Innholdsfortegnelse for 5-12-2016 i The Big Issue

Know your craft I fear Sam Delaney didn’t quite grasp Jeremy Corbyn’s reference to a “wood-craft camp” in your interview with him. The Woodcraft Folk is actually a longstanding co-operative youth organisation “where children will grow in confidence, learn about the world and start to understand how to value our planet and each other”. Readers can find more information at woodcraft.org.uk Martin Meteyard, Midlothian Where’s the justice? Re Hilary Porter’s letter [November 21-27], putting empathy for the victims of crime foremost does not necessitate the dehumanisation of criminals. That all criminals “despise and prey” upon society is not only an unfounded assertion, it is also a dangerous one in a world in which political prisoners and the industrial prison complex exist. The idea any crime demonstrates the offender is “not…

“Homeless people need solace, comfort and hope – and we salute those who do this over Christmas” In some way Christmas is a hateful season. Because it reminds you of who is out of doors; who is sleeping distress-fully in shop doorways. Who is lonely and uncared for. And who needs our help. Christmas also means the suspension of rational discussion around what to do about homelessness. For who wants at this time to be laying down the long-term map of getting people out of the grief when before you is a frozen, frosty sleeping bag; and a dishevelled head sticking out of it? We can talk all we want, plan all we want for the days when homelessness will be a gone thing in the lives of the many.…

Picture this: an idyllic snow scene, strolling in comfy winter clothes joined by your boisterous dog. It’s a heart-warming, nostalgic, idealised portrait of a time that never was. Ladybird books, with their instantly recognisable illustrations, presented a neat and cosy utopian society – one we never had, and with a world perpetually in turmoil one we seem to be getting further and further away from. In this void between life as it could be and life as it unfortunately is sit the Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups. They have become the publishing sensation of the decade, the 17 titles in the series selling two-and-a-half-million copies since first hitting shelves in October last year, making the duo behind them, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, the best-selling authors for adults in 2015 and…

“THE SONG WAS INSPIRED BY BEING BULLIED – AS AN ADULT. IT DOESN’T GET TALKED ABOUT BUT IT HAPPENS A LOT. IT NEVER LEAVES YOU… THE DOUBTS, INSECURITIES, FEARS” Melanie Chisholm is leafing through a 1999 edition of The Big Issue with some trepidation. “It’s like looking at somebody you know really well. It is hard to think that it is me.” She was on the cover of our eighth birthday edition and, although the Spice Girls had yet to officially disband, in the interview was keen to distance herself from the group that had brought her worldwide acclaim. “I suppose it’s funny,” she says. “Not many people have an opportunity to peer back at how they used to present themselves like this. Kind of cringey, isn’t it?” But today…

One is rational and likes to have a plan, the other is irrational and says crazy things, which they later have no memory of. No, it’s not a rerun of the US presidential elections, it’s the two main characters of Pixar’s Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. Nemo’s father, serious clownfish Marlin, and forgetful blue tang Dory are the yin and yang of the films. In the long-awaited sequel focus shifted from one to the other, with ‘What would Dory do?’ a core motif of the film. What Dory tends towards is acting spontaneously, without a plan and hoping for the best, and it all works out for her in the end. Inadvertently the film has become a parable for the times we live in. So, Dory for president? “I actually…

1. MAXIMUM CITY Suketu Mehta Astonishing, dizzying, disturbing yet energising account of India’s most dynamic city, still known to many of its citizens as Bombay. 2. THE POWER BROKER Robert A Caro An epic account of Robert Moses, who shaped New York for four decades with tactics that owed as much to The Godfather as town planning. He built roads, parks and dams, yet also cleared what he called “slums” but were thriving neighbourhoods. 3. DOMBEY AND SON Charles Dickens Victorian London was the Shanghai of its time, a vast metropolis in a turmoil of change. Dickens captured the sheer strangeness of a city in which the canals and railways had cut their way through the urban fabric. 4. LOS ANGELES: THE ARCHITECTURE OF FOUR ECOLOGIES Reyner Banham At a…

1. In his book Pudd’nhead Wilson, Mark Twain wrote that which vegetable is ‘nothing but cabbage with a college education’? BONUS QUESTIONS ON FEASTS: a) Its Greek-derived name meaning ‘manifestation’, which feast day of the Christian calendar follows Twelfth Night? b) What is the Hebrew name for the Jewish ‘Feast of Lots’, celebrated in February or March and commemorating the deliverance of the Jews from a massacre planned by the Persian vizier Haman? c) The Celtic religious festival Lughnasadh, the feast of the god Lugh, is celebrated in which month, on the same date as the Christian Lammas Day? 2. Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence and The Last Temptation of Christ are among the works of which film director, born in New York in 1942? BONUS QUESTIONS ON THE…

It was very interesting reading the Christmas edition of The Big Issue Interview on Jeremy Corbyn [November 21-27]. ‘Is Jeremy Corbyn the weirdest man in politics? Or just the most honest?’ was the first sentence on this topic. Many would agree with the latter and some the former. When asked the question on stress, Jeremy said: “I don’t get stressed, no.” For those of us who have been close to the top in politics not to get stressed could suggest that they may not be human, as having some stress can act as a relief mechanism. What some on the centre left of politics believe is that Jeremy is quite hypocritical in his views. He broke the whip many times under previous leaders, yet others that do similar are castigated.…

While our own beloved monarch is seeking a £370m handout to spruce up Buck House, royals in the Netherlands have been offering a hand up to society’s poorest. Queen Maxima revealed she regularly buys a copy of Straatjournaal, the Dutch equivalent of The Big Issue, “when I go to the supermarket”. She added: “There’s a friendly vendor next to Noordeinde Palace, he always says hello.” The Dutch queen also revealed she didn’t realise vendors buy each copy with their own money and keep the cover price for every one sold – following The Big Issue model. “You’re in business for yourselves? That’s a big eye-opener for me,” she said. “It means vendors deserve even more respect. They’re not begging, they’re working!” Over to you, your majesty.…

POETRY BY DAVID ST CLAIR Of myself. To talk of personal experiences To know of this world Not all history can be resurrected Nor even repeated There are of course reservations To be made. We will be leaving tomorrow We even have some metal boxes ready Wait. How about going the other way Not out but inside ourselves Towards breaking down the mind sets The psychiatric professions The social workers The daylight The morning after before I fall asleep tonight And the end, again, of my madness Can I prove it, can I prove that I am sane As normal as all of us, or am truly Out of my mind Living in a different world from the one You experience Am I able to I am not quite sure…

“I never saw myself as a different colour. I had white friends, black friends. I was easy going” Iwasn’t focused when I was 16. I was just chilling out, going to school, seeing my friends. I wasn’t taking running seriously. It’s hard as a teenager, there are a lot of distractions. I’m not complaining but now I think if I’d listened to my coach more then maybe I could have been more successful. I could have won more medals. My twin brother Hassan was born first. He used to always beat me up. He was chatty, much more popular and a lot smarter than me. All the exams that I failed, he passed first time [Hassan was left behind due to illness when Mo moved to England aged eight, and…

Miriam Elia’s Dung Beetle books, first published last year, offered an even more subversive take on old-fashioned wholesomeness, with books like We Go To The Gallery exploring the frequently not very wholesome world of modern art. The old, nostalgic pictures mimic the style of the Ladybird books but with a terrible, bleak (and funny) worldview. Two more titles, We Learn At Home and We Go Out have just been released. Enid Blyton’s estate has joined the parody party this year, with her Famous Five undertaking ironic adventures with the gusto of kids with the can-do attitude of the good old days – but up against brand new 21st century challenges. Can the intrepid gang survive stories like Five on Brexit Island and Five Go Gluten Free and the terrifying Five…

For 25 years The Big Issue’s covers have brightened high streets across the UK. Now – would you Adam and Eve it! – you can give them your own splash of colour, with our Big Issue Colouring Book. It has 46 colouring-in grids depicting covers throughout our history, like this one from 2012. And if you like the look of your efforts, send us the one you think is best and the winner will be invited to work on the cover of a future edition of the magazine and show their true colours to all our readers. See the book for details. It’s available from The Big Issue Shop online – and every sale helps our vendors. The Big Issue Colouring Book (£6.99) bigissueshop.com…

Last week, a politician in Scotland pressed the wrong button and messed up a major plan. In a vote in Glasgow City Council, blundering Anne Simpson voted no when she meant to vote yes and a £400m scheme to privatise the IT system – which her party was all for – was sent way back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, over in Belfast, Trevor Clarke, an MLA, an elected politician in the devolved assembly, said he only recently learned that heterosexual people could contract HIV. Only recently learned. Only recently. The descent of politicians from places of respect to the same level as estate agents and journalists has been swift. When you learn about Simpson and Clarke it’s easy to see why the electorate gets exasperated. But short of a…

“Predatory paedophiles used the threat of homophobia to bury boys alive in shame” I hate football. I’ve never been to a match, don’t understand the rules and played it only once – I scored straight away and ran to my team-mates who couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe my spectacular own goal. Every Saturday, as soon as the cartoons finished, our telly was turned over to acres of green streaked with red, white and blue, black and white and stripes of every colour. I switched off. To me, the World Cup is a festival of corruption set to a soundtrack of jingoism and ringing tills. Clubs are super-brands worth billions, their star players almost as prized. Cristiano Ronaldo is an aftershave fragrant with ‘enigmatic darkness’. Rangers and Celtic were the only…

A few weeks ago jersey gave way to fleece. Now I am sporting both. As I face ‘homeless’ winter number 11 after giving up my job teaching, overwhelmed by debt and depression, I know that layering clothes is the key to keeping warm. At night I sleep under my 10-tog duvet, fully clothed with my feet toasted by thermal socks the size of unfashionable wellies. I slumber soundly, feeling lucky that for the last 10-plus years I have had a car to kip in. Christmas on the road is a bit of a nightmare: parking becomes more difficult, laybys are busier with more delivery trucks. I have to change my daily shop to weekly because the shops get too busy, and my diet slightly changes as I can store food…

This summer at the Desert Trip festival in California’s Coachella Valley, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan,TheWho,PaulMcCartney, Roger Waters and Neil Young assembled on the same bill for the first time to give 75,000 mostly baby boomers, average age 51, the live experience of a lifetime. With a combined age among the core performers of well upwards of 700 years – Ronnie Wood being the spring chicken at a sprightly 69 – it was an event unapologetically stuck in the past. But in a year that has seen the tragic loss of so many important senior musicians and cultural figures, it was also somehow timely. The Stones’ first new album in 10 years, Blue & Lonesome, shows even less enthusiasm than Desert Trip to admit to occurring in the age of…