Today battling down Fargate i counted the groups of people saying "excuse me i'm from..." to be 8!!!!

They were

Cancer breakthrough
Shelter
Direct Line insurance (or some other slip,trip)
Socialist worker
An animal charity selling badges
The usual market researchers
A bunch of students asking questions
Delta Force Paintballers

I'm surprised that there was room for anyone else to actually be on their lunch break.

Whilst i dont mind the Shelter people or cancer breakthrough i would like to say to the others

"IF I WANT YOUR SERVICES I WILL COME TO YOU!!!!"

I walked past one of the insurance people and he was badgering this guy asking "you sure you havent even slipped on a paving slab in the last three years"

mind boggling¬!!!

it was like wacky races trying to get down withouit been asked

It's all part of the "experience" of shopping in town.

meadowhell does have it's benefits after all.

I must have the 'dodging technique' down to a very fine art! I had to go up and down Fargate twice at lunch and wasn't stopped once... :heyhey:

I used to love the marketing people on the end of Norfolk Row who used to look up your nose when they approached you!

I find the 'walkman headphones in, half-scowl on face' approach does the trick. :thumbsup:

I once got stopped on there to look at the packaging for Stones beer. Went into the crypt of the church spent about 20 mins there. Thought here goes free booze as a gift. The lady then apologised and said that they could not give beer away because we were in a church and would a bar of chocolate do.

No Big Issue sellers then? I am surprised ! I normally find " Get that F**#ing clipboard out of my face otherwise you will have to have it surgically removed" tends to work........:hihi:

yeah i got asked to try booze before, didnt bother, go in to marks and spencer for that!:D

Does the old guy with the harmonica and havasack still frequent Fargate?

Just use the usual trick!!!!

Say that youve done whatever they want with their colleague whos further down fargate!

I was thinking the same.....after a trip down Fargate today.

I hope the powers that be realise that it just put's people like me using town at all.

Big Issue sellers actually aren't allowed to be pushy, if you don't buy one they can't start bitching and whingeing at you.. As for Market Researchers I just tell 'em "look just **** off will you?! If I want your fecking services I'll phone you up FFS!".

Fridays on Fargate are good............the Bible bashers, complete with plackards return from the wilderness........... "Repent" they shout..........and here's me thinking it must be a new fragrance from Chanel..............

It sounds like my old walk to uni when I lived at West One and went to uni at Hallam City Campus. It went something like this:

Homeless man outside Budgens asking for 20p swiftly followed by another homeless man with beard who was always drunk and shouted abuse.

People outside Fopp giving out flyers

Beggar outside Spar and a Big Issue seller close by.

Big Issue seller outside John Lewis

At least 3 surveys near the town hall

Big Issue seller outside the library

and more often than not a bloke with a sign saying "repent to Jesus" or something like that.

All that twice a day can be quite tiring after a year.

old fella with the 'jesus loves you/ repent etc' is a fella called mr cocker, as a child i was dragged along to the church which is now walkabout, (god moves in mysterious ways!) and he is a lovely fella.

my dad also dragged me along to his bible outreach type things on fargate. as any drop of cred i had vanished we had to stand in a circle singing choruses. shame!!!

fortunately i have had no lasting damage........i think.......:help:

Originally posted by sheffbag


Cancer breakthrough
Shelter
Direct Line insurance (or some other slip,trip)
Socialist worker
An animal charity selling badges
The usual market researchers
A bunch of students asking questions
Delta Force Paintballers


Don't forget the 'gouranga' monk outside Boots.

Originally posted by Rich
"look just **** off will you?! If I want your fecking services I'll phone you up FFS!".

Charming :o

Originally posted by Andy
Charming :o

Worst are the Gouranga Monks.. WTF is Gouranga anyway?! :loopy:

I remember once getting stopped outside a computer shop one Saturday afternoon when I lived in Grimsby back in the early 90s by some bloke who asked me to shout "Gouranga!".. Eh?!

I think 'gouranga' means 'be happy'. I used to be reluctant to say it in case it way a sneaky way of getting be to commit to their religion! I can be too cynical sometimes.

A mate I used to share a house with ended up with their 'Gouranga Rock' CD. Vaguely amusing for a while - not often you get to enjoy a thrash rock CD made by monks.

Give the guy on Fargate some credit at least - never seen him without a smile or heard him being anything less than polite, if a little too persistent sometimes.

I work on Fargate and most of my lunch break is spent saying "No Thanks, Im on my lunch break". Which I can live with.
What I find more annoying are the beggers that approach me every night after work while walking to the bus stop.


'Gouranga' monk outside Boots needs to get a proper job and move on.

The survey women come in handy when you need a free coffee and a bic biro

and you missed out the young folks dishing out pink foam pigs to promote pigsback-dot-com (ooops, sorry, am i allowed to do that?)
I got 3 for the kids:clap:
and yesterday i thought id find out what these market research things was a bout....got a free toothbrush and £4!! nice toothpaste it was too...!

sue:hihi: :D

I guess theyre only doing their job.
At least they have faith in this kinda thing i.e Gouranga, and erm... jesus

Originally posted by H_E_M
I guess theyre only doing their job.
At least they have faith in this kinda thing i.e Gouranga, and erm... jesus

If there job is to annoy hundreds of people and force them out of the city centre they are doing a grand job!

There's a man who walks up and down Fargate all Sunday asking if he can 'buy' a fag off you. You give him one for free cos you don't want to feel tight, I assume he sells them on. I've seen him every Sunday for the past 3 months.

Originally posted by desy
I once got stopped on there to look at the packaging for Stones beer. Went into the crypt of the church spent about 20 mins there. Thought here goes free booze as a gift. The lady then apologised and said that they could not give beer away because we were in a church and would a bar of chocolate do.

Similar thing happened to me. They gave me a pen.

like i said i dont really mind the charity ones (although i felt like telling the woman who was so cheesy last week saying the food i had looked nice before asking me to buy a "gag" mag to go away

but people like the gour... men (i refuse to say or type the word) or the insurance scum who prey on people just to make a quick buck themselves.

FOR GODS SAKE IF WE WANT YOUR SERVICES WE WILL COME TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

that Repent and Turn to God man stood on my foot really hard once while he was wielding his placard at people. I have paid for my sins.

Luckily I look so young for my age the clipboard people rarely bother me, or if they do they say 'are you 18?' in patronising voices first in which case I just say no (i'm 23) and they leave me alone.

my brother gave me a name for the people in the little yellow jackets

CHUGGERS

'charity muggers'

Well I thought it was funny I'd not heard it before. Think I'm of the belief charities should stand quietly in the corner with their collecting tin, if you want to give to a partiular cause you will search them out. It seems a bit business like and phoney when you see the same people week after week and all that has changed is the name on the back of their jackets........they can't be that philanthropic and support everything can they? I counted once and was stopped 11 times between TJ Hughes and the bottom of the Moor, Big Issue sellers, charities, surveys, have you got any change, think its getting to saturation point....how much change/time do they think people have?

my god yeah! whats going on, its like you have to dodge em and they try n send u on a guilt trip!!

I wonder what the council's take on all this is?
Don't you need a permit to be doing these things in a public place?
Surely there must be a limit to the number of people doing surveys and selling things in one spot?
I understand that noone is allowed to do surveys at all in Meadowhall.
As has been pointed out, here is the one reason for choosing Meadowhall. Although, when the weather is bad presumably these pavement touters won't be out in the rain.

I believe that the frequency of harassment does detract from the quality of the City Centre.

I also believe that the actions of these people conflict with the "vision" of the 'City Centre Management Team' which uses the word "welcoming".

I would recommend that people look at the City Centre Management Team page (http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=29079) on the Council website.

I would also recommend that anyone who finds the harassment objectionable should write with their opinion/complaint to:

Sheffield City Council
City Centre Management Team
2nd Floor, Yorkshire House, 66 Leopold Street
Sheffield, S1 3RT

(0114) 2736895

citycentre.management@sheffield.gov.uk

I would also recommend copying the letter/e-mail to your local councillor or Jan Wilson.

Good thinking.In this way, perhaps we can make a difference.

Originally posted by Rich
Worst are the Gouranga Monks.. WTF is Gouranga anyway?! :loopy:

Lol, sounds like you need Gouranga there yourself.


gouranga means golden limbs and refers to the last avatar of god who descended to earth 500 years ago. This incarnation chaitanya mahaprabhu was golden in complexion and so named golden limbs - gouranga. He appeared in india and demonstrated how by chanting hare krishna mantra the soul is noticebly cleansed and perfection will be had through this process.

Everyone who is wound up by other people repeat after me:

Hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Originally posted by ryan123
my god yeah! whats going on, its like you have to dodge em and they try n send u on a guilt trip!!

Too right. The ones that ask me if I'm interested in human rights (or whichever issue) get to me most. Say 'yes' and they've got you, say 'no' and you've got your guilt trip. I once got asked if I was interested in supporting a particular charity while I was with someone who very obviously would have been a beneficiary of their fund-raising. Very questionable tactic I reckon. Can't decide whether to complain to the charity about that one...

Having said that, I've got a couple of standing orders (for small amounts) going to some worthy causes that wouldn't be getting anything from me if it weren't for those people on the streets.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
Lol, sounds like you need Gouranga there yourself.



Everyone who is wound up by other people repeat after me:

Hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

WTF?! :confused: :rolleyes:

Originally posted by desy
I once got stopped on there to look at the packaging for Stones beer. Went into the crypt of the church spent about 20 mins there. Thought here goes free booze as a gift. The lady then apologised and said that they could not give beer away because we were in a church and would a bar of chocolate do.

I once agreed to test a new Aftershave range for Next and got a £10 gift voucher not bad for half hours work.

Originally posted by Rich
WTF?! :confused: :rolleyes:

Maybe you should try an alternative mantra Rich?

WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF?

:clap:

Hows about we all go and slip or trip on or over the 'have you had a slip or trip in the last 3 years' person, and then put a claim in against him!!!

Liz

LOL

Someone once collared me asking if I'd sign up to a charity by standing order. I said I don't sign things like this on the street but here's a quid as a donation. She didn't take the quid but got annoyed that I wouldn't sign up.

Needless to say I walked off.

The 'chuggers' generally get a cut of whatever you donate to the charity in your first year as a direct-debit giver, so unlike the tin-rattlers, they are not philanthropic. I suggest that anyone who wants to donate to a particular charity do so via the charity's website, that way the good cause gets more money, and we might see less chuggers! :)

I have to walk down Fargate every night after work so by this time the charity people are tired, cold and peed-off.

I got an NSPCC guy stop me (or rather block my path) and ask me if I would like to donate £x a month. I explained that I already do give to NSPCC, RSPCA and Cancer Research every month, so he then asked me if I would up my donation to £10 a month!

I explained that I couldn't really afford to as I'm already shelling out £10 a month as it is, and he got really narky and starting banging on about it being less than the cost of my dinner etc! Cheeky sod!

Mind you, the Virgin Guy took the biscuit last week, they had that stall at the top of Fargate and were (noisily) handing out leaflets. I saw one them stop this guy and when he refused a leaflet twice, the Virgin bloke shouted 'well don't f-ing bother then!' I'd have told him to shove his leaflet where the sun don't shine......:rant:

When i drive up Fargate in the morning there are always 'teams' of people at the Orchard Sq end with clip boards stopping people...Altough the other day at the top of Fargate there were a group (students?) sat on a Blue sette??

SOCIALIST WORKERS STILL THERE?
jeesus i thought theyd all died
coming from an anarchist i "hoped" theyd all died :)







anarchism is REAL socialism

The 'chuggers' generally get a cut of whatever you donate to the charity in your first year as a direct-debit giver, so unlike the tin-rattlers, they are not philanthropic. I suggest that anyone who wants to donate to a particular charity do so via the charity's website, that way the good cause gets more money, and we might see less chuggers! :)

Nah, the individuals get paid a (rubbish) hourly rate. It is their employers (an agency no doubt) who get money from your donation. So even if you cancel your direct debit the agency still takes money from the charity for the amount of time you signed up for - leaving the charity out of pocket.

Agreed it is far better to go to their website and donate directly :)

Today battling down Fargate i counted the groups of people saying "excuse me i'm from..." to be 8!!!!

They were

Cancer breakthrough
Shelter
Direct Line insurance (or some other slip,trip)
Socialist worker
An animal charity selling badges
The usual market researchers
A bunch of students asking questions
Delta Force Paintballers

I'm surprised that there was room for anyone else to actually be on their lunch break.

Whilst i dont mind the Shelter people or cancer breakthrough i would like to say to the others

"IF I WANT YOUR SERVICES I WILL COME TO YOU!!!!"

I walked past one of the insurance people and he was badgering this guy asking "you sure you havent even slipped on a paving slab in the last three years"

mind boggling¬!!!

it was like wacky races trying to get down withouit been asked
The number of times, I have been stopped over the years, Fargate, Moor, Castle Mkt.Library, Surrey St. Pinstone St.
Once by a man who said he was a Tibetan Monk who declared : “I have given all my worldly goods to the poor & I am asking for your help”.

Oh, and how do I know you are who you say you are, so he whipped off his cap and said there you are and showed me his bald head : “but there are millions of people with bald heads” so he said “yes, but I have travelled from Tibet & have only just got here !!!

Another dirty old man, reeking of booze & fags approached me, so I told him to clear off & as I walked away he shouted at the top of his voice : “ you F****** old C*** !!!

My housemate got stopped in the street by Delta Force paintballing a few months ago, and got conned into buying 8 VIP tickets! Or so I thought - we finally went yesterday, and it was fantastic. It's one of the best days out I've had in a long time! Everybody should try it! :)

One of the few advantages of reaching a certain time in life is that they don't bother me or my other half. Too old to insure and too poor to donate:hihi: :hihi:

Along with others I am of the I'm on my lunch brigrade, if I do ever stop to talk to any of the charity types i've noticed that although you agree that their cause is a good one etc, they object when you dont get your bancard out and give them all your info in the street

This I find disturbing, I dont mind giving to charity as I do through my alary etc - but I do mind giving my most important details to any person in a street whether they are wearing a 'uniform' or not :rant: