Remember the 1935 version of Scrooge, where he picks up a stick and rushed out of his shop to deal with beggars in the street outside his business?

I wish I could do that with the beggars outside my business on Spring Garden Rd. They stand around all day, disturbing the flow of legitimate shoppers, they are often disheveled and dirty, and they can be quite persistent.

I know, they are poor and needy .. I get it, I really do.

But don't I have a right to retail goods? I pay ernough to the government, that is certain, for this right. And most of them don't do a thing to enhance the experience .. just standing there begging, never bothering to play an instrument, or even a tin whistle, or juggling balls, or standing on a box offering political speeches such as in Hyde Park .. can you see where I am going with this?

If you offer something entertaining, people will tend to throw their pocket change at you. And you will be something more than a bum when they do it, yes?

Of course many of the beggars are not interested in anything but drugs, etc. They have not yet been beaten to the pavement by a certain well-dressed shop-keeper wielding a mop like a battle axe.—Buddha