Innholdsfortegnelse for 07-09-20 i The Big Issue

• Following the start of lockdown, all major mobile phone network and broadband providers met with Ofcom to discuss measures to ensure vulnerable customers can stay connected. The result is that all providers are offering free access to NHS websites irrespective of data plans. O2 take this further with free access to websites dealing with mental health, such as Mind and the Samaritans, as well as debt, including StepChange, Citizens Advice and more. • There have also been plenty of offers of free data for vulnerable customers to keep in contact with others while apart from friends and loved ones. Vodafone initially offered 500,000 customers an automatic free upgrade of unlimited data for 30 days during lockdown before rolling it out as a VeryMe reward for other customers. • Virgin…

In January 2019 Rutger Bregman arrived in Davos like a wrecking ball. His book, Utopia For Realists, had been global calling card a few years earlier. Here he was, a young, quiet Dutch historian compelling us to think big new thoughts and embrace the belief that society could be better if we made it our focus to be better. At the heart of his thesis was Universal Basic Income, the idea that everybody would receive a state income regardless of their circumstance. UBI had been fringe thinking for many years. As the book was being published, parts of it were welcomed but the main thrust of it was slammed. One notable critic shouted that it was “financially, behaviourally and organisationally bonkers”. Still, enough heat was generated for the billionaires and…

Our cover on this special ‘kindness’ edition of The Big Issue was drawn exclusively for us by Britain’s best-loved author and artist, Charlie Mackesy, the illustrator behind The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. One of the publishing sensations of the last year, it topped The Sunday Times bestseller list for over six months, has sold over a million copies, was Waterstones Book of the Year 2019 and has been translated into more than 17 languages. It sprang from conversations Mackesy had with his lifelong friend Bear Grylls about the nature of courage and bravery. Mackesy was asked by Richard Curtis to make drawings on the set of Love Actually in 2002, and again on the Red Nose Day Actually remake in 2017. In April this year, during…

Overcast Long-time regular Street Art contributor Mary’s colourful, aquatic paintings are her way of helping to deal with a history of depression and homelessness. Tragically, she recently lost her daughter Sue to a complicated medical condition. She has launched an online crowdfunder to help raise costs for the funeral. “She had a kind heart and loved beauty and nails and she was great at design,” says Mary of Sue. “I would love to have a fitting tribute for her. I would be grateful for any contribution, big or small.” Donations can be made at: gf.me/u/ytb92y The work on this page is created by people who are marginalised. Contact street.lights@bigissue.com to see your art here. To see more and buy prints: bigissueshop.com. At least half of the profit goes to the…

01 Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon With Kerouac’s On the Road , one of the two best US road books. Illuminating observations of people and places as Heat-Moon drives in a long, wavering rectangle on back roads around the US. 02 Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi A gripping novel that tells the stories of two sisters from the Gold Coast (Ghana) – one a slave, the other a slave-trader’s wife, and their descendants through seven generations – beginning in Africa in the 1760s, ending in Harlem in the 1950s. 03 South from Granada by Gerald Brenan A vivid portrait of life in a mountain village in Andalucía in the 1920s – a way of life that has now disappeared – interrupted occasionally by visits from members of the Bloomsbury Group.…

As children return to school with a lunchbox full of hand sanitiser sandwiches, this feels like a good time to impart some important knowledge. So today’s lesson will be about my favourite reality show Selling Sunset. Please sit down in your designated seat, take copious notes and I’ll begin. 01 IT’S A TV SHOW ABOUT AN ESTATE AGENCY Selling Sunset is the wholesome tale of West Hollywood real estate company Oppenheim, which is run by two tiny bald twin brothers called Jason and the other guy whose name I can never remember. They only seem to employ ultra-glam women with high heels, tiny dogs and attitude problems. I wonder why? Oh wait – it’s because hot women sell hot property – the kind of property that costs $50m and has…

The Big Issue is bringing together companies, charities and organisations to work towards the shared goals of preventing homelessness and protecting jobs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unilever, Shelter and Nationwide Foundation are just some of the heavy-hitters backing our campaign. But we need your support too. Tell us YOUR stories and ideas at rora@bigissue.com now. If you tell us the problem, we can help fix it. The time is now. bigissue.com/rora…

Seeds of success Here is a photo of some large organically grown vegan tomatoes. I wonder if any of your other readers have grown large vegan organic tomatoes? I had 14 on one plant, one just under 1kg. I used homemade comfrey liquid feed. Would any of your readers in the Southampton area be interested in setting up a garden and social club? I hope that next year Newfields Gardening CIC might rent me a space in their garden where I hope to grow unusual and heritage vegetables, and also help Newfields, which supports people with various disabilities, and has suffered badly over Covid-19. Patrick Prior, email Bitter pill I am second to none in my admiration for your work, but I have to rebuke you for The Big Issue’s…

For Norwich vendor Jim Hannah, the lockdown was particularly hard to take. The Scot, originally from Hamilton, started selling the magazine eight years ago as part of his efforts to get sober. He is now eight years dry and puts that down to working on his Dove Street pitch and the unique relationship he shares with his customers. The bond is typified by Manuel, a Big Issue tabard-wearing teddy bear knitted for Jim by one of his customers. The little bear takes pride of place perched in Jim’s own tabard. Customers take turns to take the bear, named after the much-loved Fawlty Towers character, on holiday and share souvenir snaps with Jim, 61. “This is what The Big Issue is all about for me – the communication,” said Jim. “It’s…

Why is this government so incapable of being firm? It’s as if they slip and slide all over the place. Making decisions and then ‘U-turning’, a term much loved by the press intent on proving how silly the government is. U-turning their way through the last few months, on seemingly all things. Yes, I’m writing this in the heat of the moment, because that’s where we live. I’m airing the fears and worries at what is coming down the road towards us. I’m not a finger-stabber, but the cards must be put on the table. If you want to make hay from the ineptitude of government then arrange a very large crisis the likes of which governments and the public have never been through before. But then just sit back…

“Militant methods have been good for the souls of women,” wrote Christabel Pankhurst in 1912. “They have swept away the evils of ‘ladyism’, of timid gentility, of early Victorian effeminacy as distinct from womanliness.” Under this reasoning, the violent tactics of the Suffragettes were not merely defensible as the only way to secure the vote for women. They were desirable. It might seem strange to bring up the Suffragettes in a magazine issue dedicated to kindness and cooperation. The 1,500 or so women who were full members of the Women’s Social and Political Union felt strongly that the vote had to be taken, not given. Pankhurst argued that they needed to shake off their “slave spirit”. While the non-violent Suffragists played by the rules – holding marches, organising petitions and…

I’m happy to admit I’m a total sucker for a narrative that’s delivered in stripped-back, bare-bones prose. There’s something about an understated narrative style that’s so much more effective than florid, overwritten language, especially at conveying a sense of underlying unease. But as a writer it’s a bugbear of mine when readers equate easy-to-read with easy-to-write. It takes immense skill to use simple language effectively, and this week we have novels by two international authors who do just that. First up is Earthlings by Sayaka Murata, brilliantly translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Murata had an international smash with her previous novel, Convenience Store Woman, her first translated into English and my favourite book of 2018. That book was about a woman’s sense of dislocation in modern society and the strange…

La Haine Rereleased on September 11 In 2015, when La Haine was rereleased for its 20th anniversary, it felt absolutely relevant – all that white-hot anger against police brutality, racism and social injustice. Well, here we are again five years later and nothing about this story of three alienated young men in Paris feels out of date. Not the blunt force social commentary, not even the clothes funnily enough, or that memorable sample of Sound Of Da Police mixed with Édith Piaf ’s Non, je ne regrette rien blasted out of the window of a high rise. All that’s missing are the mobile phones. Mathieu Kassovitz was only 26 when he directed La Haine (Hate). He wrote the script after the deaths of two young men of colour as a…

Classical music has several hardy perennials. They bloom reliably once a year, their flowers beguiling but dangerous; the berries poisonous if consumed. One suggests that classical is ‘old music’ – despite the unfortunate genre description, the diversity of living composers and performers scotches that claim – another surrounds the final night of the Proms, the concert series created in 1895, now overseen by the BBC. The Last Night of the Proms is famed for its flag- waving patriotism, cemented by photos in papers that rarely cover classical music, let alone the rest of the eight-week Proms season. It is portrayed as the Ultimate Night of British Culture, with renditions of works by British (English) composers that have been performed in the same way throughout the Proms’ 125-year history. Every summer,…

PITCH: Cross Street, Caerleon, Newport 9am-2pm Monday-Friday I was begging on the streets about seven years ago and someone came up to me and asked if I’d like to earn a legitimate income without getting into any trouble. It sounded absolutely great. I’d been in and out of prison between the ages of 19 and 24 and then I was sofa-surfing. I’d never had a job. School had been tough because my relationship with my mum was strained. We weren’t getting on so I decided to leave. But now I’ve been selling The Big Issue for the past seven years mostly, with just one year off. It’s really made a difference to my life, it’s brought a change for the better. I feel much more confident now and I can…

Not a handout… Vendors earn a legitimate income, and gain valuable social and employability skills. With your support now, we will continue to do so once the crisis has passed. A hand up... Our sellers BUY the magazine for £1.50 and sell it for £3, keeping the difference. The right to citizenship… The Big Issue Foundation, our charitable arm, helps sellers to tackle social and financial exclusion. Prevention… Big Issue Invest offers backing and investments to social enterprises, charities and businesses which deliver social value to communities.…

VENDORS: Not all vendors have been able to return to their pitches at once. Health issues mean some are shielding and areas of the country are subject to local lockdowns. We will continue to support vendors who need help until they can sell again. PPE: Safety is key, we do not want to risk any vendor or customer’s health. So we have provided ‘Welcome Back Packs’ for each vendor that include masks and alcohol hand gel. Vendors will also be given waterproof bags to safely store magazines. PITCHES: Some pitches may have moved, depending on local safety measures and circumstances. A large number of vendors will now be offering contactless payment, but they will continue to accept cash – there is no indication that handling cash or magazines will transmit…

Marcus Rashford has stepped up his battle to ensure children don’t go hungry in the UK by establishing a Child Food Poverty Task Force. In June, the Manchester United star successfully lobbied the government for a U-turn on plans to end support for summer school meal vouchers. Now he is going further in making sure the Covid-19 crisis does not push more kids into poverty. The 22-year-old’s new team is demanding the government expand their free school meal offering to reach an additional 1.5 million seven to 16-year-olds by including households on Universal Credit or equivalent. The task force also wants to bolster holiday provision for kids on free school meals, helping 1.1 million more children, as well as increasing the value of Healthy Start vouchers to £4.25 per week,…

In 2005, Glasgow was named the ‘murder capital of Europe’. With spiralling violent crime rates, Scotland saw 137 homicides in that year alone. It pushed Strathclyde Police to rethink their approach to the problem. What emerged was the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) – a groundbreaking project set up to treat violence as a disease, with a root cause to be cured. Its empathetic approach – working with deprived communities and letting go of a punitive view on fighting crime – produced remarkable results. Scotland’s homicide rate had dropped to 59 by 2018 while authorities across the UK and around the world took inspiration from the VRU’s public health approach to stemming knife deaths. “That approach we see elsewhere – high-vis yellow jackets, stop and search, high-tariff prison sentences for offenders…

I always knew that my book about death was going to be a book about life. But it took a storm on All Souls’ Day to teach me that it was really a book about love. It was November 2, 2019. I was in Devon to attend a ritual at the Sharpham Meadow Natural Burial Ground. People who have loved ones buried there were to gather after nightfall, high on the hill. A candle would be lit on every grave, the names of the dead read out, spoken into the wind and dark. The widowed, the unmothered, the unmoored and left-behind – each would place a pine cone on the bonfire. The cones are coated in copper sulphate; placed in flames, they flare green and blue, and, as they do…