Is it true about Castle &amp; Hatfield?

I like the buskers. They add to the atmosphere. I like that "Big ishoo" woman (felt really sorry for her the other weak when, while in Newcastle, she recognised me as being from Durham and approached me wanting money for her son's shoes. Haven't seen her since

) although the latest Big Issue guy is a sarky arse. Can't stand the fundraisers though.

She's a con-merchant. She shops in Waitrose and has been asking for money to buy her son shoes for years. Big Issue's whole principle is that it is NOT a charity, and that people selling it shouldn't ask for money.

Reply 25

Oh, the castle isn't air conditioned (wtf? as if it would be likely to be!) but does have rather powerful heating in the Keep. The rooms are OK, but mainly need redecorating and quite a lot of them aren't in the castle.

Reply 26

River85

Mattmoy_2000

Big Issue's whole principle is that it is NOT a charity, and that people selling it shouldn't ask for money.

Well, she wasn't selling the Big Issue when she asked me for money.

So how do you know all of this then?

Reply 27

I lived as a student in Durham for 4 years and also shopped in Waitrose; she asked me for shoe money when I foolishly bought a double-price bumper edition BI off her once (noting that I was obviously a poor student and also pushing my newborn son in a pram she thought nothing of guilt-tripping me into giving her money for her "son's shoes", which I later discovered to be a ruse). She's a blight on what the BI started up to achieve.

Reply 28

River85

Mattmoy_2000

I lived as a student in Durham for 4 years and also shopped in Waitrose; she asked me for shoe money when I foolishly bought a double-price bumper edition BI off her once (noting that I was obviously a poor student and also pushing my newborn son in a pram she thought nothing of guilt-tripping me into giving her money for her "son's shoes", which I later discovered to be a ruse). She's a blight on what the BI started up to achieve.

I've been a student in Durham for four years also. I've never seen her in Waitrose but, then again, it's not my sort of place. So you saw her frequently shop at Waitrose, whilst she was selling the Big Issue?

Reply 29

No, I don't think Waitrose let people sell the Big Issue in there. She's been selling BI continuously in Durham since before I went there, and still after I left, if that's what you mean.

Reply 30

River85

Mattmoy_2000

No, I don't think Waitrose let people sell the Big Issue in there. She's been selling BI continuously in Durham since before I went there, and still after I left, if that's what you mean.

Oh, I just thought you meant you saw her shopping in Waitrose? So she asked you for money for her son? How do you know it was a "ruse"?

Anyway, I haven't seen her in Durham in ages. The only time she's ever asked me for money was the last time I saw here, this time in Newcastle (Eldon Square bus station). She seemed quite upset and really uncomfortable about asking for the money and was quite apologetic afterwards, when I told her I had no money. She could just be a good actress but I consider myself a good judge of character and, having had experience with homeless people or those living in temporary accomodation (which, as I think I know where he lives, she is) then I consider myself a fairly good judge of character and believe her to be genuine.

Even so, she's a human being and the treatment she gets from both students and the public is not justifiable.

Reply 31

WokSz