Walking Man

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Just met a man at Hartshill down on his luck and walking home from Kensington. 
Didn’t speak to him much but I gathered he’d gone for work and not got paid. He’s been walking for 17 days and is heading along the canals to Chester and then on into Wales and home. 
I gave him some food and a fiver. 
A sorry looking man who seemed harmless but kind of desperate too. 

Just thought I’d point him out, if by chance you see him you might want to help him on his way.

 

Big green ruck sack on his back and has a Welsh accent. 
He’s not begging, well he didn’t ask me for anything, I offered. 

[LadyG]

37 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Just met a man at Hartshill down on his luck and walking home from Kensington. 
Didn’t speak to him much but I gathered he’d gone for work and not got paid. He’s been walking for 17 days and is heading along the canals to Chester and then on into Wales and home. 
I gave him some food and a fiver. 
A sorry looking man who seemed harmless but kind of desperate too. 

Just thought I’d point him out, if by chance you see him you might want to help him on his way.

 

Big green ruck sack on his back and has a Welsh accent. 
He’s not begging, well he didn’t ask me for anything, I offered. 

I've come across a few guys who you know are trying, but just don't fit the bill. It's a sad state of affairs.

[PD1964]

9 hours ago, Goliath said:

Just met a man at Hartshill down on his luck and walking home from Kensington. 
Didn’t speak to him much but I gathered he’d gone for work and not got paid. He’s been walking for 17 days and is heading along the canals to Chester and then on into Wales and home. 
I gave him some food and a fiver. 
A sorry looking man who seemed harmless but kind of desperate too. 

Just thought I’d point him out, if by chance you see him you might want to help him on his way.

 

Big green ruck sack on his back and has a Welsh accent. 
He’s not begging, well he didn’t ask me for anything, I offered. 

I’m sure I seen him sitting on the Towpath today, near to where I saw Goliath. Was it you I spoke to when I past, you were painting in the sun, working up a thirst for a pint🍻

Edited June 7, 2022 by PD1964

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Yep, that was me 👍

[Tracy D'arth]

20 hours ago, Goliath said:

Just met a man at Hartshill down on his luck and walking home from Kensington. 
Didn’t speak to him much but I gathered he’d gone for work and not got paid. He’s been walking for 17 days and is heading along the canals to Chester and then on into Wales and home. 
I gave him some food and a fiver. 
A sorry looking man who seemed harmless but kind of desperate too. 

Just thought I’d point him out, if by chance you see him you might want to help him on his way.

 

Big green ruck sack on his back and has a Welsh accent. 
He’s not begging, well he didn’t ask me for anything, I offered. 

The itinerant labour that used to be on the tramp all seems to have disappeared. We became too dependant on overseas labour coming in for the harvest seasons.

 

If guys like this fellow want work, he must have passed dozens of  farms who are now desperate for labourers. Certainly in Cheshire there are farmers I know who just cannot find anyone to do the manual work.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

The itinerant labour that used to be on the tramp all seems to have disappeared. We became too dependant on overseas labour coming in for the harvest seasons.

 

If guys like this fellow want work, he must have passed dozens of  farms who are now desperate for labourers. Certainly in Cheshire there are farmers I know who just cannot find anyone to do the manual work.

 

Farmers in Norfolk have been advertising for Broccoli pickers and offering £50 per hour, no takers !

 

If folk really want to work there are jobs available - it may not be 'where' they want to be, and may not be in a centrally heated office, and may actually require some work effort rather than just 'turning up'

 

One (or maybe) two generations ago it was the norm to move to where the work was.

[Arthur Marshall]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Farmers in Norfolk have been advertising for Broccoli pickers and offering £50 per hour, no takers !

 

If folk really want to work there are jobs available - it may not be 'where' they want to be, and may not be in a centrally heated office, and may actually require some work effort rather than just 'turning up'

 

One (or maybe) two generations ago it was the norm to move to where the work was.

Purely out of interest, how do you suggest a homeless bloke with no money, having to walk home to Wales, gets to Norfolk?

[LadyG]

5 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Purely out of interest, how do you suggest a homeless bloke with no money, having to walk home to Wales, gets to Norfolk?

The trouble is that he won't have internet, he won't get help from jobcentre.

In London there will be charities set up to help him, but I don't know about anywhere else. 

Fruit and veg pickers have to be young and fit, it's not a suitable job for anyone who does not tick that box.

Edited June 8, 2022 by LadyG

[Alan de Enfield]

20 minutes ago, LadyG said:

The trouble is that he won't have internet

 

Why not ?

I'd think it is a fair bet he has a phone with internet.

[Slim]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Why not ?

I'd think it is a fair bet he has a phone with internet.

Alan, 1) not everyone is as  computer numerate as you, 2) things like job search is not that easy on a mobile, 3) mobile data costs money, 4) not many phone charging facilities on a towpath, 5) he was, in his own way, following Norman Tibbits advice, getting on his bike and returning to his home area, an instinctive thing to do. 6) finally and most importantly, he did not ask for anything, Goliàth offered. 

 

Remember the good Samarithan

Edited June 8, 2022 by Slim

[Wanderer Vagabond]

4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Farmers in Norfolk have been advertising for Broccoli pickers and offering £50 per hour, no takers !

 

If folk really want to work there are jobs available - it may not be 'where' they want to be, and may not be in a centrally heated office, and may actually require some work effort rather than just 'turning up'

 

One (or maybe) two generations ago it was the norm to move to where the work was.

This kind of sounds like some Daily Wail quote. My limited understanding of Broccoli is that it is 'in season' from October until April so who exactly are these farmers who are offering such wages out of season? The price of broccoli in Tescos is currently £1.68 per kilo so to pick at the rate you are suggesting whoever the picker is will need to pick 30Kg of broccoli per hour and at that rate there will be no profit at all for the farmer.

 

Assuming that someone is dumb enough to go to Norfolk on the say so of someone on the internet, where exactly are they going to live? Airbnb has pretty much cornered the market in rural accommodation (as they have in Cornwall, another area where farm labour is in short supply) so the (possibly mythical) £50 per hour will probably go on accommodation costs.

 

It has never been the case that people with families move to where the work is, that is a luxury normally only enjoyed by single people.

 

I don't know anything about the circumstances of the guy Goliath has assisted but I would guess he has fallen into the trap of living where the work isn't, and when he tried going where the work is, couldn't find anywhere to live.

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

This kind of sounds like some Daily Wail quote.

 

No, it was in the farming press and local Radio and TV, the farmer was interviewed and yes, he would virtually break even, but the alternative was to plough it back-in and lose all of the costs so far (seed, sowing, fertiliser etc etc)

[magnetman]

I got a bloke walking down the towpath about 20 years ago on the K&A. He seemed to be from the continent and he offered to cut my firewood for me. I judged that he was in need of some immediate assistance so I gave him £20 to not cut my firewood as I wanted to do it myself and he continued on his journey. 

 

 

 

 

[Wanderer Vagabond]

10 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

No, it was in the farming press and local Radio and TV, the farmer was interviewed and yes, he would virtually break even, but the alternative was to plough it back-in and lose all of the costs so far (seed, sowing, fertiliser etc etc)

And, given the broccoli season, when was this interview? Interesting that he can pay £50 per hour and still cover the costs of seed,fertilizer and fuel, must be really coining it as a farmer then.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Wanderer Vagabond

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I don't know anything about the circumstances of the guy Goliath has assisted but I would guess he has fallen into the trap of living where the work isn't, and when he tried going where the work is, couldn't find anywhere to live.

After asking how far he’d walked his words were something along the line of “went to Kensington for work but got ripped off…..worked for 3 weeks and didn’t get paid…….now walking home to Llandudno…..been walking for 17days…..worn out a pair of trainers and someone bought me these”. 

I was in my own world really trying to catch up on jobs so I didn’t get in to much conversation. Kind of wish I’d got more info out of him. 
 

Maybe someone else can get a bit out of him if they see him. 
He should be aroundTamworth maybe?

 

 

[LadyG]

6 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

The itinerant labour that used to be on the tramp all seems to have disappeared. We became too dependant on overseas labour coming in for the harvest seasons.

 

If guys like this fellow want work, he must have passed dozens of  farms who are now desperate for labourers. Certainly in Cheshire there are farmers I know who just cannot find anyone to do the manual work.

I have family with farms, they don't employ casual labour, everything is mechanised, and they contract out seasonal jobs.

Farm cottages or simple accomodation just does not exist. Without a driving licence there's really no hope of getting work. 

Without some experience of farm work he would be a liability.

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by LadyG

[Tracy D'arth]

16 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I have family with farms, they don't employ casual labour, everything is mechanised, and they contract out seasonal jobs.

Farm cottages or simple accomodation just does not exist. Without a driving licence there's really no hope of getting work. 

Without some experience of farm work he would be a liability.

 

What experience do you need to muck out cows?  Why would he need a driving licence, the farmers children don't?

[Wanderer Vagabond]

9 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

What experience do you need to muck out cows?  Why would he need a driving licence, the farmers children don't?

According to Farmers Weekly perhaps you might need some experience (https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/agriculture-britain-s-highest-fatal-accident-rate) but then what would they know? Cows are apparently quite good a crushing people, including experienced farmers if in restricted environments (they have been known to do it in fields as well).

Edited June 8, 2022 by Wanderer Vagabond

[Alan de Enfield]

One of the biggest businesses around us (East Anglia) that is continually advertising for workers is 'egg packing'.

Wages around us are £21 - £22 per hour ANY hours you want - full time, part time, work around school hours etc etc

 

 

 

The average salary for a Egg Packer is £19,750 in Liverpool, UK. Salaries estimates are based on 54 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Egg Packer employees in Liverpool, UK.

[LadyG]

18 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

According to Farmers Weekly perhaps you might need some experience (https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/agriculture-britain-s-highest-fatal-accident-rate) but then what would they know? Cows are apparently quite good a crushing people, including experienced farmers if in restricted environments (they have been known to do it in fields as well).

Yes my farming family are very H&S aware, but they are dealing with big stuff , and accidents have happened, no fatalities, but life changing injuries, I'm afraid.

In my year as a farm pupil, I was nearly killed by a bull, I managed to get up and dive through a wire fence, I was pretty fit, and slim!  Female cattle can be very aggressive when with their calves, you just never know.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

9 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

One of the biggest businesses around us (East Anglia) that is continually advertising for workers is 'egg packing'.

Wages around us are £21 - £22 per hour ANY hours you want - full time, part time, work around school hours etc etc

 

 

 

The average salary for a Egg Packer is £19,750 in Liverpool, UK. Salaries estimates are based on 54 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Egg Packer employees in Liverpool, UK.

Now you have puzzled me, on the one hand you seem to be quoting wages of circa £45,000 per annum (£21 per hour) for egg packers and then cut and paste a salary barely at the the minimum wage £19,750(£9.50 per hour). If East Anglia are trying to pay those sort of wages it rather tells me that there is nowhere for any incoming employees to live.

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

Now you have puzzled me, on the one hand you seem to be quoting wages of circa £45,000 per annum (£21 per hour) for egg packers and then cut and paste a salary barely at the the minimum wage £19,750(£9.50 per hour). If East Anglia are trying to pay those sort of wages it rather tells me that there is nowhere for any incoming employees to live.

 

The £21 an hour is a known actual from our 'next door neighbour'.

Maybe the Liverpool salary covers part time and full time workers - it is an average of 54 employees (total wage bill divided by 54)

[Wanderer Vagabond]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Yes my farming family are very H&S aware, but they are dealing with big stuff , and accidents have happened, no fatalities, but life changing injuries, I'm afraid.

In my year as a farm pupil, I was nearly killed by a bull, I managed to get up and dive through a wire fence, I was pretty fit, and slim!  Female cattle can be very aggressive when with their calves, you just never know.

Given that at one time the three highest risk occupations in the UK were 1) Coal Mining 2) Deep Sea Fishermen and 3) Farming, since the first two have now essentially gone down the pan Farming must be one of the most high risk occupations remaining. The idea that any old muppet will be OK 'mucking out cows' is very wide of the mark. I regularly come across herds of cows whilst out walking and never have a problem with them, but working around them in a confined space is a whole different ball game. They don't need to even be aggressive but if you get trapped between a gate an half a ton of cow pushing past, broken ribs are pretty much a given. Slipping over whilst amid a herd of them in a confined space doesn't bear thinking about since they certainly aren't as careful as horses with regard to what they tread on.

[magnetman]

I used to muck out our ponies on the estate as a child. The smell of urine soaked straw is exstrawdinarily evocative of good times. The dung was wonderful for our herbaceous borders too. 

 

 

 

 

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Just now, magnetman said:

I used to muck out our ponies on the estate as a child. The smell of urine soaked straw is exstrawdinarily evocative of good times. The dung was wonderful for our herbaceous borders too. 

 

 

 

 

Horses and ponies tend to be a whole lot more careful than herds of cows. When you see jockeys falling off their mounts, the following horses seem to do their level best to avoid treading on them, cows are just clumsy. The place I'd avoid with horses (for a variety of reasons) would be standing immediately behind them.