Innholdsfortegnelse for October 26, 2015 i The Big Issue

WE BELIEVE in a hand up, not a handout... Which is why our sellers BUY every copy of the magazine from us for £1.25 and sell it on to you for £2.50. In this way we have helped hundreds of thousands of people to take control of their lives since 1991, and in the process created a global blueprint for social change. WE BELIEVE in trade, not aid... Which is why we ask that you ALWAYS take your copy of the magazine – it’s a bloody good read and our sellers are working and need your custom. WE BELIEVE poverty is indiscriminate... Which is why we provide ANYONE whose life is blighted by poverty with the opportunity to earn a LEGITIMATE income. WE BELIEVE in the right to citizenship... Which…

This story comes from another détente in Chinese relations with the West. During the days of ping-pong diplomacy in the early ’70s, Henry Kissinger, who, depending on your outlook, was either an unforgiveable warmonger or a progressive player making tough decisions for the greater good, sat down with Mao Zedong’s government. The plan was to start plotting a way forward to open China to the world following Mao’s murderous horror of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward. “What do you think of the French Revolution?” Kissinger is reported to have asked Zhou Enlai, Mao’s urbane, diplomatic prime minister. Legend has it that Enlai, after reflection said: “Too early to tell.” And so the idea of Chinese administrations working in the long, long game became imprinted. I thought of…

Dementia affects everyone differently but knowing more about the brain can be useful. It can help you understand why dementia causes its symptoms and how it progresses. It also helps us realise that changes in a person are due to the disease and not a natural part of ageing. The frontal lobe is responsible for behaviour, emotions and language. This part of the brain is often damaged in frontotemporal dementia and, as this area is responsible for how we respond in social situations, people may act in an inappropriate way. The occipital lobe helps with vision. People with a form of dementia called posterior cortical atrophy also experience problems with vision because their brain can’t process images properly. This was one of the main symptoms that affected Sir Terry Pratchett.…

At 16 I had already been involved in street life for years [50 Cent started dealing drugs at 12]. I was aggressive enough to get by on the street – but then I’d go home and be my grandmother’s baby. I was outside hustling but I still had to talk my grandmother into letting me walk home from school myself. I said to her, look, I’m bigger than you now. I came to live in my grandmother’s house when some of my mother’s eight siblings were still there [his mother, a cocaine dealer, was murdered when he was eight]. My aunt Sylvie, she hated me being there. She had been the baby, then suddenly it was me. My grandmother would look at me and there would be a little moment…

The Big Issue believes empty buildings offer a great chance to increase housing supply. We want to see the following: • More support and funding for community-led empty homes projects. • More public bodies engaging with community projects ready and willing to make the most of empty buildings. • More homeless people getting the chance to work on refurbishment projects. Britain also needs new ideas. Please get in touch and tell us your own suggestions for transforming empty buildings in your town or city. Contact editorial@bigsissue.com or tweet @bigissue…

This picture was taken at 7.37am on the night ferry from Athens to the Greek island of Lesbos. Spotted in the distance was a boat of refugees, which had capsized seven hours earlier leaving 65 people, including children and pregnant women, stranded in the water. Dimitri Koutsomytis, a photographer from the Norwegian street paper =Oslo, was on board the ferry and captured the rescue operation. See more photos at bigissue.com…

The film Bill repeated the success of Horrible Histories on TV – what’s the secret? Of course there are things we cannot say for a family audience. But that forces us to be more imaginative and find innuendo and implication. It creates a cheeky charm you don’t get if you are being explicitly adult. At school, the best laughs are when the teacher is in the room and you shouldn’t be laughing. If the teacher goes out and anarchy reigns, there isn’t that delicious feeling that it is all a bit naughty. So we are being mischievous as opposed to out and out filthy. How do you avoid talking down to younger viewers? We assume that kids are as smart as us…

Last week we reported the sad news that Big Issue vendor Ralph Church’s dog Jess was killed in a traffic accident… My thoughts are with Ralph, our Big Issue seller in St Marychurch Precinct, Torquay, who tragically lost his beloved dog Jess this morning in a road accident. As a dog owner my heart goes out to him, and everyone who knows him in the area is dreadfully worried about him. Greer Campbell, Torquay We are all sharing your deep sadness and grief Ralph – that’s already a lot I think, not all people have this, they are quite alone in their devastation. But don’t forget that there are a lot of other dogs longing for your company. You must always think what a fine time you both had together.…

BIG BIRTHDAY BASH The Big Issue Foundation – the charity that grew out of The Big Issue – marked its 20th birthday last week with vendors, celebs (including James Bowen sadly, without Bob the Street Cat) and supporters celebrating its work. Ex-vendor Stan (above) – whose badge number was 007, making him one of the first people licensed to sell – told of the help he’d received. Stephen Robertson, CEO of The Big Issue Foundation, said: “We’re celebrating our 20th anniversary but we’re also celebrating the amazing work of The Big Issue organisation as a whole, 24 years after the magazine started. It still gives people an opportunity to work their way out of poverty.” BE AFRAID – BEGBIE’S COMING BACK After teasing readers with a taste in The Big…

One hundred and fifty years ago a 27-year-old woman asked writer, thinker, social activist and rich man John Ruskin to buy two houses in London’s slummy Marylebone to house poor people. Thus began Octavia Hill’s journey to provide housing for poorly paid workers, and 150 years later the Octavia housing association, who carry on her work, got nearly 80 people to look again at Octavia. Out of this came this star-studded book. Star-studded if you accept the entreaty to enter the book with 10 big names to draw you in on the cover. Yet you might be fooled that this book is simply another flatulent recipe book of vacuous thoughts from the well-placed. In fact, there is not one bum note. They have chosen their star-studded well, and mixed them…

Does this picture frighten you? If so, you suffer from coulrophobia, a fear of clowns. Last week police in Kent issued a warning over the use of Halloween masks after gangs wearing clown costumes were spotted jumping out of vans and deliberately scaring school pupils. They advised people to be alert, to stick to well-lit, busy areas and “look and act confidently… ‘walk tall’”. While being scared of people jumping out of vans is quite rational – no matter what they may be wearing – studies suggest that up to 12 per cent of the population suffer from an irrational fear of clowns. “People tend to have a negative outlook on clowns for some reason, which is a shame because we do great good,” says Clown Bluey, the UK’s favourite…

The charity helps 8,400 young homeless people a year, not just providing them with accommodation but rebuilding their confidence on a path to independence. Since 1969 they've helped a staggering 110,000 young people to get their lives back on track. But there's more to Centrepoint than providing a roof over young people's heads. It also helps them to gain essential life skills. This includes tackling physical and mental health issues and supporting young peoplemoving into education or employment. By giving people like Matt and Cia a chance to discover their individual potential, Centrepoint is both a place to stay and a safe place to plan the rest of their lives. However, to continue their work, Centrepoint need your help. Many young homeless people are facing the prospect of a desperate…

Kingsman 2 has definitely got the green light. The sequel, which Taron Egerton will return to star in, has been given a release date of June 16, 2017. Jack Reacher 2, meanwhile, is already filming. It’s been given a title, too. It’ll be called Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and is based on the 18th of Lee Child’s source novels. The TV show In the Flesh was cancelled by BBC Three but creator Dominic Mitchell has opened the door to a possible film. He’s revealed on Twitter that he’s going to look at putting one together, though it may end up being crowdfunded. Production is underway on the Absolutely Fabulous film. Set for release next year, it reunites Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, and will shoot in the UK and…

“Apart of me views this album as an experiment – to make a big pop album,” speaks Ellie Goulding of her third set Delirium, sounding like someone who thinks she has sold five million albums and 15 million singles worldwide by making lo-fi avant-garde noise records. “I wanted it to be on another level,” she adds. When a very successful pop artist starts making statements like that, it tends to mean one thing: she’s calling in the Swedes. The masters of planet pop are all over these 16 tracks like parts of a half-built flat-pack wardrobe strewn across a bedroom floor. Inevitably there’s Max Martin, the man with the Midas touch for penning US number ones (for the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, you name…

It is rare that I feel compelled to write in response to a letter. But today I must have a say. I am sorry to hear that Ruthi [October 12-18] seems to think Britain’s equality issues are due to the upper classes and that abolishing the royal family and all it stands for will help our country become more ‘equal’. I think you’ll find the Russians tried that nearly 100 years ago by murdering their royal family and most can agree that this has NOT removed poverty from Russia or improved the welfare of people living there. Equality is fundamentally a wonderful idea but unachievable, as proven by past and present communist states such as China where some are much more ‘equal’ than others. They also have a hideous human…

I have a lot of collections. Football scarves, hats, badges, lighters, bottle openers. I also take fly swats, shoehorns and Do Not Disturb signs from hotel rooms. Then there are crisp bags, postcards, maps, political badges from all different pits during the miners’ strike – kids’ toys I find in the gutter. And if I pass a photo booth, I see if there is a discarded picture. Shall we talk crisps? I keep the crisp bags in files, so they stay in a decent condition. Before you start putting on weight, when you are 20-odd, you can eat six bags every day. The crisps were great in the early ’80s. So I started collecting bags like Golden Wonder Sausage and Tomato flavour. I’m still sad I didn’t keep the Tudor…

The new Star Wars trailer was released on the morning of the first manifesto from the Women’s Equality Party (WEP). Both are epic and each depicts a stirring fight for freedom. Sadly, only one has Han Solo. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away – 1928 – the Conservative government finally passed the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act giving the vote to all women over 21. Now, almost 100 years later, the force of feminism awakens. What do they want? And what does it mean? The trailer starts with a question: ‘Who are you?’ A woman, sweaty and oily from taking apart a hyperdrive, answers in the timeless tone of she who has done everything and been given credit for nothing: “I am no one.”…

Frustrated by all the boarded-up buildings in your town while homelessness is on the rise? Here are six ways of doing something about it: 1. You can report empty properties to your local authority – many councils now have dedicated empty homes officers who would welcome photos showing the condition of the building and its address. 2. Save Britain’s Heritage has a register of Buildings at Risk highlighting properties that are vacant and in need of new owners – see more at savebritainsheritage.org. 3. You can find more details on how to bring an empty home back into use from Empty Homes Agency – emptyhomes.com. In Scotland, Shelter Scotland run a service allowing people to report empty homes and receive advice about bringing their empty home back into use –…

Recently, The Big Issue revealed how two young people faced homelessness, fear and a bleak future, due to the breakdown of family relationships. Cie*, 19, was thrown out of her grandmother's overcrowded home, and spent nights in refuges and car parks. Unsure where to turn, she missed her GCSEs because she was drinking, in an attempt to avoid the reality of the terrible situation she found herself in. Matt, 22, was forced to flee his native Ghana due to his sexuality. He then lost his father to malaria. After years of tension in his adopted home in London, a breakdown in the relationship with his mother left them estranged. He was booted out, and moved in and out of homeless shelters, eventually sleeping on a bench - heartbreakingly just outside…

1. FRANKENSTEIN  Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley; STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE and DRACULA Bram Stoker A bit of a cheat here but these three seminal classics have shaped all horror fiction that has followed them. Essential reading for any horror fan. 2. SALEM’S LOT  Stephen King Not only was this the novel that established King as the world’s best-selling horror writer but it also dragged the vampire story firmly into the 20th century. 3. CURIOUS WARNINGS: THE GREAT GHOST STORIES OF M.R. JAMES Montague Rhodes James was the father of the modern ghost story, and this is the most complete edition of his work available. 4. NECRONOMICON: THE BEST WEIRD TALES OF H.P. LOVECRAFT Howard Phillips Lovecraft popularised the theme of “cosmic horror” in the pulp magazines and,…

James Bond has always had impeccable timing. Whether it’s his easy way with a bon mot or his animal instinct for making an escape before the villain’s lair explodes, he knows how to judge the moment. But that unerring gift seems to have deserted him – or at least the distributors of Spectre, his latest outing. The film is about to start saturation bombing UK cinemas but the press screening is too late for our deadline. Anyway, does the world really need more coverage of the film? I quite enjoyed Skyfall. Its director was Sam Mendes, one of those nice, well-spoken chaps who made the switch from British theatre to film to much acclaim and without having gone to the trouble of making anything, you know, actually very good. Skyfall…

Send answers, with PATTI SMITH as the subject, to: competitions@bigissue.com or post to The Big Issue, 43 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 1HW. Include your name and address. Closing date is November 3. Include OPT OUT if you don’t want to receive updates from The Big Issue. We will not pass on your details to any third party. For full T&Cs see bigissue.com. Rock goddess, poet, photographer, touring artiste and award-winning author, recipient of France’s prestigious Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres… Patti Smith in the 21st century is many things. Now she is sharing her memoirs, filtered through the prism of the coffee shops that have punctuated her journey from proto-punk to philosophical grande dame of popular culture, in her new book M Train. Touching, funny, emotional and highly atmospheric,…