General rules and good advice for life, no. 1

Always make sure you have enough change on you before approaching a Big Issue seller. I forgot this today, and it cost me £1.90 and about fifteen minutes of my time- not a major loss, it is true, but still, one better avoided.

I was just coming back from buying a roll from Tesco's to have for my supper with some leftover ratatouille from the other night, and had turned down my road, when I saw a girl walking towards me with several Big Issues in a plastic folder. Now, I'd already regretted not being able to buy a Big Issue earlier in the afternoon, when I passed a seller on my bike and it wasn't really practical to stop. In fact, I'd been vaguely looking out for one since Monday, when I'd run into (and turned down) hundreds and hundreds of them in the area round Covent Garden, when I was on my way to meet Cat, whilst we were walking round together, and after she'd gone- I explained to myself that it would be better to wait and buy a copy another day, as with it coming out on Monday, that's when everyone would be getting theirs, and the vendors would be more in need of custom later on in the week*. So, before I even thought about it, when I saw this girl, I called out to her 'Can I buy one, please?' Then I thought 'Hang on, I don't think I've actually got any change. Whoops'. I told her I'd just check whether I had enough on me, and had a look- but as I thought, there was only about 70p in my purse, plus a £10 note, which she didn't have change for. But she said there was a cafe on the corner and I could get change there. Though I was metres from my hall, where I could have had a cup of tea much cheaper, I couldn't really say no, so we went to the cafe. As we were about to go in, I asked her if I could get her a cup of tea or something- not just out of politeness, but I would have actually liked to have a cup of tea and a chat with her as she seemed really nice. But she said she'd already had some coffee (though I think she just didn't want to accept what she probably saw as charity). I asked for a cup of tea at the counter, with the girl standing next to me, but the woman on the till kept checking I didn't want anything else and looking at the girl- I'm not quite sure whether she thought I was monumentally selfish for not only not buying the girl anything, but not even appearing to be aware that she might want something- since the woman didn't know I'd already offered, or whether she was just trying to imply that if the girl wasn't a customer she shouldn't be in there, particularly not with her Big Issues. Anyway, I got my change, bought a copy, and settled down with my £1.90 mug of tea for fifteen minutes. Which was pleasant enough, but perhaps a luxury I wouldn't otherwise have indulged in just at that point, being on a budget and having things to do and all. Though I expect a cup of tea in a cafe is something I'll run to every now and again when I'm far enough away from halls not to be able to just get back and make myself a cup.

*Actually, the real reason was probably that I was still recovering from being buttonholed by an Iranian, who wasn't very happy with my £2 donation^, and wanted me, since I didn't have any more on me (actually I had a note or two but the student budget only allows for so much in the way of charitable donations, so I claimed to only have that), and didn't have my cheque book with me, to give my credit card details so I could donate more that way. Not a good idea. The cause was certainly a worthy one, being to try and stop extradition from Iraq of Iranians who would then be executed, and for things that would not even be crimes in many countries. But I can still only afford so much. Anyway, he took me on quite a guilt trip, which led me to be indisposed towards anything even vaguely in the nature of charity or people accosting one in the street for the rest of the day

^which I was only allowed to make ten minutes or so into the spiel, although I was intending to give that amount right from the beginning, and would have preferred to do so then as I was late for meeting Cat- given that what he was saying turned out to make no difference to my contribution, it didn't really serve any purpose