This week’s episode has our hero on his way to collect his daily newspaper and sandwich and having to ‘...encounter these people’.
These people being the ‘foul mouthed, scruffy (what no tie?) men and women who gather everyday on benches near the American Fountain’. But that’s not all, poor old Buster, actually has to witness these badly dressed individuals ‘swigging from cans...’.
Heartbroken, Buster goes on to inform us that although he ‘enjoys a good drink as much as the next man’ he is saddened that ‘here, in the heart of a town that aspires to be, blah, blah blah, (cue ‘Land of Hope and Glory’), beer swilling yobs should be left to roam the town’, (Note: The can-drinkers have suddenly morphed into beer swilling yobs and have left their benches that they sit on all day and now roam the town). Ever on the alert Buster has also noticed people in their 70’s and 80’s ‘nervously navigate around the throng of drinkers’, which I guess is better than walking into a bench.
‘(Oh woe is me) How has it come to this?’ Buster cries in his best Shakespearian. ‘I’m sure they all have their own reasons for sitting on a bench all day – but why is nothing done to move them on...where ...oh where......oh where (these last two ‘oh where’s' are mine, added for dramatic effect) are the police?’
It has obviously not dawned on the squeaky clean, upright and good citizen, Prince Buster that maybe, just maybe, these bench hogging drunken people are not being moved on by our overworked police force, BECAUSE THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG.
REPLY TO COMMENT:
* Sorry Anon. Haven't quite made the connection between the 'front door' you mention and The American Fountain/benches. And also the loitering charge is a bit dubious. Think it would be hard to prove that there is some 'intent' which might explain lack of Police action. Apart from that, it takes all sorts. It's a funny old world and unfortunately/fortunately we don't fit into the same mould.
Thankfully we are not a Stalinist state (yet). Your day will more than likely come. Be patient.
3 comments:
I've seen "these people". Loitering is an offense. Would you like a gang of drinkers leaning on your front door -using offensive language? Who suddenly made you the champion of on street drinkers anyway?
Think you're backing the wrong horse here, de Stratford.
"I’m sure they all have their own reasons for sitting on a bench all day – but why is nothing done to move them on...where ...oh where......oh where (these last two ‘oh where’s' are mine, added for dramatic effect) are the police?’"
Buster obviously does not go into Stratford on a Saturday, or last Saturday to be precise where there were police in abundance (for the wrong reason), sadly not really wanted and certainly not needed!
I know people who live in the cottages by Rother market place (near to the fountain) and they have to suffer with drunken people outside their front door for hours on end.
It may be comfortable for you to write from your distance about this, but it's quite a different matter for those who are faced with this problem as a daily reality. Think before you type.
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