A Lot goes on in Covent Garden

Editors column

TIME TO PUT SOME SPARECHANGE IN THE YOUNG MAN'S HAT

The buzz in this part of town has never been disputed. Even gaining sanctuary in some of the quietest and most elegant shops or bars - the buzz follows you around, quietly.

There are the other aspects that we don't talk about except in committee. First inst - the bums. It's not so bad in other parts of town - honest guv, it's just that they proliferate in areas where people have casual small change to throw - and do throw.

We Brits have offered a living to a large proportion of the current refugees - or assylum seekers as they are now called. (PC creeps in everywhere). As a country, we have undertaken to look after them and instead the government uses an 'under-the-carpet' approach to shunting them off to suddenly appear in the midst of poverty stricken communities of indiginous 'refugees' from the working sector. What's this to do with Covent garden?

Begging is a lucrative alternative to the mean raft of paperwork for claimants and explains in part why so many beggars are in Covent Garden rather than [say] the City where they make a point of hanging on to the cash.

Begging with babies and dogs attracted the 'change'. in plenty, in this apparently affluent place. However this type of professionalism is discouraged. Maybe more people are now starting to see that the homeless/hungry is a con job.As long as the tourists seem to like them and feed them like the birds in trafalgar Square, the police can't do anything - nobody can - nobody wants to either.

Most government money aimed to assist this sector of society goes to monitoring & statistics paperwork and into the pockets of 'experts'. Noy much gets to the homeless themselves. This will go on until the 'spare change' is not spared any more. Until people realise that they are helping a victim's sadness to be more profitable - and easier - than helping them to get better.

Don't let it put you off though, they add something to the area. Some tramps dress up smart and give something back in patter or busking. London wit and street music should be encouraged with repartee and cash. Anyway, they behave themselves fine. Many people taking care of the ambience in this place make sure they do.

There are facilities here for the homeless. Sandwiches galore and vans that come around with food and bedding. You don't get that in Penge or Kensington. On a fine evening the doorway parties begin. A flurry of folk carrying bedding settle down with their hats and some beer in doorways all over the place. I hear that in other parts of Europe they make their beggars dress up in suits so as 'not to let the side down'. We are much more liberal here - for the time being.

I'm sure they appreciate the buzz as well, talking about which, do people come here to feed off a buzz or to add to it? Obviously a bit of both.

Jubilee Market Hall