The Beggar's diary, 13.07.2007.- As Filch walks the streets morosely, head down, his eyes fall on four golden pavement stones with names written on them. He reads about the people who lived in the house opposite the stones and who died after being deported to camps in 1939. Do people know about this? He starts asking passers-by. Never seen it, they reply. Nobody seems to have noticed. He asks people from Muenster, but they have no idea: who placed them there? When? Filch feels anxious. What if there's nobody left who knew these people, so that today they're only remembered by the way they died? (And barely—it's only if you walk the streets with your head down that you see it.) He feels like the boy in the story he told (see http://beta.thebeggarsopera.org/node/73). He leaves it at that and walks to the Spiekerhof.
He decides to protect the bicycles that are always being parked next to him. But it's early and there are no bikes yet. He wonder whether to charge everybody the same price, or whether to charge one price for crummy bikes and another for fancy ones. He settles for one price.
The people who park their bicycles there do not want to pay; they do find the idea original and inventive, but they're not willing to pay even so.
As his plan is not working, he decides to invent a threat. "A young man has been seen in the city damaging bicycles. It's not a pretty sight, and that's why I am offering to protect them. You need my protection". (Filch knows this from the movies, it should work!) … But it doesn't work.
He thinks, then: "What if I put up pictures of a bike witht the words, BEFORE and AFTER?" He knows he will have to cheat, that he'll have to use two different bicycles, but if it makes his business successful, why not? He looks at his reflection on the shop window and he realizes he is no mafia type. Filch, you fool!
He is then about to leave when a man returns to pick up his bike and pays him, because it seems he has done a "good job". The man is even smiling as he gives the money away. Filch is happy again, and his business grows: some pay spontaneously (that is, even if they have no bike!!), others as soon as they unlock their bykes. They pay when they take their bykes, but not when they leave them? So they are only willing to pay once they had the chance to check the quality of his services? But truth is he hasn't done anything for them in the meanwhile … such is the nature of theatre. Filch is reminded all of a sudden of the opening scene, between Peachum and Filch, of Die Dreigroschenoper.
As he walks the streets, he sells information about (Skulptur Projekte Münster) Pae White's sculpture, i.e. the songs played by the bells. He lets people listen to the song that will be played around 16.15 (he recorded all songs yesterday on his phone). People are willing to pay for this. iTunes asks 1 euro for 1 song, while Filch only asks for 10 cents. A good deal, he thinks. But he cannot get rid of this one thought: 4 golden pavement stones on the street don't protect you against oblivion.
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