhill, certainly not the most celubrious are of the city. There was a gang of scallies who'd wait at the traffic lights and rob handbags off the passenger seats of any car driven by a lone female (they always put their bag on the passenger seat don't they?). One day they robbed from the wrong lady's Merc.

These lads used to live in a local tenement and a couple of weeks after the theft, a big, black Mercedes S600 pulled up outside the tenements. The driver and front seat passenger peeled out and held the rear door open for the "man". He walked over to the group hanging around outside and in a broad Northern accent said: "get your fecking main man down here NOW". A few minutes later the leader sauntered through the door to be met with a simple statement:

"right, this [is[/ihite ends NOW! If I hear of one more robbery, I'll come back here and I'll blow your fecking flat clean out of this block. And do you want to know what's funny? I don't even know which fecking flat you live in. Oh and in case you were wondering, you're right, this is a Donegal accent".

Strangely, there never was another robbery at those traffic lights

dunno if it's new as i only visit the place about twice every twelve months, but in leeds train station there is a tannoy message asking people not to give to beggars or those claiming to be from charity organisations, with the station supporting selected charity partners officially.

That reminds me of London Victoria station back in the 90's.
One day there was an announcement "Would passengers from the Gatwick Express please be advised not to speak to the man in the red sweatshirt offering you a taxi, his friends will charge you fifty pounds for a ten pound ride ... the real taxis are outside the front of the station".

Me and my mate stumbled out of a Prague nightclub one night and were approached by two good looking girls who basically said they were horny and wanted us to them. We were loving the attention of course but in my head I knew it was too good to be true. She kept pinching my and grabing my cock then I felt her hand slipping into my jeans pocket, the one with my wallet in. I raised my fist to clout her one and she soon scarpered. Luckily a taxi pulled up and we got in before they could fetch their minders.

I seem to recall that there's a certain 'Establishment' just down the road from Old Street, called Browns, where certain Femails still beg coinage (or noteage!) from discreet Gentlemen

Gentlemen? The people going in and out of there are not gentlemen.

There's a far better one on Hackney Road proper.

What constitutes "far better" in this context?

Similar in Blackburn, a very friendly young lady tried to pick my pocket the same way. I just grabbed her wrist and said a hand job would do.

There used to be one called The Spread Eagle near that locality that also offered a similar form of entertainment IIRC.

A bloke stood in a carpark by his car with bonnet open asked my Grandad to loan him £20 for a taxi home/some petrol/whatever. My Grandad said no and he asked a few more people walking through the carpark, after he'd been rejected by everyone in a large group he put his bonnet down, got in, and drove off.

Also had the "I've lost my train tickets..." off a kid in Hull station claiming to be from York, he didn't even bother finishing his special brew before approaching us. As we were leaving the car park he was walking back across to his block of flats.

Good they should get them off our streets, they are a right nuisance coming up to you with their stories about their crappy charity and will you spare just £6 a month to pay by direct debit.....the sooner their kind are out of our faces to leave us in peace the better.

I was pestered so much by someone from the RSPCA once (I was very tired after just getting back from holiday and didn't have the energy to argue) that I signed up for direct debit. I then cancelled it as soon as I could.