please empty your brain below

You've had ones as good as a free smoothie? I've not progressed beyond the "call 09xx for cheap calls" for years!

I always smile and take one, because I think how awful that job would be, and how desperate I'd have to be to do it.

I don't mind them at all. Just doing a job and not doing me any harm. It's the one with the clipboards and the tabard announcing the name of the charity they are about to try to guilt you into donating a large chunk of your monthly wages to that make me realise why I should be allowed to carry a gun. Writing that sounds as awful as walking past them makes you feel, but there's so many of them that if you stopped for all of them you'd never get where you were going and you'd end up too broke to feed and clothe yourself.

The 'lucky heather' ladies were out in Knightsbridge last Saturday.

'Scattergun approach' - sums it up perfectly.

The technique is the offline equivalent of spamming. Hit enough targets and you may get lucky.

I do feel sorry for the poor buggers handing the cards out. Not a very dignified way to earn a living.

I tend to take a card and then display it in the nearest phone box next to the more 'mature' services. It's all about product placement for the marketing knobbers...

Down our way they are usually flyers for night clubs or jeans shops. The easiest thing to do is to take one. Then I glance at it to see if it is of any interest and, if not, hold out my arm at 45 degrees into the oncoming pedestrians and look them in the eye. They always take it off me ... perhaps out of pity, but at least *I* haven't littered!

In response to Alan, the tabard clad charity workers drive me mad also. I once challenged one who caught me in a bad mood about the fact that he got commission for signing people up, and if he really cared about the charity he should donate his time for free.

His response was that he didn't get commission, but "performance related pay" instead. Surely the same thing...?

I was in that there London the other day, and I actually saw genuine conmen doing the Three-card Trick on passing tourists.

God, that takes you back...

In Milan recently, I saw someone standing on a street corner trying to flog religious books. He followed one woman a good 30 yards down the street and was really harrassing her, I'm surprised she didn't just buy it to get rid of him. It made me wonder how many people's bank details he'd get if he worked as a clipboard nazi over here.

We're bombarded with the 'charity' workers all the time. I just keep walking, quite frequently into them - well, if they get in front of me, what do they expect? Giving up a lot of my time as a local charity volunteer, the fact that they get paid to do their job and there are no legal restrictions on them (as there are for flag day charity collectors) makes me furious.
It also bemuses me that people are willing to sign up, standing in the main street, giving away their name, address, bank details and inside-leg measurement, to someone they don't know? Fraud prevention, anyone?

Just came back from short break in Barcelona - where street scams artists are the best in the world. the three cup and a ball trick, the white heather gypsies, bird-poo on your jacket (let me help you clean it off sir), the magic dancing cardboard puppet for 10 Euros that doesn't work when you take it home, etc. etc. etc. All thriving in Barca - thanks to lots of gullible tourists who don't do some simple research before travelling!

Having said that, the white heather ladies in London are quite aggressive in my opinion. I was once waiting for the missus to finish up in a shop in Ealing Broadway - was standing outside when one of the ladies came up to me to pin one on my jacket. I stepped back and refused. She gave me evil look - I gave her one back - and watched her for several minutes as she did the same to other passers by. The idea is that they deliberately only ask for a penny or five pence. So, the vulnerable get out their purses or wallets and fish around the coin compartment for one of the elusive coins that no-one ever uses any more. She'll be right up close, helping you fish around for that coin - and her other hand will be holding your "notes" compartment and will be fishing out a few tenners as well. They'll melt away and disappear within minutes of successfil prey.

Can't remember where I heard it (may have dreamt it) but apparently there's some new law that means you can get on-the-spot fined £80 for littering, which includes dropping those flyers. Keep your hands in your pockets from now on, everyone!

For years the worst part of visiting Las Vegas were the people standing on the street corners of the strip handing out magazines that were nothing but page after page of ads for female, male, and transexual prostitutes. They were pretty graphic.

The first time, you take one because you don't know what it is, thinking it might be full of special deals at the casinos. One look and you toss it. There were places where the sidewalk and the curb would be thick with these, hundreds of them having got tossed.

I always kind of felt sorry the people handing them out. They mostly looked like illegals from Mexico. (And yes, anyone who has lived in the western US can spot out an illegal pretty easily.) Imagine getting all the way to the USA, slipping the border and dodging the law, and you're reduced to handing out smut to unsuspecting tourists.

The city finally cracked down on all that. No doubt after numerous complaints. Now the "magazines" are in free newspaper dispensers.

Did that once - for a day; handing out T-shirts outside Green Park Station. Deeply depressing.

So you haven't ever ever considered printing up business cards: "Diamond Geezer - For the Jewel in You visit: http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com\"?

Not seen anything like this in Glasgow, yet. It'll come though I'm sure.

For now though I'm just glad I'm not in London (but, paradoxically, also slightly miffed that I'm in Glasgow...)

In response to David Crawford- I happen to live in Los Angeles, and let me tell you---it is not that easy to spot an illegal person. Trust me. Anywho, I had a job out here similar to handing out little cards. However it was worse, and I had to wear a silly rabbit costume and hand out flyers for those big jumping chamber things. They always have them at parties and I took that one-day job cause I desperately needed the money and oh my goodness it was awful. So to Matt here, I know your pain.

Oh by the way...I love London and I can't wait to go back!

All you need to know about Charity Muggers aka Chuggers.

http://www.bloodychuggers.co.uk/











TridentScan | Privacy Policy