A.K.A. "More Strange Characters Lurking Around Cap's Local Area".
Hot on the heels of of my last story (see Homosexual Encounter) I bring you a new one, which finally ended tonight after a two week runaround. Basically some scumbag is going up to people in the street and begging for money. Almost two weeks ago, he come up to me, span a sob story and asked me for fifty pence for the telephone. I'll do anyone a favour the first time so I gave him a pound coin. He said thank you and went on his way.
Two or three days after he walked straight up to me again and just as he opened his mouth I cut him off with, "don't tell me. 50p for the phone, right?" He looked at me and smirked, "ah, I've done you before innit?" I said, "yes, jog on."
Another few days pass and I was out minding my own when he approached me again. I don't know if he's blind or just plain retarded but he was about to ask me the usual when he suddenly said, "oh, hello mate." I ignored him and continued up the street until there was some distance between us when he shouted, "fucking white prick!" I wasn't going to go back and kick his teeth in because I couldn't be arsed.
Tonight I'm in the kebab shop and I'm waiting for my large chicken doner when I see the dude poncing off some woman. I thought, "nah, leave it" when she came in and asked the shop owner, "can I change all this coin into a five pound note?" Now call me stupid or what but isn't it usually the other way around, change a note into coins? Parking meters, vending machines and whatnot? No, he's a dirty little crackhead who's probably been told by his dealer, "no more shrapnel, it's a pain in the arse!"
I told her right away, "give it back to him. He's been up and down this street poncing for two weeks!" Then the shop owner chimed in, "oh not him! He's been around the area bugging people for two months!"
The dude comes in with a worried look and says "don't worry about the note" and asks for his money back. I stood up and he recognised me immediately. I said to the woman, "don't you dare give him that money! It doesn't belong to him, he's conned it out of dozens of hardworking people so he can spend it smoking fucking crack."
Poncing fifty pence off people all day and night - how luxurious. He's probably scraping forty or fifty nuggets a night!
He said to me with a threatening tone, "look mate, I don't want to give you any trouble..." when the shop owner cut him off, picked up the phone and said "damn right, I'll calling the police on you right now!" Anyway, with that, the bloke make a face like he was going to cry and then scarpered, leaving the money with the woman who gave it to me for my bravery. I used it to pay for my large chicken doner.
Anyway, the shop owner still called the police and gave them a description and they assured him that there will be a patrol car scouring the area for an hour or two for the next couple of days.
I was used to beggars when I lived in Central London and some of the homeless folk I was happy to give cash to repeatedly (one dude in Victoria Station used to do magic tricks for any kind of change and he did a different trick every time) but not in a little town like Bromley. Even if the coppers get him, they wont do nothing, just a slap on the wrist and then he's back out poncing more money off people. Ridiculous!
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