The team arrived at our base camp (Wade Street Church) only to find that our Airpots (hot water flasks) had mysteriously gone AWOL... after numerous phone calls, it transpired they had been borrowed with the thought that they belonged to another group. Another few phone calls ensued and the problem was resolved and airpots were returned just as the team were setting out.
As the night went on it was clear that there were very few takers for our hot drinks on this occasion. People-wise, the City centre was quite busy with Christmas revellers, work's parties, and family gatherings. Our regular visitors and homeless people were quite conspicuous by their absence.
A pleasant young man stopped by, had a coffee and brief chat, and left us with our only donation of the night. We inevitably hear remarks about us being a 'soup kitchen' from people passing by, which makes us a bit sad that people think it's not meant for them...fortunately for us, it is only a very small percentage of people who think this way This particular night a large percentage of the people seemed to be from out of the City.
The police were about but keeping a low profile. Towards the end of the evening, a couple stopped by for a chat but didn't want a drink. The man had a scar on the back of his head. When asked about it from one of our team, he told us what had happened. Apparently he was hit with a baseball bat on the back of his head. "Back in the good old days", he said. We were left with the impression of a rather misspent youth!!
During the evening, we discovered that there were a number of 'Taxi Marshalls' out on duty tonight, presumably to organise the increasingly chaotic antics of the taxis trying to park in inconvenient places, do 3
At the usual time, Bobby supplied us with the chips, which quickly disappeared . At one o'clock we started to pack up, although bringing the car through the pedestrian barrier proved rather difficult as a taxi had blocked the entrance, causing a bit of a traffic jam (this seems to to be becoming a regular occurence.Upon pulling over to load the car with our equipment, a rather drunk young man attempted to get into the car, assuming it was a taxi. We had to persuade him otherwise!
From the whole LNL team we wish a blessed and joyful Christmas to all our readers, supporters and friends.
We will be out on the City streets for a special 'one off' on New Years Eve. Happy New Year everyone and stay safe!