London Bridge station

[Flynnie]

I like those paintings too.

The obvious non-bastard position is people sleeping in a train station is bad....because they should be housed. I moved to South London (and the UK) in 2007 and homeless people were extremely rare when I moved here. I remember there was one guy with a dog or two in the New Cross Sainsburys car park, and that was sort of it for my little world. And he seemed quite a jovial guy, I'm not entirely sure being homeless was not a choice for him.

London is a long way off San Francisco levels of homelessness, but it's done a lot of catching up since then.

[ursus arctos]

Very informative, thank you

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

Having said all that (and those powers are the most commonly used to criminalise rough sleeping and begging), begging on a train or in a railway station is prohibited by the Railway Byelaws

https://assets.publishing.service.go...ay-byelaws.pdf

[EIM]

Yeah. I got booted out of St Pancras once for trying to kip in a photo booth. I had tried to sleep outside Kings Cross but a homeless man told me I#d be better off at St Pancras as it was open and warm.

[WOM]

My office is, quite literally, in the middle of the emergency shelter district of Toronto. Most of the private security guys around here seems to spend a lot of time rousting homeless guys off the lobby couches. They don't seem to mind when they're just sitting and warming up, but then they start unpacking their odds and sods, or falling asleep, and it's time to ask them to move on. And the McDonald's where I get my morning bagel is a thread unto itself. One morning, some guy was locked in the washroom yelling "Turn on the fuckin' lights" over and over. The lights were on.

[Jah Womble]

Doreen Fletcher - the artist behind the paintings to which NS linked - has just been interviewed on ITV London News. She's exactly how I'd expected - slightly eccentric and socially awkward, but unassuming and clearly grateful for the recognition finally coming her way. Long may she reap the rewards that she deserves.

[slackster]

Wasn’t she featured recently on the Spitalfields Life blogsite? That’s always interesting, and I too liked the paintings I’ve seen.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Those paintings are excellent. Limehouse is the closest one to me, I'd love a print of that.

[ursus arctos]

One of the several things that I've learned from this thread is that the UK definition of "byelaw" is rather different from the US use of "by-law".

The latter are generally enacted by a private entity (most often a corporate entity) and more often used to establish principles of governance (e.g., how board meetings are to be conducted) than to establish any principles of behavio(u)r. Accordingly, they have no impact on (and cannot be enforced by the State against) third parties. Nor are violations seen as being criminal.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Wasn’t she featured recently on the Spitalfields Life blogsite? That’s always interesting, and I too liked the paintings I’ve seen.

It's a great site, isn't it?

[EIM]

Those Doreen Fletcher paintings are ace. I'm making plans to see the exhibition.

Course, had she not been suspended for the 2009 CL Final it would have been a very different story indeed.

[Toby Gymshorts]

<cricket applause>

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

One of the several things that I've learned from this thread is that the UK definition of "byelaw" is rather different from the US use of "by-law".

The latter are generally enacted by a private entity (most often a corporate entity) and more often used to establish principles of governance (e.g., how board meetings are to be conducted) than to establish any principles of behavio(u)r. Accordingly, they have no impact on (and cannot be enforced by the State against) third parties. Nor are violations seen as being criminal.

UK byelaws are laws passed by local authorities or organisations with public functions (e.g. airport authorities) - which are passed by the relevant body, then signed off by the government. They have limited geographical scope - normally relating only to the property of the organisation/authority - but can be enforced by the police (or enforcement officers) and prosecuted as criminal offences (normally not particularly serious ones).

It probably says something about the UK legal and political system that there are half a dozen different ways of empowering police to harass homeless people and only one of them is an act of parliament, that's almost never used.

[Gerontophile]

I worked for Railtrack in Paddington, lots of years ago. (My birthday is THAT day.)

You couldn't sleep in or near the 'closed' tube entrance (cos, we couldn't help you as soon as you walk down those stairs), and you really had to move outside a little, but suggestions of a destination, a little more ... west on the disused platform 1a, would not be spoken about. Nor would we mention sleepers. We would literally nudge you as we walked past, so that you would know that it was morning. And you know, not get arrested by the Transport Police.

Ahh, those were the days.

[Gerontophile]

I don't generally like any London station, that has trains that can go in more than one direction.

(Just checked the thread title: that is fairly relevant, yay.)

x

Nadal has just tennised his ass off.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Can't wait to go to the Doreen Fletcher exhibition, i'm intending to go during half term and will tie it in with this http://www.ideastore.co.uk/painting-the-hamlets at the truly wonderful Tower Hamlets Local History Library. As someone who grew up in the area and has now returned, those images really bring back such phenomenal childhood memories. Especially that image of Limehouse, Christ, I'd change from a 15 to a 277 for so many years of my life there.

Star of the East, just to the right of the newsagents in the Limehouse painting, is currently being refurbished and turned into a Gastro Pub, can't wait to see what is one of the most amazing pub exterior/interiors be brought back to life.

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

Went through London Bridge today and I noticed BTP has stuck up warnings about issuing Withdrawal of Implied Permission notices.

This means that people who engage in "anti-social behaviour" can have their "implied permission" to enter London Bridge Station removed.

If they enter in the following six months, they can be prosecuted for trespass. There's fuck all legal oversight on that - railway stations are private property - but it's yet another way the cops have to crack down on the most vulnerable.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Yeah, they are bastards.

Thanks to this thread for reminding me to carry some change and chuck it in some poor sod's cup.