Mostly I ignore them but the other day my wife and I were rather charmed by one on the train.
The man, in his twenties, didn’t speak a word but placed a small oblong package on the empty seat in front of us, repeating the process for every other passenger.
He then moved to the next carriage.
On top of the package was a typed note explaining that he had two young brothers entirely dependent on him and he would be grateful if we could either give him some money or find work for him.
We stared at the thing and I said: “Well, do you think it’s genuine?” “I don’t know,” said my wife, “but I’ve never seen it done with such delicacy.”
She dug in her purse and placed a £1 coin on top of the note.
A few minutes later the young man returned and started harvesting the packages, most of which had born fruit.
When he came to us he nodded, took the money and the note and handed the package to me. It was paper handkerchiefs.
I probably should have given them back to him but they were just what I needed and they are still in my coat pocket.