The Beggar's Diary, 13.09.2007 . – Filch, still thinking about the social security system in Scandinavia, decides to keep the 20 Euro Christine gave him. He hides it in a secret place, in case he might ever need it: "20 Euro: that's my social security." This might be the most sensible thing I’ve done to date, he thinks.

A girl named Susanne, whom he’s met only once, invites him to a housewarming party next Saturday. She and her husband, a tractor engineer, just moved in from Munich.

Filch: "Is it hard to find a job in Muenster?"

According to Susanne, most job openings are with Brillux (a paint manufacture), BASF Coatings, governmental administration, social security, and tourism.

A couple just coming from Kassel discuss Documenta with Filch. They describe the artworks there as "more political than in other years." Filch finds the term “political” difficult to understand in art, and asks what exactly they mean by that: "They’re political because they speak about repression and poor people." As they are talking, the owner of the Kleiner Kiepenkerl passes by on his scooter and stops to say hello to Filch. This is the first time this happens, and Filch wants to discuss the toilet problem he had a couple of weeks ago. But the owner, after exchanging two quick words, shakes Filch’s hand as only a skilled host knows how, and lets the engine of the scooter run. He was just popping up to say that he is really tired of having to inform people where The Beggar is. He will be happy when everything is all over in three weeks.
"Two weeks and three days to be precise," Filch corrects him, sighing deeply.

A young man from Stockholm, Paul, passes by and tells a story that always crossed his mind when people would tell him about Filch. Swedish King Gustav III built a Romantic garden called Haga Park sometime in the second half of the 18th century, in which different thematic sceneries (sort of dioramas) were installed along different paths. Because the King was heavily influenced by mysticism and freemasonry, and prone to "Louis XIV allures," the dioramas were didactic scenes with characters such as "the brave knight", "the down to earth farmer", and "the hermit in a cave". The King Gustav III hired a real person to play the role of the hermit. This man, says Paul, would actually play at being a hermit during the day, and he probably stopped being a hermit in the evening, when he would go to the nearest pub for a beer and a chat about his experiences with strollers (they were not yet called visitors).
The young man from Stockholm is part of a group of 60 Swedish students walking around the streets of Muenster today.

A girl brings Filch some "Schokoladen-Schaumküsse" as well as all her love and admiration for him for being such a funny and interesting person. "Well, well," Filch plays it down a bit, "I’m sure you say that to every sculpture you meet." But deep down he’s deeply flattered because he loves to be loved, like everybody else. In the meantime, flocks of people keep walking up the Wegenende looking for The Beggar. It’s high time to put an end to this misunderstanding. From now on, a new sign will be posted at the beginning of the Wegenende:
"This is NOT sculpture 06. You can find The Beggar at the Spiekerhof (turn around) from 11am – 1pm. Filch."
That should do, he figures, thinking dull, civil servant-like thoughts.

Stubborn, Filch distributes his little notes wherever he gets a chance to in town. He just hands them over to people passing by. Some read it, some don’t want to take it, and two guys take it in their stride, and then turn around:
"Are you insane?"
He's referring to the little note saying: "I have unpredictable attacks of insanity/ somnambulism/ narcolepsy (cross out what you like) and during one of these attacks I lost all my belongings."
Stephan and Luckie offer him a coffee. One is a doctor and the other is, in his own words: “half Indian, quarter Scottish and quarter black Jamaican.” He works for the public relations office of the public transport system. They get along very well and a long and funny conversation follows: Mormons, Beggars, free bus tickets, India, morphine, and opium. It all comes together.

The next thing that happens is that Filch finally gets to meet his doppelganger (you must have heard, perhaps, that very often the public of SP07, and even a few of their official guides, have thought The Beggar was a very popular, and real, town character, a man who walks around holding as many flags as he can get his hands on).
Filch and his doppelganger start talking, or rather, the man, who goes by Hans Hermann Hering, does all the talking, and the Beggar all the listening. H.H.H. wears a hat and an Israeli flag because of his grandfather and the Nazis (the story remains unclear). He has traveled the world and lived in Canada for some time, and is now homeless and selling Draussen! magazines. And that's that.

Very often Filch is asked about his relation with other, "real" beggars. His answer has been that he has only encountered real people, and that all real people are well aware of the fact that he is a fiction. He has heard people say that all "real" beggars are in fact creating a character in order to get money by begging. This is also Brecht's notion in "The Threepenny Opera":

The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht.
ACT ONE
I
(…)
FILCH: Oh, so you're using that too. Why can't I have the better days outfit?
PEACHUM: Because nobody believes in his own misery, my boy. If you've got stomach-ache and say so, it only sounds disgusting. Anyway, it's not for you to ask questions. Just put these things on.
(…)

In this very eventful day, Filch also meets another popular (but real) character, a man who kneels down and extends his two hands to beg. The position looks very uncomfortable, and one wonders if it is really effective for the purpose it was designed to serve. The Beggar and the beggar have never spoken, but still they nod to each other when they meet. Next to the man there is a sign saying: "No music please." Filch finds it remarkable, as every night a musician is playing the accordion on this very spot. Could the beggar have hung up the sign himself, to avoid competition?

An Australian couple got a ride from Kassel to Münster on a bus full of Swedish art students—it seems the couple and the students met at a place called Lolita Bar. Right after meeting them, Filch meets a man by the name of Kareem who is part of a trio called the Qurus Brothers; they do acrobatics tricks, and Kareem is a handstand specialist. They’ve traveled the world and met artists like Charlie Chaplin—twice, at the Lido and at the Champs Elysées (Filch, do you really believe that?). He must be really old if he met Charlie Chaplin, who died in 1977, but he assures Filch that he can still do the handstand. Quite recently, in fact, he was doing a handstand atop one of the Oldenburg Pool Balls.

On his way home, Filch sees a sign on a wall near the Domplatz. It says: "24 Marz 2008, 17.00 Uhr."

Add new comment »