Innholdsfortegnelse for 6/25/2018 i The Big Issue

Spoiled ballot I was interested in your article about Grenfell Tower [June 11-17]. The sick thing is that in the May election, Kensington and Chelsea remained Conservative despite Grenfell Tower, despite the council being so incompetent that even a year after the fire families still need to be permanently rehoused. What a cynical lot some of the borough’s voters must be. I’m not playing party politics as I spoil my ballot, but whichever party was in power should have been voted out. Marc Hurstfield, Kent Re: Marie Brisland’s letter about online foodbanks [Correspondence, June 18-24] Banking on it It can be done! Ocado have a system . Go to their website, enter Food Bank into their search engine and you get the choice of donating £2.50, £5 or £10 (which…

Pubs are shutting around the UK at a rate of two a day – but one community has defiantly refused to ring the bell on their bar. The people of Banton in North Lanarkshire received the keys to Scotland’s first community pub last week, with plans to turn the Swan Inn into a hub, a café and a restaurant that will open its doors in summer 2019. After the boozer’s closure, the People United for Banton (PUB) campaign was awarded just over £1m from the National Lottery, Scottish Land Fund and the European Union to buck the national trend. PUB’s spokeswoman Wendy Dunsmore said: “Over the last few years Banton lost its post office, shop, and its only bus service was threatened. The closure of the pub could have brought…

We’ve been celebrating Hugh Grant’s foodbank-donating exploits in recent weeks – and the blogger who inspired him has revealed the star even took time out from his wedding to donate. Alex Tiffin started his blog, Universal Credit Sufferer, in May after going viral on Twitter with a breakdown of his budget on the blundering benefits system. That piqued the interest of Grant, who helped set up the #foodbankchallenge with wheelchair-bound Alex. As well as donating, Grant encouraged showbiz pals Blake Harrison and Gary Lineker to get involved. Alex told The Big Issue: “I never thought I’d be working with Hugh Grant on anything but he was so supportive and gave the challenge a bit of a boost. “Hugh has stayed with it too. In fact, looking at the day when…

There is a conspiracy in the world against trying to think differently. I realised this again as I stood on the packed train back to Cambridge. Peering over the shoulders of fellow passengers seated I could see, aside from the odd person doing overtime on their accounts and invoices, a large proportion playing games. Or watching films. Filling time from A to B. Taking time out from life. Perhaps making life bearable. I was not inconvenienced, standing in my new bright blue trainers that I have bought to support my feet better so I can walk for miles and miles. I hate trainers and hate bright colours but the florid sports shops, which declare your health just by your purchase of some garish item, will not let you have the…

They call Australia ‘the lucky country’, and boy is it: spectacular beaches, incredible landscapes, minerals for mining, good soil for farming, space for grazing, a laidback outdoors lifestyle, and some of the most liveable cities in the world. I write from experience – in 2008 my wife and I emptied our house into a shipping container and put ourselves on a plane to Melbourne, intending to stay perhaps a year but ending up staying six. Even then we were reluctant to leave. We felt like we were the lucky ones for having lived there so long, and may yet move back again in the future some time. But I very quickly became aware how little I knew of Australia’s history, or of the long legacy that British colonialism had left…

One of the delights of the Oscars hoopla last year occurred not at the main ceremony but the Governors Awards, a side event in which industry veterans are celebrated by the Academy. Angelina Jolie and Jessica Chastain stride out to the podium to announce the next honoree: 89-year-old Belgian filmmaker Agnès Varda. And so on to the stage bounces up Varda, whose pageboy haircut is a striking two-tone of grey and bottle-dye brown. She makes a breezy, joyful speech, and invites Jolie, in her heels a good head taller than the diminutive Varda, to take part in an impromptu dance. The moment, which quickly went viral, turned a piece of stiff ceremony into a playful spectacle. If you don’t know Varda’s work, this wasn’t a bad introduction. Well, now there…

Music critics frequently misfire. History often puts these views into comical perspective, as works once ridiculed become revered. Take Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, a well established if not always beloved part of the orchestral repertoire today, but declared by a contemporary to the composer to “put the patience of the audience thorough a severe trial”. Well, what artist cares about the comfort of the audience? John Ruskin took an unequally unflattering and broader view that “Beethoven always sounds to me like the upsettings of bags of nails, with here and there an also dropped hammer.” Ouch. Comments like these do not seem to have done Beethoven’s reputation any harm: practically every concert hall in the land will feature his music at multiple points during their seasons. Upcoming highlights include pianist Imogen…

Today I stopped around 11am to buy my weekly Big Issue from Dave, who works on Market Street in Cambridge. Other passers-by had insulted and abused him: ‘get a life’, ‘get a job’ etc, jeers and laughter at his expense. He was at the end of his tether. He said this kind of thing often happens. Dave is a cheerful, thoughtful and helpful person with a great sense of humour. Many people, myself included, stop for a friendly chat. I was shocked. Dave sells The Big Issue because he believes in it, as a magazine well worth reading and a force for good in the world. I entirely agree. Although some weeks there are very sad stories they’re always connected to ideas and campaigns to make the world a better…

The greatest sports event on the planet is in full swing in Russia – but it hasn’t yet overshadowed the Street Child World Cup. We brought you the life-affirming stories of street children from all over the world descending on Russia in May for the liberating experience of playing football. Children who had been held in custody in Kenya were allowed to leave to take part, while others from Mexico City had to overcome two court hearings to make the trip as no one could locate their parents. Their emotional tale is being turned into a short film titled Наша история (Our Story), featuring video diaries shot by the players themselves. Check bigissue.com for an exclusive look at the flick.…

‘It would destroy the community’ My name is Adam David Ge-Saelis. I have a row of railway arches in Herne Hill. When I started renting the first one, I was homeless. I saw these arches were all boarded up, they were derelict. No one really wanted them. I saw a sign at the end of the mews, which said Network Rail. I didn’t know much about the arches but called them up and they told me I needed this much money to get them. I went to work as a chef, doing 30-hour shifts. Really tough work. And I saved up enough money to get the first arches. The electricity didn’t work properly, the toilets were smashed. They were in a really derelict state. I was doing furniture making and…

People are amazed I’m back on my pitch within five months. I saw one of the people who were looking after me in the critical care unit, and he said he couldn’t believe I was back there after what I’d been through. I remember some bits of the accident – I recall getting off the bus, walking up behind it, looking left and seeing the traffic really off in the distance. I thought, ‘I’ve got enough time to cross the road all the way’. I took two or three steps off the kerb, looked left and then I heard the noise. There’s a pair of headlights there and I thought, ‘Shit, this is gonna happen’. I remember the car hitting me and then going up in the air, but I…

RONALD GRUMP As early as 1988, Ronald Grump – a grouch with a dodgy hairpiece – cons Oscar into selling up so he can build Grump Tower, the first skyscraper made of trashcans. DONALD GRUMP When Trump was best known for presenting the US version of The Apprentice, another grouch, Donald Grump, turned up in 2005 looking for an assistant of his own. “His name is on every piece of trash in town!” remarks an impressed Oscar, before they sing a song with pertinent lines like, “Whose name equals trash to you and to me?” and Grump declaring, “I’m the trashiest! I’m the grouchiest!” JOE PESCI But most bizarrely, in a 25th birthday celebrity special in 1994, Joe Pesci, as if he’s just strayed from the set of Casino, plays…

The disappearance or death of a character in a piece of fiction has been used for thousands of years as an inciting incident that propels the other characters into action, pushing a story forward. And while these are familiar tropes that often lead to predictable outcomes, they can be twisted into an infinite variety of new shapes in the hands of quality writers. This week we have two very different books in terms of style and content, but both open with variations of the above. The first is the sublime Sabrina by American author Nick Drnaso. Sabrina is a large format, hardback graphic novel, and Drnaso comes out of America’s indie comic scene. His styles of illustration and storytelling are deadpan and precise, and there are echoes of the likes…

“Plenty of us struggle with some sort of bollocks and for years we assumed we were on our own” It might not be the politically correct way to say it – but I am half-barmy. Riddled with anxiety I am. Up to the eyeballs in the stuff, according to the old head-shrinkers. I’m the sort of fella who is up all night worrying that a receipt I forgot to submit in my last VAT return might, through some outlandish sequence of events that seem perfectly rational to me at times of peak-barmyness, land me in the nick. Who knows why I have such a surfeit of worry buzzing about in my head? I can tell you it’s a bloody pain in the arse and I could do without it. But…

Michael Jackson: On The Wall (June 28-October 21, Trafalgar Square, London; npg.org.uk) coincides with what would have been the singer’s 60th birthday and shows the influence he had not on music and choreography but rather on art. Andy Warhol drew on his image for his work, and this exhibition brings together pieces by 40 artists who used his fame and cultural impact as the starting point for their creations. We are very familiar with his impact as a musician but less so with his impact as a muse. Staying with music, The Influence Project (June 27-August 22, Aldwych, London; somersethouse.org.uk) is a free exhibition of photographic portraits of key figures in R&B, funk, soul, hip-hop and Afrobeat – including George Clinton, Shuggie Otis, Bill Withers, Candi Staton, Michael Kiwanuka and…

“The Big Issue is a symbol of fighting back” I’ve been a musician all my life, and it’s one of my greatest inspirations. I grew up in Glasgow, where I had a terrific mum and dad, three younger sisters, a great family. We were very close. I used to listen to the music my dad listened to, like Nat King Cole, Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby. My mum twisted my arm into getting piano lessons. What I really wanted was a guitar! So I convinced my dad to teach me to play when I was about 12. I stayed in Glasgow until I was about 24, and then the wanderlust hit. I went to London, and spent 10 years there, before deciding I wanted to lead a rural life, so bought…

It started with a few drops. And then it turned into a valley of tears. This World Cup has been notable because of the remarkable Ronaldo and the volume, the huge, undammable volume, of players crying. They cry a lot. After the first round of matches, after matches that end in a draw. They may well be crying off camera too. Maybe right now. My initial response was one of slight confusion. Why are all these lads crying? There has been no disaster. Many of the results are fixable. Are these the millennial snowflakes on a global stage? I looked to the pundits. They were more of my generation. In the studio, Roy Keane, the former Manchester United midfield general, a player who in his quietest moment could be described…

This anonymous artist, who submits her work via London homeless charity the 240 Project, describes herself as “a lone wolf”. “My work comes straight out of my head, it’s happy and sad,” she says. “At the end of the day, how you feel comes out on the paper, in the colours and the shapes. I get inspired by people at the project and value their comments, we are like a family. They give you honest advice.” Street Art is created by people who are marginalised by issues like homelessness, disability and mental health conditions. Contact streetlights@bigissue.com  to see your art here.…

Mo Ahmed, Snow Hill station manager “Bubble is an asset to the family at Snow Hill, we admire his diligence and hard work. He’s so committed to his job, and is always helpful. It’s so nice to see him back, the accident hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm and his outlook on life. He’s the same Bubble we know and love. He treats that job with passion and with respect. He deserves all the attention he’s getting.” @judithyates1 Delighted to see you are back Karl. Big Issue please give Karl my best wishes when you see him. @LornaGavin1 I saw the lovely Bubble this afternoon - in a mad rush 4 train but he managed to give me potted history of his ordeal. Bravo Bubble for getting through this and will make…

The most exciting part of any major football tournament is of course, the sticker collecting. Just as controversial as this year’s World Cup was the accompanying Panini sticker album, which Cardiff University professor Paul Harper suggested could cost £773.60 for collectors to complete. And that’s before you consider the 254 World Cup players missing from the album. When the official album was released in April, the makers had to guess who would make the 23-man squads. But they inevitably got a few wrong. The MIFA Project brings together 200 artists from across the globe to illustrate the missing players. Designer Dave Will hopes to collate the final results in a book after the World Cup to raise money for a mental health charity in Liverpool. @davewi11 davewilldesign.com…

WILD ABANDON by Joe Dunthorne A comic novel about a commune in rural Wales that is falling apart at the seams, this community farm is no utopian rural idyll – hence why teenage daughter Kate flees to suburbia to escape her mad hippie past, with much comedy ensuing. ARCADIA by Lauren Groff An evocative, wistful portrait of a back-to-the-land 1970s commune in upstate New York, we see Arcadia through the loving eyes of sweet and sensitive Bit, who neither knows nor wants any other kind of childhood. THE GIRLS by Emma Cline Loosely based on the real crimes of the Manson family, this dark narrative tells how listless teenager Evie is transfixed by and absorbed into a group of drifting Californian hippies who become murderers. FOXLOWE by Eleanor Wasserberg Another…

The Big Issue: From singing to wrestling, how did that come about? Kate Nash: The casting call said wrestling, spandex and glitter and I just knew I had to go for it. I’m attracted to anything that is very female-driven. I suppose a lot of what we see that is put out in the wresting world is very male-dominated. I remember watching it as a kid and it was just all these men and I was just like, ‘eurghhh, this is boring’. Have you changed your mind now you’ve been in the ring? Wrestling is a combination of so many things, it’s like a mix of dance, performance and fighting. It’s an incredibly skilled thing to be able to do. What people are able to do with their bodies is…