Begging is illegal in London, but this is about as enforceable as a ban on sex. Instead, why not concentrate on prettifying the beggars so that they are an attractive feature of our streets?
A religion harking back to old fashioned values would be the perfect vehicle. Homeless people could dress in historical costume and importune passers-by with quaint pleas of "alms for the poor, marm?" and dancing jigs while playing the piccolo, instead of singing tunelessly into a traffic cone while draped in a scrofulous sleeping bag.
The city should provide financial support for this scheme as it offers huge tourism potential. I have already sent off my grant submission so hands off you 'orrible mob.-- oscil8, Jan 28 2003 "Life is ....solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." http://www.rjgeib.c...ure/hobbes-bio.htmlSome words of wisdom from Thomas Hobbes. [8th of 7, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] Mister Bo Jangles http://www.edgars-l...ster_Bo_Jangles.htm [Shz, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] Sin City - AC/DC http://www.letssing...n-city-z94f77s.htmlLadders and Snakes? Beggerman on one line, Belief on the next [thumbwax, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] I will vote for this if we can also restore some of the other great achievements of the eighteenth and ninteenth centuries; Cholera, bear-baiting, plague, massive infant mortality, painful dentistry, small children climbing chimneys, and Transportation Beyond the Seas.
Mind you, in London, no-one might notice.-- 8th of 7, Jan 28 2003 -1-- po, Jan 28 2003 you can't give 2 fishbones, forni, much as you might like to.-- po, Jan 28 2003 Hey 8th - re Hobbes: it's always bugged me - why nasty *and* brutish? Just sounds cool, or are we suppoesd to be able to differentiate their meanings?-- snarfyguy, Jan 28 2003 that's all of it, UnaBubba!-- po, Jan 28 2003 Should the queen view them and say, "Laissez-les manger des croissants"?-- FarmerJohn, Jan 28 2003 Plus, they should be made to don wooden barrels (suspended from their shoulders by straps) for clothing.-- mrthingy, Jan 28 2003 Put monkeys back into business on barrel organs aswell not.-- skinflaps, Jan 28 2003 Croissant for "scrofulous".-- bungston, Jan 28 2003 Quite right 8th, certain anachronistic elements would need to be glossed over regardless of how appealing to the homeless they might be, such as garrotting and spreading the plague.
fish mountain here I come...-- oscil8, Jan 29 2003 random, halfbakery