Begging is the present participle of the verb 'beg.' To beg is to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It often occurs for the purpose of securing a material benefit, generally for a gift, donation or charitable donation. When done in the context of a public place, it is known as "panhandling", perhaps because the hand and arm are extended like the handle of a cooking implement, and not infrequently, a kitchen implement such as a pot or cup may be used.^[1]

Beggar, 1622, by Jacques Callot

According to a study in the journal of the Canadian Medical Association, "(70%) stated that they would prefer a minimum-wage job, typically citing a desire for a 'steady income' or 'getting off the street.' However, many felt they could not handle conventional jobs because of mental illness, physical disability or lack of skills."^[2]

Beggars may be found in public places such as transport routes, parks, and near busy markets. They mostly request money, but may also ask for cigarettes or other small items.

History of begging[link]

In a 1786 James Gillray caricature, the plentiful money bags handed to King George III are contrasted with the beggar whose legs and arms were amputated, in the left corner

A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, vulgarly called vagabonds was first published in 1566 by Thomas Harman. From early modern England other examples are Thomas Harman, and Robert Greene in his coney-catching pamphlets he titles of which included "The Defence of Conny-catching," in which he argued there were worse crimes to be found among "reputable" people. The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay. The Life and Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew was first published in 1745. There are similar writers for many European countries in the early modern period.^{[citation needed]}

According to Jackson J. Spielvogel, "Poverty was a highly visible problem in the eighteenth century, both in cities and in the countryside... Beggars in Bologna were estimated at 25 percent of the population; in Mainz, figures indicate that 30 percent of the people were beggars or prostitutes... In France and Britain by the end of the century, an estimated 10 percent of the people depended on charity or begging for their food."^[3]

Begging and spirituality[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In some countries begging is much more tolerated and in certain cases encouraged. In many, perhaps most, traditional religions, it is considered that a person who gives alms to a worthy beggar, such as a spiritual seeker, gains religious merit.

Many religious orders adhere to a mendicant way of life, including the Catholic mendicant orders, Hindu ascetics, some dervishes of Sufi Islam, and the monastic orders of Buddhism. In the Catholic Church, followers of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Dominic became known as mendicants, as they would beg for food while they preached to the villages.

Children in Tamil Nadu, India, begging in front of a Catholic Church on Sunday 27 February 2010

In traditional Christianity, the rich are encouraged to serve the poor.

In many Hindu traditions, spiritual seekers, known as sadhus, beg for food. This is because fruitive activity, such as farming or shopkeeping, is regarded as a materialistic distraction from the search for moksha, or spiritual liberation. Begging, on the other hand, promotes humility and gratitude, not only towards the individuals who are giving food, but towards the Universe in general. This helps the sadhu attain a state of bliss or samādhi.

In traditional Shaivite Hinduism, old men, having lived a full life as a householder in the world, frequently give up materialistic possessions and become wandering ascetic mendicants (sadhus), spending their last months or years seeking spiritual enlightenment. Villagers gain religious merit by giving food and other necessities to these ascetics.

In Buddhism, monks and nuns traditionally live by begging for alms, as did the historical Gautama Buddha himself. This is, among other reasons, so that lay people can gain religious merit by giving food, medicines, and other essential items to the monks. The monks seldom need to plead for food; in villages and towns throughout modern Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and other Buddhist countries, householders can often be found at dawn every morning streaming down the road to the local temple to give food to the monks. In East Asia, monks and nuns were expected to farm or work for returns to feed themselves up.^[4][5][6]

There is also a long traditional of rather less spiritual beggars, in India and elsewhere, who are simply begging as a means to obtain material wealth. Some are even beggars for generations, and continue their family tradition of begging. A few beggars in the subcontinent even have sizable wealth, which they accumulate by "employing" other, newer beggars. They can claim to have territories, and then may engage in verbal and physical abuse of encroaching beggars.^{[citation needed]}

Legal restriction of aggressive panhandling[link]

A kindness meter in downtown Ottawa, Canada

The definition of "Aggressive panhandling" may vary. In the USA, aggressive panhandling generally involves the solicitation of donations in an intimidating or intrusive manner. Examples may include:

• Soliciting near ATM banking machines.^[7]
• Soliciting from customers inside a store or restaurant.^{[citation needed]}
• Soliciting after dark.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}
• Approaching individuals from behind, as they are exiting their vehicles, to solicit.
• Soliciting in a loud voice, often accompanied with wild gesticulations.^{[7][citation needed][dubious – discuss]}
• The use of insults, profanity, or veiled threats.
• Refusing to take "No" for an answer or following an individual.
• Demanding more money after a donation has been given.^{[citation needed]}
• Invasion of personal space, cornering, blocking or inappropriate touching.^{[citation needed]}
• A "team" of several beggars approaching an individual at once, often surrounding the person.^{[citation needed]}
• "Camping out" in a spot where begging negatively influences some other business (such as in front of a store or restaurant) in the hope that the business owner will give money to make the beggar go away.^{[dubious – discuss]}

A broad view of legal restrictions[link]

Canada[link]

Man begging in Vancouver in 2008.

"Begging for fun". Man with sign "Can I Have A Beer Man"

The province of Ontario introduced its Safe Streets Act in 1999 to restrict specific kinds of begging, particularly certain narrowly-defined cases of "aggressive" or abusive begging.^[8] In 2001 this law survived a court challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.^[9] The law was further upheld by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in January 2007.^[10]

One response to the anti-panhandling laws which were passed was the creation of the Ottawa Panhandlers Union which fights for the political rights of panhandlers. The union is a shop of the Industrial Workers of the World.

British Columbia enacted its own Safe Streets Act in 2004 which resembles the Ontario law. There are also critics in that province who oppose such laws.^[11]

United States[link]

In 2004, the city of Orlando, Florida passed an ordinance (Orlando Municipal Code section 43.86) requiring panhandlers to obtain a permit from the municipal police department. The ordinance further makes it a crime to panhandle in the commercial core of downtown Orlando, as well as within 50 feet (15 m) of any bank or automated teller machine. It is also^{[citation needed]} considered a crime in Orlando for panhandlers to make false or untrue statements, or to disguise themselves, to solicit money, and to use money obtained for a claim of a specific purpose (e.g., food) to be spent on anything else (e.g., drugs). In Santa Cruz, California, there are regulations for panhandlers on where they can and cannot "spange" (beg for "spare change"). For example, they must be a certain distance away from the door of any business.^{[citation needed]}

In parts of San Francisco, California, aggressive panhandling is prohibited.^[12]

In May 2010, police in the city of Boston started cracking down on panhandling in the streets in downtown, and were conducting an educational outreach to residents advising them not to give to panhandlers. The Boston police distinguished active solicitation, or aggressive panhandling, versus passive panhandling of which an example is opening doors at store with a cup in hand but saying nothing.^[13]

United Kingdom[link]

Begging is illegal under the Vagrancy Act of 1824. However it does not carry a jail sentence and is not well enforced in many cities,^[14] although since the Act applies in all public places it is enforced more frequently on public transport.

Finland[link]

Begging has been legal in Finland since 1987 when the Poor Law was invalidated. In 2003, the Public Order Act replaced any local government rules and completely decriminalized begging.^[15]

Louis Dewis, "The Old Beggar", Bordeaux, France, 1916

"The Man with the Twisted Lip", a beggar playing a major role in a Sherlock Holmes adventure.

Romania[link]

Law 61 of 1991 forbids the persistent call for the mercy of the public, by a person which is able to work.^[16]

US State Department Human Rights reports note a pattern of Roma children registered for "vagrancy and begging".^[17]

Japan[link]

Buddhist monks appear in public when begging for alms.^[18] Although homelessness in Japan is not uncommon, such people rarely beg.

Portugal[link]

In Portugal, panhandlers normally beg in front of Catholic churches, on semaphores or on special places in Lisbon or Oporto downtowns. Begging is not illegal in Portugal. Many social and religious institutions support homeless people and panhandlers and the Portuguese Social Security normally gives them a survival monetary subsidy.

Use of funds[link]

A 2002 study of 54 panhandlers in Toronto reported that of a median monthly income of $638 Canadian dollars (CAD), those interviewed spent a median of $200 CAD on food and $192 CAD on alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, according to Income and spending patterns among panhandlers, by Rohit Bose and Stephen W. Hwang.^[19] The Fraser Institute criticized this study citing problems with potential exclusion of lucrative forms of begging and the unreliability of reports from the panhandlers who were polled in the Bose/Hwang study.^[20]

In North America, panhandling money is widely reported to support substance abuse and other addictions. For example, outreach workers in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, surveyed that city's panhandling community and determined that approximately three-quarters use donated money to buy tobacco products while two-thirds buy solvents or alcohol.^[21] In Midtown Manhattan, one outreach worker anecdotally commented to the New York Times that substance abuse accounts for 90 percent of panhandling funds.^[22]

Communities reducing street begging[link]

Because of concerns that people begging on the street may use the money to support alcohol or drug abuse, some advise those wishing to give to beggars to give gift cards or vouchers for food or services, and not cash.^[21][23] Some shelters also offer business cards with information on the shelter's location and services, which can be given in lieu of cash.^[24]

Notable beggars[link]

• Bampfylde Moore Carew, self styled King of the Beggars
• Diogenes of Sinope
• Gautama Buddha,the founder of Buddhism accepted alms from people to survive^[25]
• Gavroche Thenardier in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables
• Lazarus
• Nicholas Jennings in Thomas Harman's Caveat for Common Cursitors
• Ryan Larkin
• Shabkar^[26] Tibetan itinerant monk
• So Chan, Chinese folk hero of Drunken Fist

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Begging

Look up begging, spanging, panhandling, or mendicancy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article mendicancy.

• Aggressive panhandling
• Alms
• Begging letter
• Belisarius
• Busking
• Child Begging
• Fundraising
• Internet begging
• Mendicant Orders
• Poor law

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Karash, Robert L., "Spare Change?", Spare Change News, March 25, 2010.
• Malanga, Steven, The Professional Panhandling Plague, City Journal, v.18, n.3, Summer 2008, The Manhattan Institute, New York, NY.
• Sandage, Scott A., Born Losers: A History of Failure in America, Harvard University Press, 2005

Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club playing at Nottingham University.
Background information
Origin	Crouch End, London, England
Genres	Indie rock, Indie folk, Twee pop
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Island Records A&M/Octone Records
Website	bombaybicycleclubmusic.com
Members
Jack Steadman Jamie MacColl Suren de Saram Ed Nash

Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London. The band is composed of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass) and Suren de Saram (drums).

The band were asked to play the opening performance of 2006's V Festival after winning Channel 4's "Road to V" competition. Following the release of two EPs and their debut single "Evening/Morning", the band recorded their debut album, I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose. The album was released on 6 July 2009.

History[link]

Beginnings[link]

Steadman, MacColl, de Saram met at age 15 began playing under the name The Canals after performing together in a school assembly. They switched between various aliases until they picked Bombay Bicycle Club, named after a chain of Indian restaurants in Britain. The line-up changed regularly until summer 2006, when Ed Nash joined the band after they met him at a funeral. Initially they played gigs at small London venues such as The Old Blue Last, Lark in the Park and Jacksons Lane (as well as winning Exeter's Got Talent 2009).

The band were entered into Virgin Mobile's "Road to V" competition on Channel 4 in 2006.^[1] They were announced as one of two winners of the competition on 16 August 2006, beating competition from fellow London band - and favourites to win the competition - The Holloways in the final round of fourteen bands.^[2] Previous participants include The Young Knives, who were winners of the inaugural competition one year before. They were given the opening slot of the 2006 V Festival, playing on the Channel 4 Stage in Chelmsford on 19 August, before opening the Staffordshire site the following day.

Progression[link]

On 16 May 2007, NME published an article naming Bombay Bicycle Club "...the hottest band to come from North London for quite some time".^[3] Bombay Bicycle Club released their debut EP, The Boy I Used to Be, on 12 February 2007. The band released it on their own independent record label, Mmm... Records.^[4][5] The EP was produced by Jim Abbiss at his own personal request, and was recorded and mixed by Ewan Davies at Lincolnshire's Chapel Studios. To support the release of the EP they played a headline show at the Dingwalls in Camden as well as supporting fellow "Road to V" winners The Young Knives across some of their UK Tour.^[6] The band also played the Carling Stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2007.

The band's second EP, How We Are, was released on 22 October 2007, again through Mmm... Records.^[4][5] The EP was produced by Jim Abbiss and was recorded and mixed by Richard Wilkinson at Konk Studios. The band headlined their first UK tour^[5] in support of this release and the EP debuted at #2 on the UK Indie Singles Chart 5 November 2007.^[7]

At the beginning of 2008, Bombay Bicycle Club appeared at the third annual Artrocker Festival,^[8] the Camden Crawl,^[9] and The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.^[10] The band also played the Shockwaves NME Awards Show at London's KOKO where they were main support for The Hold Steady.^[11]

[edit] I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose

In June 2008, the band officially finished higher secondary school education, which meant that the band could commit full time to music instead of having to juggle being in a band with studies. The band also headlined the first Club NME in Paris at La Fleche D'or venue, they were supported by Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya, with DJ sets coming from South Central, Shitdisco and Vicarious Bliss.

The band's first single, "Evening/Morning", was released on 4 August 2008 through Young and Lost Club.^[12] The single was produced by Jim Abbiss and was recorded and mixed by Richard Wilkinson at The Garden, London. The band embarked on a 23 date UK tour throughout July and August; this included festival appearances at the 2008 Reading and Leeds Festivals, the 2008 T in the Park Festival, The Edge Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland and the second Underage Festival.^[12]

In September 2008, Bombay Bicycle Club took part in the Levi's Ones to Watch 5 Night Revue at The Macbeth in London.^[13] The band headlined the first night with support from Sky Larkin and an interview and highlights from the show were broadcast on Channel 4 on 9 October 2008.^[13]

Bombay Bicycle Club's debut album was recorded between late October and late November 2008 at Konk Studios in London. The album was produced by Jim Abbiss. The band also played the Levi's Ones To Watch tour at the end of October, which included dates in Brighton, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

At the end of 2008 Bombay Bicycle Club signed a deal with Island Records to release future singles and albums with the record label. All releases will be published through the Mmm...Records/Island Records offprint, the first release being the single "Always Like This". The single was released in April 2009 and reached #97 on the UK Singles Chart.^[14] The band toured throughout April in support of the release.^[15]

Bombay Bicycle Club won the Best New Band award at the 2010 NME Awards on February 24, up against nominees such as The xx, The Big Pink, La Roux, The Olivers and Mumford & Sons. In June 2010 their song "How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep" was included as a bonus track on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack.

[edit] Flaws

On 9 May 2010, Bombay Bicycle Club released the track "Ivy & Gold" in the United Kingdom as a digital download. The single, which was released as a double A-part with the track "Flaws" served as the lead single from the upcoming second studio album; which was later confirmed to be entitled Flaws. Having been added to BBC Radio 1's A Playlist, the single debuted on the singles chart at number 97, climbing to number 56 the following week; marking the band's most successful single to date.

The band released their second studio album Flaws in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2010; where it debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number 8;^[14] beating the debut's peak of number 46. The album included 11 acoustically recorded tracks, including "Swansea"; a cover of the Joanna Newsom song that appears on her album The Milk-Eyed Mender and "Fairytale Lullaby"; a cover of the John Martyn song that appears on the album London Conversation. On 10 December, the album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for selling over 60,000 copies.^[16]

On 20 September, the band released the second single "Rinse Me Down" as a music download and 7" vinyl alongside a track entitled "Dorcas", which served as the second A-side.^[17] The single managed to reach Radio 1's B Playlist, although failed to chart in the UK.

On 19 April 2011 it was announced that 'Flaws' has been nominated for the 2011 Ivor Novello award for best album^[18]

[edit] A Different Kind of Fix

In September 2010, the band announced that they had begun working on their third studio album,^[19] once again returning to electric guitars following acoustic recordings for "Flaws". On 7 June 2011 Zane Lowe revealed on BBC Radio 1 that their new album would be called A Different Kind Of Fix. He also said that he would be playing a new song from the album titled "Shuffle" on 22 June before its release as a single the following day. The single reached #69 in the charts. The album was released on 29 August 2011 and includes 12 tracks.^[20]. The band have announced that Beg will round off the album as its final release on 9 July 2012. The track failed to make the original 'physical' version of the album but was available as a bonus track on the digital version ^[21]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Notes

EPs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Spiritual Beggars is a hard rock/stoner metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed by Michael Amott, who is known from Arch Enemy, Carcass and Carnage.

Biography[link]

Spiritual Beggars was formed in 1993 by Michael Amott. The band was started as a side project after Amott left the British death metal band Carcass. Spiritual Beggars debuted with the self titled Spiritual Beggars in 1994, and have since released albums as Michael's schedule permits (who is also the founder and full time member of the melodic death metal band Arch Enemy), including 1996's Another Way to Shine, 1998's Mantra III, 2000's Ad Astra, 2002's "On Fire" and 2005's Demons.

The second album, Another Way To Shine (1996) was nominated for a Swedish Grammy.

The third album, Mantra III, saw the band adding Per Wiberg on keyboards. A tour of Europe with Fu Manchu along with festival appearances saw the band expanding their fan base.

The fourth album, Ad Astra, was released in 2000 to rave reviews and strong sales across Europe and in Japan. The band toured heavily on their Chasing The Stars tour that followed, supporting bands such as Iron Maiden, Monster Magnet, Queens Of The Stone Age, as well as playing festivals and their own headline tours in Europe and Japan.

2002 saw the release of the bands fifth studio recording, On Fire. This album featured a new line-up following the departure of original singer Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand. The replacement was Janne "JB" Christoffersson (vocals) who had been recommended to Michael Amott by a mutual friend.

The "On Fire" album was musically and vocally more melodic and saw the band reaching deeper into the epic 70's hard rock style of song writing. A European tour was put together in 2003 under the "Monstergroove" banner which featured Spiritual Beggars, Clutch, Spiritu and Dozer. A successful tour of Japan was also done in 2003 (with Clutch as the opening act).

A new album called Demons was released in Japan in March 2005 and in Europe on June 20. Demons was released in two versions – a single CD version and a two-CD version, which includes live material recorded in Japan during 2003. The touring on this record was limited to a three date Japan tour with DIO and a headline performance in London, UK.

In early March 2010, it was announced that Spiritual Beggars had entered the studio to record their first studio album in five years. The album features new singer Apollo Papathanasio.

The new album, titled Return To Zero, has been released in Europe on August 30, 2010 via InsideOut Music, in Japan on August 25, 2010 and in North America on October 12, 2010 through Trooper Entertainment Inc.

Members[link]

• Michael Amott – guitar (1992–present)
• Apollo Papathanasio – vocals (2010–present)
• Sharlee D'Angelo – bass (2005–present)
• Per Wiberg – keyboards (1998–present)
• Ludwig Witt – drums (1993–present)

Former members[link]

• Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand – vocals, bass (1992–2001)
• Roger Nilsson – bass (2002–2004)
• Janne "JB" Christoffersson – vocals (2002–2010)

Touring/Session members[link]

• Stefan Isebring – percussion, hurdy gurdy^[2] (1998, also appeared on Mantra III^[3])

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Spiritual Beggars (1994, Wrong Again Records)
• Another Way to Shine (1996, Music for Nations)
• Mantra III (1998, Music for Nations)
• Ad Astra (2000, Music for Nations)
• On Fire (2002, Music for Nations)
• Demons (2005, SPV GmbH/Inside Out Records)
• Return to Zero (2010, InsideOut Music)
• Return to Live: Loud Park 2010 (2011, Trooper Entertainment)

Singles/EPs[link]

• "Violet Karma" 10" (Purple Vinyl) (1998, Froghouse Records)
• "It's Over" split 7" with Grand Magus (2001, Southern Lord Records)

Live/Reissue[link]

• Spiritual Beggars CD/LP (2002, Regain Records)
• Live Fire! DVD (2005, SPV)
• Another Way to Shine CD (2007, Metal Mind Productions)
• Mantra III CD (2007, Metal Mind Productions)
• Ad Astra CD (2007, Metal Mind Productions)

Compilation appearances[link]

• "Magic Spell" on Stahlmaster: Volume One (1996, Cream/Rough Trade Records)
• "Monster Astronauts" on Burn One Up (1997, Attic Records Limited/Roadrunner Records)
• "Redwood Blues" on Stoned Revolution: The Ultimate Trip (1998, Drunken Maria Records/Rough Trade Records)
• "Mr. White" on Bastards Will Pay: A Tribute to Trouble (1999, Freedoom Records)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Spiritual Beggars on Myspace
• Spiritual Beggars at PureVolume

Flux Pavilion
Birth name	Joshua Steele
Born	(1989-01-15) January 15, 1989 (age 23) Towcester, UK
Genres	Electronic, Dubstep
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Years active	2008-Present
Labels	Circus
Associated acts	Doctor P, Example, SKisM, Foreign Beggars
Website	facebook.com/fluxpavilion

Joshua Steele, known professionally as Flux Pavilion, is an English dubstep producer and DJ.^[1] He is the co-founder of Circus Records, along with Doctor P, DJ Swan-E and Dyspro.^[2] He is best known for his 2011 single "Bass Cannon", which peaked at number 56 on the UK Singles Chart,^[3] and was placed on the Radio 1 A-List. Along with Doctor P, Flux Pavilion presented the 2011 compilation album Circus One, to which he contributed four tracks. In August 2011 his track "I Can't Stop" was sampled by producer Shama “Sak Pase” Joseph for hip-hop album, Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West.^[4] In December 2011, Flux Pavilion was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll, as one of only two independent artists on the longlist.^[5] On 5 March 2012, his track "I Can't Stop" was used in the viral Kony 2012 campaign, and was previously featured in SSX.

Discography[link]

Extended plays[link]

Compilations[link]

• Doctor P and Flux Pavilion - Circus One^[8]

Singles[link]

Other releases[link]

Remixes[link]

As producer[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Flux Pavilion on Facebook
• Flux Pavilion on Myspace

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