England: The Real Fun!

In my previous post, I alluded to some of the more sordid or risque things I encountered while in Chester. So, here goes!

The first story is not accompanied by a picture, with good reason. I seemed to find the seedy part of town with little problem, which probably doesn't surprise anyone. I was walking down the somewhat shady street (shady meaning suspect, not tree-lined), heading toward City Center, as it's called, which is the center of the city (oh, those crazy English people with their aptly-named geographical areas!). I was at the corner of the City Center, strolling along, doing some people watching. A man caught my eye, as he was sitting on the ground, almost lounging against a building at the corner of the street. I made eye contact, and smiled a bit, like I usually do, when I noticed his arm was moving. My gaze drifted down (because how could it not...), and I noticed his arm moving in a somewhat recognizable way, and before I was able to process it to look away, I saw it. Yes, "it" - the guy was masturbating while sitting on a busy corner in the City Center. Since I have no dignity, I started laughing...hard (no pun intended). I continued walking, chuckling for at least another two blocks.

A short time later, I stumbled across this bar, as I wandered down another shady street, while heading to the park. I didn't go in, as it didn't look like it was open. I'm not sure if I would've gone in had it been open, anyway. But it was pretty amusing.

It's a little strange that these observations happened during the same day, but while walking through City Center, I strolled past who was presumably a street musician. What clued me in was his guitar and case, along with a hat set out for donations. He wasn't playing music at the time, and I guess he was getting ready for a long afternoon, as I noticed he was rolling a joint. I didn't see him light it, but I'm sure it was the next logical step. A few hours later, not too far from the monkey-spanking corner, I observed a drug deal. It was interesting, as it involved four men and two wolf-hounds. And they weren't the least bit subtle. I do admit, I feel like I'm giving Chester a bad rap. I think my timing was impeccable in stumbling upon these occurrences. I can only console you by letting you know I've seen all the same things in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Chicago and LA.

This sign was located in one of the shopping areas in Chester. There were many streets filled with many shops, and some had upper levels that you could access by almost a balcony or raised sidewalk type thing. I saw this and wondered what in the heck it could possibly be for. I came up with a few ideas on my own, but if you have anything creative to add, please feel free to comment - I'd love to see what you can come up with!