Walking to Waterloo
I pulled a drunk out of the road yesterday. He had fallen there through some roadworking bollards. Such was his stupour, he thought I might be mugging him or, indeed trying to engage him in some kind of sexual relations. Or both. So he tried to kick me, before collapsing again and going to sleep on the pavement, outside Waterloo station.
Aside from the sheer wonder that someone could drink so much, I was struck by just how many passers-by stopped to ask whether the guy was OK. Indeed, during the fracas, at least five other people stayed to check that both he and I were alright. Including a tramp. This is a stark contrast to the stereotype of Big City London, where (the myth has it) commuters stare down at their feet and walk past burning stab victims.
April 10th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Nice work.
What is a burning slab victim though?
April 10th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I’m pretty sure it says ’stab’, but a ’slab’ victim would be an interesting sight. A slab of what?
April 11th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Oh frig, it says Stab. I’ve been marking student assignments all day, and the head is a bit woozy.
I thought slab victim might be some kind of British thing.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Just blame the font, Shawn. It’s always the font’s fault.
April 12th, 2007 at 1:40 am
If I were to stop and check up on every drunk I see lying on the ground in this small Russian town, I’d be there all day. I saw a soldier lying in a snowdrift the other day, seemingly dead, at midday. Turned out he was merely intoxicated, and waiting for a bus.