Give buskers another chance
"What's happened to our local supermarket?" asks Martin Wright of Pt Chevalier. "It's a pretty ugly place at the best of times, but now it's grotty walls have taken on the personality of its managers. 'No busking or begging allowed,' reads the sign. Buskers have been brightening the place for years. Got talking to a few of them. Joined in with harmonies on Drift Away. I asked to see the manager. Nice guy. I pointed to the sign and asked him to explain. 'We have had problems with intimidation and drunks,' he said. Perhaps the sign should read, 'No intimidation or drunks' then, I offered. 'They can busk and beg over there and there,' he said, flapping his apron at distant dark corners. 'But these people are part of our community,' I said. 'When they get a few coins, they spend it in your shop.' But other customers have complained, apparently. 'Maybe for every customer that has complained, there are 10 that want you to show some compassion for these people,' I argued. Think of all those who have passed through these doors, paused to give a coin and smile, and didn't think to complain. Despite the foul weather and the dark, a lone beggar is slumped in one of those dark corners, alone with his paper cup. Imagine how bad life must be at home for him to come out on a night like this?"
Whine over water
There was a story in the Washington Post about how Rancho Santa Fe will be subject to water rationing. The wealthy Californians are not happy about it: "I think we're being overly penalised, and we're certainly being overly scrutinised by the world," said Gay Butler, an interior designer out for a trail ride on her show horse, Bear. She said her water bill averages about US$800 ($1144) a month which is about 14,800 litres per day. The average water consumption in Auckland in 2013 was 274 litres per person per day. Compare that to Butler's consumption, and it comes out as the equivalent daily usage of 54 people. Maybe she has a horse pool. Read more here...
