That's very kind. The shop is on Calle Las Tiendas (runs down from the Plaza de la Constitucion where the big church of San Juan de Bautista is, to the Plaza de las Indias. The shop is on the right hand side. Problem is, the opening hours are very limited, I hope you don't have a wasted journey.

It doesn't seem to cater for any particular nationality, I have seen long queues outside of young mothers with babies, older people, Moroccan people, all sorts. There is information in the shop window about the documentation people have to produce in order to receive help. It was walking past such a queue as I was on my way to catch a bus into Malaga for a shopping trip to buy stuff I didn't really need that prompted me into donating, I felt rather sick.

I noticed that in Cadiz when I was there last November. For a city centre which is so small there were so many people sleeping rough in shop doorways and on benches, many of them in their '50s or older, and they didn't look like the kind of rough sleepers I am used to seeing, many of whom have drug or alcohol problems. They weren't begging, either. We don't usually give money to beggars, fearing that it will just go to support a habit, but we did give quite of the few of the people in Cadiz a couple of euros each.

Cádiz area does have a huge problem with drugs. Once stayed at the Parador and we could see them selling them at all hours in the park ajoining the building.

This works well in England. Try taking one of the many beggars for a cuppa and a sandwich instead of giving them money and see how many take you up on the offer.

Graham

Good point, that will sort the "professionals" from the ones down on their luck.

We're not OAPs so still have Autonomo to pay as well as debts from England..............Here are a few things we're doing to keep afloat. Some can only be used by people who live in pueblos of course.
We use water from the well for everything except drinking and we go to a fuente a little way after our normal supermarket trip for drinking water once every two or three weeks. We haven't any mains connection so this is a no-brainer.
I have bought hardly any new clothes for 2 years now. But that's been easy as we had two sets from when we had a foot in each country. And I'm re-learning make do and mend ideas I'd given up during the 'greedy years' of the past couple of decades.
Haven't been back to England for a year. So saving money on airfares.
One of my friends in the village gives us a dozen eggs a week and often veggies too but we grow our own as well. I teach her granddaughter English.

We eat almost exclusively seasonal foods and luckily my husband is vegetarian and a damn good cook. Lidl sells a nice parmesan substitute and that goes down very well with a nice veggie risotto.
When I feel the need for some meat or fish I go for what is seasonal there too. For example 4 fillets of trout In Mercadonna for a couple of months were only 2.50 ish. Right now medium sized cooked prawns are cheap and can go a long way.
We're still building our house albeit very slowly but this means we can't afford and don't yet want new furniture. A few bricks or breeze blocks and some rasillones (the long extruded terracotta roofing bricks) are serving as shelving in several rooms for the time being. Later they'll be put to use to build a garden shed! We've had to choose cement render rather than yeso or plaster because it's easier to do ourselves and also cheaper, when we can, to get people to help us with it. It's a downgrade in my opinion but needs must!
Here's a good fun one. We've grown our own Loofahs this year (Bitter gourd). Great fun to grow, dry and peel and they work as gentle pan scrubbers as well as back scrubbers in the bathroom. and a quirky Xmas gift for some of our friends. Plus they've produced their own seeds for next years crop!
Right now we have a lovely crop of figs on the tree we planted just a couple of years ago. A couple of dozen bottles of homegrown tomatoes in the pantry along with a few bottles of nectarines bought cheap from the market, and a couple of good strings of onions which I've dipped in a mild solution of well l
slaked building lime. This seems to preserve them by keeping away the moulds... and was just a whim I had! (The Mexicans use lime to preserve their tortillas). I buy a bag of garlic every year from the guy who sells it around the pueblo a fiver for 4 kilos. You can roast and bottle what you cant use in time.
We always did intend to live a more self sufficient life but in a way we have been pushed into this 'good life' kind of existence. I'm just glad now that we chose a village house instead of a beach one!

I'm working with a homeless charity in London http://www.simoncommunity.org.uk/ and at least it is true here that nobody should beg for money for food.The Soup Run Forum in London coordinates all the charities and individuals who provide food and believe me there are plenty.The
http://www.thepavement.org.uk/services.php lists most of the services available.In answer to a previous post the demographic of the homeless is changing six months ago it was mostly Eastern Europeans who had come to the UK seeking manual work,but now we are seeing more well educated UK males.Sadly this group has the least access to social housing.And as the economic downturn go's on so the numbers will rise.

And why are these "well educated males" not on benefit Everyone else in the UK seems to get it!

I checked the opening times when I was out this afternoon, and it is only open from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays (and has been closed for August, I don't know what the people who rely on it have done in the meantime).

With the new cap on housing benefit sadly getting benefits doesn't always get you a home

They are equally entitled to benefits (subject to inidividual circumstances eg savings etc) but if they become homeless they cannot get on the housing list as others take preference. So if their business goes under, or their marriage breaks up, whatever, and they lose their accommodation, they are reallu up against it.

I NEVER give money or anything else to beggars in England - with the UK benefit system there should be no need for anyone to beg. I do sometimes buy The Big Issue although from what I read (and not in the DM) that can be subject to abuse sometimes. I don't give to the gypsy women with babies that we often see, either (we've seen them being dropped off by car and slipping their long skirts on over their jeans!).

My brother once made me laugh when he said he'd seen a beggar outside Piccadilly Records with a sign saying he was deaf and dumb (but didn't give him anything as he was tapping his foot in time to the music from the shop!).

There's a famous beggar in Madrid (or was, it's 3 or 4 years back now). He'd spend time putting a clown's outfit and make-up, then display an elaborate notice board stating he had no money and hadn't eaten for two days. I should have given him some cash for his cheek.

"feeling" the bass through the ground ? it is possible, but also think ur brother may be right

Hello Lynn - thanks for that. I know the street, but had already left yesterday before you posted. Will take something next time we go - thanks for posting the opening hours too