Innholdsfortegnelse for 6/20/2022 i The Big Issue

Sending cards and pictures is a vital way for children to remain in touch with their parents in prison A prison has been forced to U-turn on banning handwritten cards being sent to inmates after public outcry over the policy which would have forced families to use online card shops like Moonpig. HMP The Mount announced the ban in a formal letter, shared on Twitter, saying “cards and photographs will only be accepted from trusted sources” specified as Funky Pigeon, Moonpig and FreePrints. The ban was set to come into force from June 20 this year, with cards or photos sent directly from family and friends to be placed in stored property. The Ministry of Justice has denied that a policy to ban handwritten cards from being delivered to inmates…

Drag royalty Bimini Bon Boulash and activist Lady Phyll are just some of the LGBTQ+ trailblazers featured in a new digital portrait series set to raise funds for LGBTQ+ homelessness centre The Outside Project. More than 25 queer icons and allies are part of the This Other Eden photo project, captured by British photographer Luke Nugent, including actress and trailblazer Munroe Bergdorf, author and DJ Fat Tony, and queen of London nightlife Princess Julia. The limited-edition digital portraits are on sale now. Half of all proceeds made from the NFT sales will go towards supporting The Outside Project, which operates a community shelter, centre and domestic abuse refuge for homeless and vulnerable LGBTQ+ people in London.…

Get in touch  The Big Issue, 2nd floor, 43 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 1HW letters@bigissue.com @bigissue /bigissueUK @bigissueuk @thebigissue Skill life  John Bird’s words as always resonate with me, his article Green shoots of recovery can help break the cycle of poverty [May 30] is a very poignant piece of work! As he so eloquently points out, the government cannot bury its head like a proverbial ostrich, it costs so much more to keep people on low incomes and poverty than it does to create a true level playing field. Brexit, Covid-19 and now the horrific war in Ukraine have had a cataclysmic effect on our nation. However, the clear warning signs were there already, but sadly our leaders couldn’t see the forest for the trees! We need to create…

Street papers like The Big Issue have found themselves increasingly at the centre of the global refugee crisis. More and more vendors fled their home countries due to poverty, persecution and conflict. Not only do they get the opportunity to earn an income, but they are assisted in applying for documentation and permits, finding new places to live and accessing language classes. For Refugee Week we meet some of those given a fresh start by street papers ‘THE STREET PAPER GAVE ME A NEW HOPE’ Paul Nosaghare Igbeque From Nigeria, now in Italy Paul Nosaghare Igbeque, 44, originally from Nigeria, now works selling the street paper zebra in Bolzano in northern Italy. Eighty per cent of zebra’s vendors are from Nigeria. “I was born in Igueben, a small town close…

Since 1993, when Prince William first visited The Passage, homelessness has changed. “We’ve certainly noticed an upturn in terms of those who are at risk of street homeless,” says Mick Clarke, CEO of the charity. “I think this is going to be a perfect storm.” Just as Princess Diana brought her sons to The Passage when they were young, William speaks of making sure his children are aware of the issues people face. And there is no bigger issue currently than the squeeze on incomes. “I worry it will get a lot worse,” the Prince says. “We’ve already come out the back of a pretty bad period for trying to tackle homelessness. Current projections mean we could find ourselves in a much trickier position in the next couple of years.…

I was a very isolated teenager. My father had died some years before and my sisters were away at university, so there was only my mother and me at home. And that was the time my mother’s health began to deteriorate. She’d always been an absolute toughie, a bit like Barbara Castle – a small redhead, very fiery, totally indomitable. She rushed everywhere, you couldn’t keep up with her and she was the person everybody could rely on. She went on working full time – she was a very good teacher. I was born at the tail end of the war. My father couldn’t go into the armed forces, to his great fury, because his heart had been damaged by rheumatic fever. So he was assigned to bomb damage repair.…

1 Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg I read this series with my children a long time ago but the laughter still echoes down the years. The bizarre story of a family of skeletons living together in a suburban house was irresistible… night after night. “Let’s go out and frighten somebody!” 2 The Donut Diaries by Anthony McGowan Twelve-year-old Dermot Milligan is overweight. In the first book he faces the twin horrors of a psychiatrist ordering him to keep a diary of his eating habits – “everyone knows diaries are for girls” – and a visit to Camp Fatso. Funny and strangely insightful. 3 The Twits by Roald Dahl For me the funniest Dahl. Mr and Mrs Twit are unforgettable creations: ugly, unhygienic and given to playing…

O-T Fagbenle is a versatile British actor, best known for playing Luke – husband to June (Elisabeth Moss) in The Handmaid’s Tale . We’ve also seen him as heroic fixer Rick Mason in Marvel’s Black Widow , optimistic and tragic Felix in the BBC’s terrific adaptation of Zadie Smith’s NW and narcissistic, deluded former boyband star in cringey comedy Maxxx , which he also wrote and produced. But his new role in The First Lady takes him into a different league. Barack Obama is one of the most instantly recognisable people on the planet. Playing the 44th President of the US opposite Oscar winner Viola Davis as Michelle Obama comes with unique pressure. But Fagbenle has been winning rave reviews for the role, in a series charting the life and…

Cruise has on many a memorable occasion grabbed the mic himself, only rarely crashing and burning in the process VOICE OF A GENERATION Tom Cruise likes tackling the big tunes Ace fighter pilot, champion stock car racer, secret agent extraordinaire, barman at TGI Fridays: Tom Cruise has lived exciting lives which we mere mortals can only dream of through his blockbuster acting roles. And yet, from watching the vertically challenged sexy scientologist’s movies over the years, I can’t help but sense that his greatest ambition in life has never been fully realised. I still haven’t seen Top Gun: Maverick – and I understand he judiciously leaves the theme song to Lady Gaga – but if it doesn’t feature a scene in which Cruise wonkily if gamely sings his little heart…

Co-op, Canford Lane, Westbury-on-Trym 8am-2.30pm Monday-Saturday CONSTANTIN MUSTAFA, 59 Eight years ago I moved to Bristol and I started selling the magazine from the moment I moved here so I can survive. I heard about The Big Issue through some friends from Romania who lived here. They explained how it works and took me to The Big Issue office and I started vending from there. Things have been pretty good recently and my family and I can survive with the money that I make on my pitch. I get a stable income where I can support my wife, children and grandchildren and we can live well. I have a very good relationship with my customers. Ever since I started selling, they have been nothing but loving towards me. I am…

A suggestion to make 1.1 million extra children eligible for free school meals has been ignored by the government. Henry Dimbleby, lead adviser on the government’s national food strategy, recommended free school meals be extended to all children living in households earning less than £20,000. But the strategy, due to be presented to Parliament by Environment Secretary George Eustice today, does not include the recommendation. In response, Dimbleby – who co-founded the Leon fast food restaurant chain – said government spending on free school meals was failing to keep pace with inflation, and told Sky News: “I hope this is under urgent review because this number needs to go up.” Polling found 51 per cent of people believed free school meals should be available for all children. Dimbleby’s report said…

For refugees arriving in the UK, integrating into society is often a challenge. Language barriers and a complex system mean those needing help often don’t get it. Big Issue Invest is backing a multimillion-pound scheme to help improve the lives of asylum seekers in Manchester and the West Midlands. Big Issue Invest’s Outcomes Investment Fund (OIF) has invested into two Refugee Transitions Outcomes Fund (RTOF) contracts, awarded by the Home Office and providing over £5 million of outcome payments to help refugees, Big Issue Invest hopes to help integrate nearly 1,000 people across the two areas. Sergio Sanchez, Investment Director at Big Issue Invest, said: “We’re delighted to be investors in the RTOF and to be supporting refugees in the UK through this innovative programme along with our Local Partners…

I was in junior high when I failed my first hearing test, a mandated screening that took place in the auditorium of our public school each fall. I don’t remember what I was thinking as I stood in line awaiting my turn, but I know I was certainly not thinking my life was about to change. At the time, I hadn’t really noticed things going quiet at the edges. Even today, having been deaf more of my life than not, this is a difficult thing to explain – how could I know what I hadn’t been hearing? In any case, when the woman who’d administered the test handed me a pink slip, I was surprised and ashamed. She instructed me to give the paper to my parents; I attempted to…

Social housing landlords could face “Ofsted-style” inspections and unlimited fines under new powers proposed by the government to tackle collapsing standards in social housing across the country. The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill will make it easier for regulators to tackle landlords presiding over dangerous or disgusting conditions and give more power to tenants to hold landlords to account. Announcing the bill, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: “In 2022 it is disgraceful that anyone should live in damp, cold and unsafe homes, waiting months for repairs and being routinely ignored by their landlord. These laws will end this injustice and ensure the regulator has strong new powers to take on rogue social landlords.” Images posted online of appalling conditions in social housing blocks have shocked social media users in recent…

The Big Issue took centre stage at Cornwall’s famous Minack Theatre last month as part of a fundraising production of Twelfth Night . Actor Adam Bowkett, who played Feste the Fool in the modern reimagining of the William Shakespeare classic, donned the red Big Issue tabard and sold the magazine at the show’s four-night run at the theatre. At the open-air amphitheatre, carved into the Cornish cliff face with waves rippling behind the stage, Bowkett’s Feste also wore a kilt as he sold the 23 May edition of the magazine – which features the cast of Stranger Things on the cover. Production company Carnon Downs Drama Group staged the show in aid of The Big Issue, Shelter and the RNLI, with proceeds from the performance split between the three. Steve…

1 There should be a designated lead or champion for care leavers in every Jobcentre Plus or local Youth Hub. 2 Transparency within the system should be improved with the establishment of a ‘marker’ for care leavers, alongside corresponding online information. 3 Universal Credit should be increased and extending the over-25s rate to care leavers should be considered. 4 Access to more regular Universal Credit payments should be available where appropriate, and budgeting support should be provided. 5 Sanctions should be prevented and care leavers should be given clear information about the sanction process and their responsibilities as claimants. 6 All local authorities should exempt care leavers under 25 from paying council tax, or provide alternative support.…

In Lapvona, Ottessa Moshfegh offers a fitting tale for the hellscape of our pandemic times; gleefully rubbing our faces in the filth of human nature. Her chosen setting – the imagined village of Lapvona – harks back to the age of medieval fiefdoms and peasants. Its inhabitants are God-fearing folk, daily tormented by their ruler, Lord Villiam, who delights in stealing their crops and devising brutal means to keep his subjects compliant. The faith that they have been taught from infancy enables their unquestioning exploitation – a true ‘opiate’ for the masses. Villiam is painted as a monstrous proto-capitalist, characterised by his continual feasting and demands for performances of skits to assuage his boredom. When the villagers are not toiling, they endure atrocities that rival scenes from Hieronymus Bosch. Descriptions…

It’s flying season again, as families pile into hot and sweaty terminals, hyped up on pre-holiday adrenaline and travel anxiety. Some of us – including me – didn’t set foot on a plane for a couple of years during the pandemic. I’d half forgotten how stressful it is. The problem is, my wife and I operate at completely different speeds. She likes to pack days in advance, get to the airport with three or four hours to spare and, once through security, proceed straight to the gate and just sit there, solemnly waiting for the plane to arrive. I am a nightmarishly casual traveller. I throw things in a bag on the morning of departure, rock up to security about an hour before take-off and then take my time perusing…