London freeloaders

hari krishna (spelling?) people do free food at random times ( I am sure they are not random but I am not around enough to work it out) around lunch at SOAS. Good for you Vegandontneedgears as I guess it would be vegan stuff.

• 1 for the hare krsnas, they are really good guys. I occasionally see them on Arlington road/Inverness street junction in Camden town. It's good food, too.
  This book also tells me about an international lorry depot in stratford, where lorry drivers used to go all over europe, and they were allowed to take a passenger with them. Not sure if this still applies today (?), what with 'elf and safety laws and all that, but that's still amazing. This was before the days of easyjet!
  

Insurance doesn't allow lorries to take passengers nowadays. However some drivers will still do it, providing they aren't seen doing it at any major terminus. If you accept a lift, you have a responsibility to be entertaining, help the miles speed by faster. That's why they pick you up, lorry driving is a lonely life and the journeys can be long... they just want companionship. It's very rude to climb into a cab and fall asleep, no matter how tired you might feel.

Been there, done it :)

Hey vegansdon'tneedgears - Go to your local supermarket and talk to the manager. Ask him if you can collect some of the food thats past its use-by date. They're not allowed to sell it, but it's perfectly good and normally they just chuck it away. Same applies to restaurants, make friends with the manager and collect non-sold food at closing time...

during my student days used to hitch from liverpool to bristol loads uni and back loads of trucks in those days, in the last 5 yrs of hitching i haven't had a lift in a truck bloody lawyers

i think the big depot is new covent garden market huge depot just by the a102 link road trucks of every nationality

truckers usually get free tickets for ferry crossing and the use of " special truckers " facilities on the ferry so it would be a cheap way of getting to the continent

Never hitched but when ever I am driving if there is room I always pick up hitch hikers.

do unto others as you would have them do unto you

good karma

http://www.squatter.org.uk/about.html and http://www.56a.org.uk both do good services for squatters. The SA used to do a good book on your rights and had a download notice for display on the door.
The trouble with squatting is you need to have someone in the property all the time or the owner can come and change the locks back and evict you or junkies brake in and turn your squat and possessions into a crack house. Most long term squatters don't have many personal possessions as a result which is odd because I saved £5000 while working and squatting for under a year.

I used to go to new Covent Garden to get fruit and veg which was being dumped by the traders (who came to buy stuff there to sell on in different markets all over the capital). Typically stuff was being dumped because one or two items in a tray of 30 had been mashed and they would have to wash the stuff to use it themselves, the lazy wasteful bastards!
I had some freegan (free-vegan) friends who used to hang out at sandwich places after lunch hour and pick up free sandwiches being dumped because the new stock had arrived and the date was up that day. I don't eat meat or dairy so this never appealed much to me but is a good way of getting a free meal if you’re that way inclined.

If you are homeless or squatting the Victoria vets hospital will treat your pet for free and provide say flee collars etc to you for the animal (sorry hippy they don't do human ones).

Bendy buses and the overground are the best way to get around London for free after cycling.
Never pay a fine or let a TFL person who is not a police officer detain you. They are not the police and don't have the right (or insurance to protect them if they are attacked trying to detain a fair dodger so most wont risk dealing with a confrontational person so get out of there before they can group up). TFL people cannot take your oyster card out of a wallet in your hand unless you pass it to them (this would be an illegal search unless they are transport police) so if you are on the bendy bus the scanner made a beep, your not an expert on what each beep means and this is your stop and your in a rush to protest a farmers convention so must leave immediately before a police man can arrive and help enforce the fine!

Finally don't pay illegal cabs if there is a group of you. They are probably on the rock and roll or illegally working asylum seekers so if in numbers get out away from your front door and ask to see their taxi licence. If they can't produce one, tell them you cannot morally support stealing from the state so please f off. If they persist in requesting payment tell them you’re going to ring the police and give their licence plate if they don't get lost. Be warned some carry weapons so be ready to run and try not to pick a car with Arnie driving.

Roberto Join Freecycle London mailing list - the London one is one of the biggests in the world (18000 members if i am right? now think it's divided by zones).

Yeah, Freecycle rocks. I've never got anything from it myself (not fast enough with the replies) but I've managed to give a whole lot of junk new homes, I'm always amazed at the things other people will find useful which I don't want.

Yeah plus it always seems a waste when I am drving and the car only has me.

Picked up this mad 64 year old hitch hiker in Scotland last year. He was really into his churches and statly homes. He had hitched it up from Peterborough on the friday went to statly home in Scotland, had a look around, slept in a hedge, (it was pissing it down), I droped him off in Carlisle and he was going toanother Church and then going home to get to work on Tuesday or Wednesday. Crazy old man.

thats a bit tight on the taxi drivers i'm all for taking shots at big companies tfl, maccy d's ( abusing their toilets ) etc but when it comes to the little man i get a bit guilty
he's just trying to get by
i am sure we would all try and avoid taxation if it were possible

i find that if you get a big basket full of shopping in sainsburys (make sure they are high value items like booze and steak) and start a small fire near one of the exits it's quite easy to run out the door once the alarm and panic sets in, best done on a busy saturday. you get a higher yield than just ordinary shoplifting and it's much easier to get off if caught. "sorry officer i saw the flames and just panicked"
i do this every weekend but have to travel further now as all the local supermarkets have wised up to it. It's o.k. though as i have an over 60's bus pass i nicked from the local bingo.

About the bendy buses for free thing, just stand at the doors so you can see if any inspectors come on. Or, get a few quid on a prepay oyster and just stand by the oyster scanner, so if anyone comes on give it a quick scan.

As a cyclist I dislike the mini cab (sorry I meant illegal mini cab not hackney cab) and hate the un-insured, non taxed, MOT failing vehicle. Dodgy taxies usually thick both these boxes. In Brixton/Camberwell/Hackney it is common to see them knock someone down and just run away abandoning the car and passenger. They also seem to have a disproportionate number of rapists in their number according to TFL/London Met.

Rotating turnstiles at station toilets can be pulled back far enough to walk through.. it's slightly less obvious than jumping over them and comes in handy when you spent your last 20p on booze..

All the tube turnstyles in stockholm did this when I went their first, but hardly anyone ever jumped the tube.

London Zoo for free : By the south east corner of the entrance to primrose hill park, by st marks church, there is an exit for the zoo, using the rotating door method that only goes one way. You need to get push a small lever above your head, and the door will open both ways. Used to do this during lunch times.

As i said i iknow loads of good skips for food, veggy/ vegan sandwiches and fruit and veg, and bred even have found some booze a few times, if any one does not belive me i can show them around.... no garentees on finding booze though

I'll take you up on that offer vegansdontneedgears, seriously it's something ive been wanting to do for a while. just makes sense to me!

yeah it does sound intresting...you never know when you'll end up on the streets of london hungry

usually about 4.30pm on a sunday after a hard game of bike polo

actualy its most days for me!

yeah, i need to eat about every two hours or i go all weird, its really annoying, i guess thats what you get for being a skinny waif

i go all weird most of the time,its eating that stops it

smeear yeah, i need to eat about every two hours or i go all weird, its really annoying, i guess thats what you get for being a skinny waif

Don't worry - it happens to us fat cnuts too.
Grumpy.. must eat.. must eat NOW!!!!