Come to London the streets are paved with….

Grrrrrrrrr
Most of us are familiar with the Dick Whittington story, where he comes to London because he hears the streets are paved with Gold. Obviously he hasn’t met the people who build streets, if they were made of gold, not one street would ever be finished, however I digress.
So, London’s streets so famously paved with Gold. I have been travelling a lot around London with work recently (more recently on the tube)  and I have to say, that London’s streets are definitely not paved with Gold, paved with litter, rubbish, cigarette butts, people trying to give you free magazines and news papers, and people with collection tins.

Now don’t get me wrong, (SARCASM ALERT) I love having people who speak very broken English trying to give me a free newspaper and magazine every time I get off the tube. No, really I do. (SARCASM OVER) But I can live with that, a polite no thanks and walk by. I do still find it horrifying that so many people are rude to them, I was always taught manners cost nothing. A lot of people treat them horrendously, but they are only trying to earn a living.

I can also live with the rubbish and litter, yes it’s an eye sore, yes it’s annoying as hell, but it does get cleaned eventually, and it is almost impossible to keep on top of with the amount of human traffic shedding rubbish wherever they feel fit.

What I can not stand (Dan of 0ddness fame will back me up, I am sure) is the people who rattle cans in my face. Today, outside of Tower Hill tube station, there was one such collector. I got off at Fenchurch street, drudged round the corner to Tower Hill with the rest of the masses to be confronted (at 7am) by a well dressed, very well spoken, plumb in the mouth accented middle aged women with said collecting tin rattling in her hands. Proper ID, supplied and hanging around her neck, badge proudly on view.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a change from the norm, mainly because of the age of the collector (in my experience they tend to be 12), the nice presentation and accent. I may even have dropped a coin in the tin…. Until she rattled it in my path and said "Disabled Children" now, don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against disabled children; far from it I have a couple in my family and love them with all my heart.  I have nothing against making donations to charity. However, I could not help myself, having been ambushed and caught of guard; the first response out of my mouth was “no thanks, I have enough”

Now that may sound harsh, and in fact looking back on it, it probably was. However, had she asked for a donation FOR disabled children, or even a donation for the charity she was representing, rather than “Disabled Children” I may have been a little bit more generous. When will people learn?

Maybe, it is just me, maybe I am just getting old, maybe I am just grumpy, but then again, maybe a lot of people feel the same way, and maybe, just maybe I am right.

Anyhow, out of guilt for this post, first person to leave a comment gets to choose a charity and I will make a £5 donation.

Stay safe.

9/20/2011 09:03:00 am , , 1

One Response so far.

  1. Dan says:
    20 September 2011 at 10:55

    Ah the chuggers... Charity Muggers. They are another bane of life... "Can I have a minute of your time" translate to "Fill out this form, give me your money"

    BEST way to deal with them - clock the name of the charity, then say "I already donate to CHARITY NAME by Direct Debit" stops them dead every time!

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