The outstretched hand.

  A curious incident occurred the other day when we were driving into Chef to do some shopping. We saw a car with English plates, stopped next to a lay-by with the driver flagging us down. Naturally we stopped but it was soon apparent that the driver was not English. He wasn`t French either by his accent, I should judge him to be Roumanian. He said he had a problem with diesel. We offered him a lift to Chef, the nearest pump, but he said that was not the problem, he wanted money to buy it! When we refused he said his poor wife and child were suffering in the car etc. We said we were sorry but we could not help and drove on.
  You may feel we were hard-hearted but we have been the target of several of these scams from the Roumanian immigrants, and now refuse to encourage them. They enjoy a not undeserved reputation in France as a nation of beggars or worse and we have personally found this to be apt.
   Our first experience was years ago when we were here on holiday. A woman knocked at the door ostensibly selling posies and asked for help in paying her medical bill, she had no health cover and needed an op. We gave her the equivalent of a fiver, not an ungenerous donation. She at once protested that this was quite insufficient, she needed fifty!  We almost had to physically throw her out. Ten seconds later her friend knocked on the same errand. We had donor fatigue and she got nothing.
   Another incident I have already described on this blog was the windscreen cleaning scam. Stopped at traffic lights, a woman squirted soapy water on the screen, squeegied it off and held out her hand. Although I had indicated I did not need her service I handed over two Euros. Not enough was the cry, and another `cleaner` started hammering on the other window. The lights having changed I locked the doors and drove off.
   The common denominator with these two incidents is the extraordinary thanklessness and even aggressiveness of these beggars. I have little doubt the diesel beggar would have been difficult to dislodge if we had been the slightest bit helpful. I suppose there is no harm in asking but these folk do not accept a refusal or even a contribution graciously. They are a disgrace to the panhandlers` union!
  We thought of reporting him at Chef Gendarmerie (where had he got the car, I wonder? ) but it was closed as usual so we let it go.  Leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, though...

    Bye for now, going to beg a cup of tea from Kim!