Beggars knocking on front doors

Feisar · 22-09-2020 10:37am

Deleted User wrote: »

You can't cock a shotgun.

Semi or pump you can.

PARlance · 22-09-2020 10:44am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You can't cock a shotgun.

I wouldn't know the terminology. It was probably a hunting rifle as well. The general jist is that he opened the back door and did whatever you do in preparation for a shot.

IAMAMORON · 22-09-2020 10:52am

Deleted User wrote: »

You can't cock a shotgun.

Thinly veiled tongue twister.

How much cock could a shot gun.....

Edgware · 22-09-2020 12:14pm

PARlance wrote: »

I wouldn't know the terminology. It was probably a hunting rifle as well. The general jist is that he opened the back door and did whatever you do in preparation for a shot.

Probably raised it to the shoulder in preparation to pull the trigger.

riclad · 22-09-2020 12:38pm

I think maybe 30 per cent of house,s have alarms,
Some places in area,s are too far from the exchange to get a basic phone line installed .
they have no broadband .
if they had an alarm no one would here it, eg the nearest house is 500 yards away.i do not know anyone living in an apartment who has an alarm installed .
Is it worth having an alarm installed if all you have in the house is an old tv and
a cable tv reciever ?
not everyone over 50 has expensive laptops ,pcs or tablets in the house .
if someone has an alarm theres usually an alarm box on the wall with a
bell inside.
Which can be seen by a potential burglar .

the purple tin · 22-09-2020 12:50pm

riclad wrote: »

I think maybe 30 per cent of house,s have alarms,
Some places in area,s are too far from the exchange to get a basic phone line installed .
they have no broadband .
if they had an alarm no one would here it, eg the nearest house is 500 yards away.i do not know anyone living in an apartment who has an alarm installed .
Is it worth having an alarm installed if all you have in the house is an old tv and
a cable tv reciever ?
not everyone over 50 has expensive laptops ,pcs or tablets in the house .
if someone has an alarm theres usually an alarm box on the wall with a
bell inside.
Which can be seen by a potential burglar .

Ah yes, but how many are real and how many are dummys

anewme · 22-09-2020 12:51pm

riclad wrote: »

I think maybe 30 per cent of house,s have alarms,
Some places in area,s are too far from the exchange to get a basic phone line installed .
they have no broadband .
if they had an alarm no one would here it, eg the nearest house is 500 yards away.i do not know anyone living in an apartment who has an alarm installed .
Is it worth having an alarm installed if all you have in the house is an old tv and
a cable tv reciever ?
not everyone over 50 has expensive laptops ,pcs or tablets in the house .
if someone has an alarm theres usually an alarm box on the wall with a
bell inside.
Which can be seen by a potential burglar .

5 out of 25 houses on my road don't have an alarm.

I am looking into upgrading mine - mine is one that rings off and not to my phone, so I want the one like what Stumms is saying.

Personally, I think anyone is crazy if they dont have an alarm on the property. I priced up the CCTV and what I was told was, if they want to get in, they will get in, but everything is a deterrent.

What I was advised if I do get the CCTV is to consider getting a camera in the landing - they may come to the door with their faces covered, but are likely to take off the cover if they get in - so that is where the camera is likely to get them.

Its not just what they can take, it is the fact that someone was in your home when you were not there and that can be traumatic for people. Plus they could wreck the place if they find nothing.

The Nal · 22-09-2020 12:53pm

Watch out for chalk marks on the trees or lamposts outside.

A tactic is to call round during the day on a recon mission, ask for change, scope out the gaff, then mark the houses that are doable and then the burglar crew get busy at night. Happens a bit in my area where there are older people living alone.

El Tarangu · 22-09-2020 1:01pm

The Nal wrote: »

Watch out for chalk marks on the trees or lamposts outside.

A tactic is to call round during the day on a recon mission, ask for change, scope out the gaff, then mark the houses that are doable and then the burglar crew get busy at night. Happens a bit in my area where there are older people living alone.

Do they use infra-red chalk, or how are they supposed to see these tiny chalk marks at night?

It seems to me that it would be a lot easier to say: "Hai, John-Joe, go burgle number 41, 43 and 47 "

El Tarangu · 22-09-2020 1:02pm

Feisar wrote: »

Two Mormons rocked up to my door one time. “I bet you never seen two guys like us before”. Actually yes I have ye must all come out of the same mould. I offered them tea but they declined.

Mormons don't consume caffeine (so, it wasn't that they were being impolite or anything).

Feisar · 22-09-2020 1:40pm

El Tarangu wrote: »

Mormons don't consume caffeine (so, it wasn't that they were being impolite or anything).

:eek:

Ya learn something new every day.

IAMAMORON · 22-09-2020 2:14pm

The Nal wrote: »

Watch out for chalk marks on the trees or lamposts outside.

A tactic is to call round during the day on a recon mission, ask for change, scope out the gaff, then mark the houses that are doable and then the burglar crew get busy at night. Happens a bit in my area where there are older people living alone.

Sounds like something out of a John Le Carré novel. I am calling BS right there.

Since when have cream crackers started utilising advanced Cold War espionage techniques as a form of clandestine communication?

No sale.

The phuckers might seem cute enough , but.....

stoneill · 22-09-2020 2:24pm

There is an old story about a father and son walking down the street.
A disheveled looking man approaches them and asks for €50 for an operation for his boy.
The dad takes out €50 from his wallet and gives it to the beggar.
His son asks why did he do that? He could just go spend it on booze.
The dad says that if he used a sick boy for an excuse just to buy booze, then that is a reflection on his character.
But if I had refused when I could help someone in need while I had the means, then that is a reflection on my character.

Anyway, I wouldn't give, they are only scroungers.

The Nal · 22-09-2020 2:28pm

IAMAMORON wrote: »

Sounds like something out of a John Le Carré novel. I am calling BS right there.

Since when have cream crackers started utilising advanced Cold War espionage techniques as a form of clandestine communication?

No sale.

The phuckers might seem cute enough , but.....

I've seen it happen. Wooden comms poles with chalk on it. Garda who called in when someone tried to break into my house told me.

CrankyHaus · 22-09-2020 3:09pm

IAMAMORON wrote: »

Sounds like something out of a John Le Carré novel. I am calling BS right there.

Yeah it immediately reminded me of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, for some reason.

skooterblue2 · 22-09-2020 3:42pm

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Sometime in the 50s my grandfather opened the door to a tramp who begged for money and was being fairly smart about it, my grandfather replied with "wait a minute" and went back inside to bring out his Lee Enfield from his time in the IRA during the Tan war, cocked it and then let out a volley of shots over the tramps head, reckoned he never say a man run as fast in his life before.

I miss my grandad.

Alot of those "Tramps" were men who never recovered fully from the first and second world wars. They were shelled in the trenches daily and gassed. They used flamethrowers on them. There is no way you would be right in the head after that. Of course now we call it PTSD but we are no closer to cure.

The last "tramp" I ever saw was in the early 1980's and my mother wanted to hunt him from the house. My father was in England in the 1960's and knew his medals. Now we were poor at the time but my father said he could sleep in the barn and my mother was to make him a full tea and sandwiches in the morning. My father said he had medals on his chest and I have never seen him sympathetic to any homeless person or traveller like that before and after.

skooterblue2 · 22-09-2020 3:50pm

Edgware wrote: »

Reference to "the Tan War" is the giveaway. Usual bar stool Provo bull ****

Volley of shots..... that is also BS as well. No one in the RA would let off a volley of shots, one because they didnt have them and two because that would attract attention. I am calling BS on the story too.

Feisar · 22-09-2020 3:50pm

skooterblue2 wrote: »

Alot of those "Tramps" were men who never recovered fully from the first and second world wars. They were shelled in the trenches daily and gassed. They used flamethrowers on them. There is no way you would be right in the head after that. Of course now we call it PTSD but we are no closer to cure.

The last "tramp" I ever saw was in the early 1980's and my mother wanted to hunt him from the house. My father was in England in the 1960's and knew his medals. Now we were poor at the time but my father said he could sleep in the barn and my mother was to make him a full tea and sandwiches in the morning. My father said he had medals on his chest and I have never seen him sympathetic to any homeless person or traveller like that before and after.

My Dad would talk about various knights of the road from when he was little. Like yerselves Dad would have come from a poor enough house but there'd be a bed of straw made up and a hot meal for them.
The wars were never mentioned however what you say makes sense. He'd have said they're was no harm in any of them just lads that didn't seem to be able to cope in the world.

skooterblue2 · 22-09-2020 3:57pm

Feisar wrote: »

My Dad would talk about various knights of the road from when he was little. Like yerselves Dad would have come from a poor enough house but there'd be a bed of straw made up and a hot meal for them.
The wars were never mentioned however what you say makes sense. He'd have said they're was no harm in any of them just lads that didn't seem to be able to cope in the world.

Real men who were in those wars never talked about them.... They were men whose souls had left but their bodies hadnt died yet. We also had a neighbour (Long before I was born), while return to England injured had his ship torpedoed in the first world war. He seriously damaged his back. The British legion looked after him properly, he spent his life in a specially made chair and drank whiskey every day to numb the pain. He would never talk about the war but late at night when the whiskey had its full effect he would tell terrible stories of being shelled, swamps of mud and rats. "Shure we were only cannon fodder".

How could you be right in the head after that?

skooterblue2 · 22-09-2020 4:01pm

Feisar wrote: »

Two Mormons rocked up to my door one time. “I bet you never seen two guys like us before”. Actually yes I have ye must all come out of the same mould. I offered them tea but they declined.

I also had a Jehovah’s Witness. Although I called her Jehovah Fitness. The wife was not impressed when she came home from town and I was talking shíte with her.

I invited female Jehovas Witnesses in before they delined, granted I was in my dressing gown, looked disheveled and was coming of a shift of nights....

.... they never called back. Sometimes when the wind whistles through the trees, I wonder was it my two odd socks or my brand of toothpaste that is why they declined???

skooterblue2 · 22-09-2020 4:03pm

Pkiernan wrote: »

Why do you think CCTV adds security?
It doesn't.

A CCTV and padlock only keep out honest people, a shot gun keeps out everyone else.

The Nal · 22-09-2020 4:16pm

CrankyHaus wrote: »

Yeah it immediately reminded me of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, for some reason.

Reminds me more of this

Church on Tuesday · 22-09-2020 5:29pm

Edgware wrote: »

Reference to "the Tan War" is the giveaway. Usual bar stool Provo bull ****

Sorry darling, War of Independence, is that nice and sanitised for you?

Church on Tuesday · 22-09-2020 5:31pm

El Tarangu wrote: »

"This week, on things that never happened..."

Sure did, the neighbour heard the shots and came out to see what the fuss was about.

That's how my Grandmother found out.

Edgware · 23-09-2020 9:04am

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Sorry darling, War of Independence, is that nice and sanitised for you?

Good. Now back to your bar stool.

MaryLouMacari · 23-09-2020 9:25am

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

A bucket of ice cold water out a first floor window on top of them would learn them.

Or, better still, the contents of the chamber pot (if not already emptied) from under the bed

.

The Tetrarch · 23-09-2020 10:26am

There was a knock at the back door.
I opened it.
It was a tramp, very dishevelled.
Can I have a piece of cake?
Why?
It's my birthday. I'm an old soldier.
Were you at the front?
I was, but no one answered.

(any excuse to retell it

)

Hector Savage · 23-09-2020 10:38am

It happened a lot when I was growing up in Dublin (donaghmede) in the 1980s ...

riclad · 23-09-2020 10:50am

Theres people sleeping on the streets, they seem to be mostly under the age of 30.
Even homeless people dress in a similar way to anyone else .
All around the city centre there are beggar,s .they sit on the ground with a cup for people to put money in .

Church on Tuesday · 23-09-2020 11:16am

Edgware wrote: »

Good. Now back to your bar stool.

Right you are Blueshirt.

mariaalice · 23-09-2020 11:25am

I am amazed it is still happening, when we were children travlers use to come begging but my mother would have known them, what she would have called respectable travelers and they were always given something.

kg703 · 23-09-2020 3:45pm

Weirdly enough this happened me in 2018 & 2019 and we moved into our house in 2017. Door went, man, pretty thin and rough looking asks is my dad home (HA). Tell him laughing my dad doesnt live here so he asked for the man of the house. At this point I'm annoyed so I say you are looking at him (I'm female, have a husband but still). He then tells me how the man who lives here regularly gives him money - the older man he says. I tell him he's gone more than a year and the guy at the door says oh I've been in hospital for a while I didnt know..... can you give me money? I tell him sorry, no I'm not in a position to do that. He starts getting a bit funny and saying weird things like nice house you managed to get yourself here, hope you dont have to look after it all by yourself etc. Rang the guards when he left, they said they knew who I was talking about and not to worry about him.

He came back a year later, exact same thing looking for the older man in the house for money. This time he got my husband at the door who told him not to come back.

Should be around this time of year Im expecting a knock

Was a bit frightening the first time, I felt he might be making thin threats at me or was casing the house but we havent been robbed yet so fingers crossed!

JupiterKid · 23-09-2020 4:19pm

Used to get travellers calling to the family home looking for money or food growing up in Castleknock in the 80s, my mum would usually give them something but if they were unlucky to get my dad he would tell them to p*ss off.

Hardly anyone calls to my door these days. Beggars seem to be outside most large suburban grocery supermarkets these days.

punisher5112 · 23-09-2020 4:28pm

DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR....

El Tarangu · 23-09-2020 4:29pm

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Sure did, the neighbour heard the shots and came out to see what the fuss was about.

That's how my Grandmother found out.

I'm not a history expert or anything, but it would be pretty unusual for quartermaster to let a volunteer hang on to valuable piece of inventory as a souvenir, and for said volunteer to start firing volleys off at passersby for the craic.

I'm sure you are recounting the story in earnest, but I wouldn't go believing everything that's handed down to you.

Feisar · 23-09-2020 5:08pm

El Tarangu wrote: »

I'm not a history expert or anything, but it would be pretty unusual for quartermaster to let a volunteer hang on to valuable piece of inventory as a souvenir, and for said volunteer to start firing volleys off at passersby for the craic.

I'm sure you are recounting the story in earnest, but I wouldn't go believing everything that's handed down to you.

There isn't a revolver in every loft however there are bits and bobs up and down the country.

punisher5112 · 23-09-2020 6:01pm

Seriously you oy have to go into Amien st just after Connolly station and look at the inner city helping homeless, 3 vans 2017, 2020 and another year can't recall.... Plenty of money given by the Irish tax payer..... There is in no way at all people going hungry in this country with the generous welfare system and all the other numerous charities on top giving hand outs and hampers etc....

Always laugh when I see people giving to the fat Roma gypsies, they ain't poor or going hungry and it's quite obvious at that.....

Church on Tuesday · 23-09-2020 6:46pm

El Tarangu wrote: »

I'm not a history expert or anything, but it would be pretty unusual for quartermaster to let a volunteer hang on to valuable piece of inventory as a souvenir, and for said volunteer to start firing volleys off at passersby for the craic.

I'm sure you are recounting the story in earnest, but I wouldn't go believing everything that's handed down to you.

No you are not. IRA was obviously not regular army, hence standard protocol did not apply. It was a guerrilla war after all.

I saw said rifle, my aunt has it now. My grandfather was just let have it, fairly common for some brigades outside Dublin.

My grandfather wasn't a bull****ter, if it happened it happened and like I said the chap in question was being smart and acting suspicious, so he had every right to give him a warning.

CrankyHaus · 24-09-2020 9:25am

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

No you are not. IRA was obviously not regular army, hence standard protocol did not apply. It was a guerrilla war after all.

I saw said rifle, my aunt has it now. My grandfather was just let have it, fairly common for some brigades outside Dublin.

My grandfather wasn't a bull****ter, if it happened it happened and like I said the chap in question was being smart and acting suspicious, so he had every right to give him a warning.

If his reaction to an unwanted caller was to fire shots over his head then he should never have been issued anything more dangerous than a water pistol.

Montage of Feck · 24-09-2020 9:41am

If you had been caught with a rifle in your house during the civil war it would be enough to get send to firing squad.

Ush1 · 24-09-2020 10:24am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Used to get travellers calling to the family home looking for money or food growing up in Castleknock in the 80s, my mum would usually give them something but if they were unlucky to get my dad he would tell them to p*ss off.

Hardly anyone calls to my door these days. Beggars seem to be outside most large suburban grocery supermarkets these days.

Noticed this myself, what's up with that?

Beggars outside Aldi like and the local SuperValu.

Stovepipe · 24-09-2020 10:30am

The duty beggar.It's his turn on the roster. First saw it on O'Connell Bridge in Dublin when a van pulled up and turfed out a squad of Roma beggars who fanned out and took up nominated positions on both sides of the bridge, complete with cardboard to sit on. When a Garda came along and told one to move off, the rest immediately got up and left. Clearly watching each other and watching out for Gardai.

El Tarangu · 24-09-2020 11:09am

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

IRA was obviously not regular army, hence standard protocol did not apply.

Indeed; given their shortage of weapons, all the more unlikely that a volunteer would be given his own rifle to bring home at the end of the day.

(this isn't even the more unlikely element of your story)

But at a risk of derailing a thread, I will leave it there.

Church on Tuesday · 24-09-2020 11:46am

CrankyHaus wrote: »

If his reaction to an unwanted caller was to fire shots over his head then he should never have been issued anything more dangerous than a water pistol.

Yes, he should have just let him rob the place.

Church on Tuesday · 24-09-2020 11:50am

El Tarangu wrote: »

Indeed; given their shortage of weapons, all the more unlikely that a volunteer would be given his own rifle to bring home at the end of the day.

(this isn't even the more unlikely element of your story)

But at a risk of derailing a thread, I will leave it there.

It was the end of the Tan War, the general consensus was that he could keep it, again fairly common.

Irish History isn't just what you read in secondary History books folks and a lot of it really isn't pleasant, it's important to realise this.

riclad · 24-09-2020 11:50am

Theres a beggar on the halfpenny bridge every day the last week.
with a sign need money for food please help.
Its 2020 theres free food given out every day to anyone who wants it.
focus gives out free dinners 3 minutes walk from the bridge ,
Theres no one in ireland who is starving from lack of food.
it would be more honest to have a sign i need money to buy drugs or beer.
theres no reason for beggars to exist in ireland.
i think most of the beggars i see are young people who are homeless .
I could get 3 free dinners every day if i wanted to just in dublin 1.

stoneill · 24-09-2020 11:56am

punisher5112 wrote: »

Seriously you oy have to go into Amien st just after Connolly station and look at the inner city helping homeless, 3 vans 2017, 2020 and another year can't recall.... Plenty of money given by the Irish tax payer..... There is in no way at all people going hungry in this country with the generous welfare system and all the other numerous charities on top giving hand outs and hampers etc....

Always laugh when I see people giving to the fat Roma gypsies, they ain't poor or going hungry and it's quite obvious at that.....

A lot of those vans are donations to the charities. You will see some old Tesco or SuperValu grocery delivery vans being repurposed for bringing food to the homeless. A lot of places will donate and not necessarily ask for advertisement.

punisher5112 · 24-09-2020 12:04pm

stoneill wrote: »

A lot of those vans are donations to the charities. You will see some old Tesco or SuperValu grocery delivery vans being repurposed for bringing food to the homeless. A lot of places will donate and not necessarily ask for advertisement.

They're not from any shops.

Chalk McHugh · 24-09-2020 12:10pm

Chuggers, beggars and cold callers always best avoided. If i see a lad with a clipboard trying to sell something at my front door i just ignore him/her and don't answer the door. Might have entertained one or two over 10 years ago but decided never again. Once bitten a hundred times shy.

The Cool · 24-09-2020 12:47pm

Had beggars to the door once or twice a few years ago in Maynooth. At the time I was living on Koka noodles myself so told them as much! If someone really cannot afford nappies or food for their little ones, they should be calling SVP.
I never answer the door unless I can see a DHL van outside - nothing good ever comes from it. My dad living in a wee Donegal town cannot fathom my thinking at all. I've worked from home for years so I've gotten well used to it but at the start of lockdown my OH answered the door to a man with a van who wanted to clean our gutters and wouldn't take no for an answer (for pay, mind you!) I'd have told him to feck off, but OH didn't know how to say no. I went spare - somebody we don't know from Adam up on a ladder around the front and back, seeing in windows, getting the scope. If I want someone to do work on my house I will find them from Google and then I know who it is if something happens.
As for Roma beggars, I got wise to them after a summer in a French city - pure scammers. One afternoon in a city garden we saw too little boys begging everyone for money, saying they were starving etc. Came back shortly after with a 500ml bottle of Coke each - would have cost about €5-6 for the two fizzy drinks. If they were really hungry at all, they could've gotten a baguette, ham, cheese and milk for that. Messers. I was a student at the time, I'd say I was harder up for cash myself.

Beggars knocking on front doors

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