There were 6 street angels (
WSA) on duty on Friday night in 3 equal male-female pairs. Perfect....
Angel based on Van Gogh drawing
Our pair spent the initial time (first 2 hours) chatting, clearing bottles, greeting people. We talked to Pakistani Taxi drivers and an Afghan pizza man, as well as Nigerian and Eastern European Bouncers. Woking is becoming much more multi-cultural. We were offered a glass of green tea by one taxi driver who had once driven me to Gatwick and remembered me by name. I didn't recognise him at first. 'cos he's grown a bushy beard. The sweet 'kava' was served by a restauranteer from Gilgit in N Pakistan. I had visited there in 1987, even visiting his village of Kaplu in Baltistan, so we had lots to talk about....
Since it had been raining, and because of the general recession, there were not that many people out but we still had a significant evening of encounters and conversations.
A recent
BBC article claimed that
anti-social behviour was down by 21% in Woking since the StreetAngels had been out on the streets. This was due to a combination of good Community Policing and more visibility by WSA and groups like Outside Lights. They were under the station canopy, giving away tea and literature. Interestingly some of the police thought we were the same group.
By the way, you can now follow the local Woking Police on Twitter
@WokingBeat. And Woking Street Angels also have a
Facebook page
We had a number of encounters, in particular a fascinating conversation with 'Charles'* (*all names have been changed or made up*), a well-spoken young Trader, someone learning the fast paced lifestyle, currently in £500 a month as a student, but soon expecting to earn £500 a day, if he could keep up with the highly pressured lifestyle.
We came across one man, 'Pete'* sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. He had been kicked out of pub for disturbing bahaviour and was feeling very low indeed. He had lost his job and had lived rough a few time in the past and had also been in a drug rehab years ago. He could see himself sliding back down and was talking of harming himself. So we walked him back to his house. It was difficult to leave someone who was talking of getting a knife to cut himself. Walking away can also be an act of faith.
The police seemed particularly helpful on this occasion going round to check on him. We later got a message that he was OK and sleeping it off.
We also me someone 'Neville'* who was obviously very high and had great difficulty drinking from the bottle of water we gave him. He did seem to really enjoy his lollipop. 'Bob the Builder'* and his mate were looking for a place they could get a pint at 2 in the morning. We all ended up staying with 'Neville' and helping him walk towards the centre of town, (he certainly couldn't walk very straight at all). They even rolled him a fag. Bob the Builder said he had been an addict himself years ago, and had been off for 11 years and now had his own family and a good job. He was really helpful with Neville, who said he had nowhere to stay cos he'd been kicked out. We gave him a blanket and he bed down for the night in a doorway near BHS, The police, who knew him well as a PPO (Persistent Petty Offender), said they wouldn't disturb him and let him sleep it off for a bit. I thought that was great.....
I mentioned to 'Bob' that he had missed out on that extra pint on his Friday night out. He responded that helping Neville was much better than a pint. It had reminded him of where he had been and how far he had progressed. He may have been a rough diamond in the past, but he certainly shone that night. The Bible talks about practicing hospitality and entertaining angels unawares. Actually I think we saw an angel at work that night in the guise of Bob the Builder.......
