Beggars on the railways

[whole diary]

[chuffed]

In Berlin on the SBahn and Ubahn last week and we had a trumpeter and clarinettist at different times. The trumpeter had a disco accompaniment whilst the clarinettist stayed in the chamuleau register. Most people were so engrossed in their phones that I really wondered if they had heard a single note. Neither played more than 8 bars before the ubiquitous disposable cup came round. Pickings were very slim indeed.

[Chris from Nailsea]

The French authorities have a rather more....ahem....robust attitude to these issues. I shall never forget a trip to Paris for the France v England rugby match whilst everything was kicking off in the Balkans.........we were in a bar in Place Pigalle (keeping it classy as ever!) and there was a young Kosovan girl begging on the other side of the road - late teens I would have thought - we had spoken to her a little earlier and given her a few coins.

Along comes a CRS van, "the lads" pile out, have a quick look around and promptly piled into her, kicking, punching etc before chucking her into the back of the van..........one of our number was a middle ranking Police Officer who happened to speak French and was disgusted by what he was seeing - despite the advice of the bar staff to desist, he ran across the road to intervene, and was stopped short by one of the French CRS guys pointing a gun at him and telling him in no uncertain terms to mind his own business.

I've just stumbled across this historic topic - for which I, too, can offer an example from France: see https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=28122.msg358246#msg358246

CfN.