Happy 2012!

OK, it's not completely LT-related, but I just found a new review on the
trip advisor site for a Bayswater hotel and in the review was a
paragraph about some guy bothering people in the area.

Is this known? Is this a one-off? or are there more such annoying people
now wandering the streets of London?

I would not give this guy money. What would you do if he confronted you?
If you then tell the police that this guy is essentially holding you up,
would they bother to do anything?

Here's the paragraph:

"BEWARE of the strange black man who roams the streets of Bayswater
looking for tourists to scam. We were less than 1 block away from the
Umi Hotel when he overheard me talking to my partner, he came over with
another couple in tow and offered to show us where to go which after we
said it was ok we didn't need help he said "Don't worry it's my job" we
didn't bother replying we just kept walking. After we rounded the corner
to get to the hotel, we started walking off to the hotel and he followed
us and started talking about how close the train station was and the
facilities close by- we thought he was just being friendly and then he
asked us to PAY him for his service... I gave him about 1 pound change
to which he asked for more, then he turned to my partner and asked him
for more money! We quickly told him we didn't have money and just
started walking away... It's a shame that this guy hangs round, it
wasn't really a good first impression of the area we were in."

"redcat" wrote in message
...
Happy 2012!

Sings;
"The mayor of Bayswater,
He had a pretty daughter,
and the h...."

Ah, rugby songs, whatever happened to them?

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop

redcat wrote on 01 January 2012 17:21:26 ...
Happy 2012!

OK, it's not completely LT-related,

It's not transport-related at all.

but I just found a new review on the trip advisor site for a Bayswater
hotel

It's not new. It's a review posted in October 2011 about a stay in July
2011.

and in the review was a paragraph about some guy bothering people in the
area.

Is this known? Is this a one-off? or are there more such annoying people
now wandering the streets of London?

I would not give this guy money. What would you do if he confronted you?
If you then tell the police that this guy is essentially holding you up,
would they bother to do anything?

Why are you exaggerating a one-off report from last July? There is no
evidence that the guy was "aggressive" as stated in your subject line.
Even the victims described him as "friendly". He was asking for payment
in return for a "service" that was not needed or asked for. Foolishly,
the victims actually gave him some money, but there's no suggestion that
he prevented them from leaving. or threatened them, or had a weapon. So
he was not essentially holding them up. He was basically begging,
though rather more imaginatively than usual.

Yes, there are people like that in any big city.


Here's the paragraph:
[snipped, but the original is at
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUse...n_England.html
]
--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)

Seems to me if someone hounds you for money, follows you, and you give
him money, that is very aggressive behavior.

Maybe writing about a July incident in October has dulled some of the
original poster's impressions. Also, she is now far, far away not only
in time but place.

I was badgered in a public parking lot by an aggressive man and his
friend saying they were watching my car and now wanted payment for this.

I know what begging is, and I know what mugging is.

As I said in my original reply, "What would you do if he confronted you?"

I didn't ask you to soothe me (it was JUly) or to tell me off (it was
July! and it's a big city! Eff that. This n.g. has members that make a
sport of ignoring questions/points in posts and telling users off. Don't
know why that is.)

I asked what you, the other readers of this group, would do. And would
the police care if some guy was out there being aggressive. If you would
like to answer my questions, please do.

If you just want to try to put me down, well then go ahead and waste
your time. But do preface your reply as such so I won't waste my time
trying to look for sense in it.

On 1/1/2012 7:20 PM, Brian Watson wrote:
wrote in message
...
Happy 2012!

Sings;
"The mayor of Bayswater,
He had a pretty daughter,
and the h...."

Ah, rugby songs, whatever happened to them?


I see Brian was having a very happy new year's day.

Would you finish that lyric for us?

redcat wrote on 03 January 2012 15:30:26 ...
Seems to me if someone hounds you for money, follows you, and you give
him money, that is very aggressive behavior.

Maybe writing about a July incident in October has dulled some of the
original poster's impressions. Also, she is now far, far away not only
in time but place.

I was badgered in a public parking lot by an aggressive man and his
friend saying they were watching my car and now wanted payment for this.

I know what begging is, and I know what mugging is.

As I said in my original reply, "What would you do if he confronted you?"

I didn't ask you to soothe me (it was JUly) or to tell me off (it was
July! and it's a big city! Eff that. This n.g. has members that make a
sport of ignoring questions/points in posts and telling users off. Don't
know why that is.)

I asked what you, the other readers of this group, would do. And would
the police care if some guy was out there being aggressive. If you would
like to answer my questions, please do.

Asking a non-transport-related off-topic question in a transport group
does not entitle you to answers. Whether the police would care depends
on whether they thought the behaviour aggressive. I've already
explained why I think it wasn't.

What I would do? I would say no thanks and move on, which appears to be
what her partner did, and that was the end of the incident.

If you just want to try to put me down, well then go ahead and waste
your time. But do preface your reply as such so I won't waste my time
trying to look for sense in it.

Then don't waste the time of this NG with off-topic posts.
--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)

"redcat" wrote in message
m...
On 1/1/2012 7:20 PM, Brian Watson wrote:
wrote in message
...
Happy 2012!

Sings;
"The mayor of Bayswater,
He had a pretty daughter,
and the h...."

Ah, rugby songs, whatever happened to them?


I see Brian was having a very happy new year's day.

Would you finish that lyric for us?

Ah Cat, modesty forbids...

;-)

But I do recall there was "one black one, one white one, and..."

I'm sure it's Googleable if you REALLY want to.

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop