"Eh? Whit?"
"Gie me twae poond." Looking far from destitute if somewhat bedraggled in her later middle age, this chancer was pure taking the piss.
"Nup," said Kieran.
Without further comment she strode on through the chill morning towards another stranger. Kieran continued on his way now thinking about economic inflation and beggars with brass necks.
But several yards further down the pedestrian precinct he stopped in his tracks. He recalled a previous beggar who'd asked him for the exact same amount. That previous lass had been a druggie of indeterminate age. The venue that time was an almost empty platform in Partick subway station. She'd started by asking when the next train was due - even as they both stood bang next to a noticeboard clearly indicating "NEXT TRAIN: 3 mins". Kieran had refused the £2 request back then as well.
However, after that refusal she'd wandered along the platform shouting, kicking and punching at invisible demons ... Or perhaps, Kieran had thought, this was the mind of a terrified child trying to fend off some earlier adult abuser. It also dawned on him much later that her question about train times may in fact have been down to difficulties with numbers. That was when he regretted denying the poor soul her request for a paltry two quid. After all the Bible does say, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
Kieran high-tailed it back up Buchanan Street to find this latest beggar and seek reparation.
© copyright Russell Cavanagh