Innholdsfortegnelse for 26-06-2017 i The Big Issue

WE BELIEVE in a hand up, not a handout... Which is why our sellers BUY every copy of the magazine for £1.25 and sell it for £2.50. WE BELIEVE in trade, not aid… Which is why we ask you to ALWAYS take your copy of the magazine. 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 is why The Big Issue Foundation, our charitable arm, helps sellers tackle social and financial exclusion. WE BELIEVE in prevention… Which is why Big Issue Invest offers backing and investments to social enterprises, charities and businesses which deliver social value to communities.…

It was very interesting to read ‘Was it the mug wot swung it?’ [News, June 12-18], a reference to Jeremy Corbyn’s Big Issue interview showing him drinking from the said mug. One will remember the 2017 general election for several issues, not least the rise of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the fall of Tory PM Theresa May, plus the young vote came out. Notwithstanding the ups and downs of this election, many will have been delighted to hear and read the words: “Theresa May signals austerity is over.” Politics being a ruthless profession may well see the end of Theresa May as Tory leader, joining Ukip’s Paul Nuttall and LibDem Tim Farron as former leaders of their parties after a bruising election. Only one big winner – the leader…

The Big Issue Australia – the first to take The Big Issue concept outside Britain – celebrated 21 glorious years last week with mayors of Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide hitting the streets alongside vendors to sell the special celebratory issue. The magazine, which has sold more than 10 million copies and put more than $23m into the pockets of its vendors, marked its launch on June 16, 1996 on the steps of Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station, where Issue No. 1 featured Melbourne’s buskers on the cover. All power to our Aussie cousins for the next 21 years of helping people help themselves.…

Keep a pain diary – this will be helpful for your doctor to assess if your pain is under control. Don’t change the dose on your own! Your doctor can advise how to stop slowly and safely, or whether you need an increased dose. Don’t mix Tramadol and alcohol – it can lead to drowsiness and breathing problems. Check with your doctor if it’s safe to drive or operate heavy machinery – in England and Wales it’s illegal to drive if you’re unfit to do so if the cause is prescribed drugs and you’ve not followed medical advice. Watch out for fatigue, drowsiness or breathing problems – these can be a sign of opiate overdose. Talk to FRANK – the national drug education service offering around-the-clock support talktofrank.com…

Among the many things to savour about Okja, a new film by South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, is a deliciously wicked performance by Tilda Swinton. She plays Lucy Mirando, the CEO of a multinational food conglomerate. She’s a boardroom bully of the highest order – played with pitiless scorn by Swinton (even her dentures are risible) – and one reason for Mirando’s business-class villainy is her belief in the power of marketing. This plot detail is somehow apt marketing but an affront – and all the better for it. Okja is the name of the pig raised by young Mija (Seo-Hyun Ahn) in a mountainous idyll in South Korea. The pig is huge: a rhino-sized creature with a gift for affection and, as we see in one nerve-shredding scene…

The city of Manchester has lived through a traumatic period. The Manchester Arena bombing was a horrific attack on innocence and joy that will leave a deep scar. But Manchester International Festival , which runs from June 29 to July 16 will be testament to the resilience and dignity of the city. One of the most important cultural events in the country, the biennial MIF commissions new works from across the artistic spectrum: from ballet to rap via opera and electro. Director John McGrath said some events had been revised, giving them a haunting new relevance. “From MIF’s viewpoint, it feels more urgent than ever to be doing that kind of open event celebrating the city’s newfound spirit,” he said. The city itself is at the heart of many of…

Welcome to the latest edition of The Big Issue. Like a lot of people, the Grenfell Tower fire really shook me up. Sadly, it’s made quite a lot of people homeless, wondering whether they’re going to be housed in the same area. I think more should be done to make use of empty homes. The Big Issue has campaigned on this, and you can read more about it on page 27. I was glad to see the amazing fundraising effort after the fire when people in London rallied round the community. I’ve tried to help others through my own fundraising efforts. You can read my story on page 46. Can’t find a regular vendor? Subscribe to The Big Issue for £130. See bigissue.com for all offers. contact@selectps.com / 01202 586…

First came anger. I was watching a TV show called Hospital last week. It was remarkable. Following the staff and patients of St Mary’s in London, it began with a meeting about resources. Numbers were way down. There was a vacancy rate around 14 per cent – so it all began to feel like something about NHS recruitment numbers and Brexit. Except it was March 22 of this year. On that day Khalid Masood drove at speed along Westminster Bridge, indiscriminately attacking innocent people, trying to kill as many as he could. He carried on through Parliament gates, stabbing as he went. We know now he murdered five on that day. Many of the injured were taken to St Mary’s. And as this TV show covered their arrival, the anger…

The boss of a suicide prevention charity has revealed how two Big Issue vendors helped to save her life after she walked out of a psychiatric hospital and was wandering the streets with the intention of ending her life. Joy Hibbins, founder and director of Suicide Crisis, said she was admitted to hospital as a suicide risl, but was permitted to discharge herself, leaving all her belongings behind. Noticing a vulnerable female walking the streets of Gloucester alone, the vendors approached her and expressed concern, directing her to a place of safety and giving her a blanket, saying they’d check on her later. “They were genuinely worried for me,” she wrote in a blog. “The kindness and care they showed me had a very powerful effect. I had expected to…

“The community may exist in all its vitality but if the municipal masters see differently the community can take a running jump” In 1940 we faced a formidable enemy that could if more single-minded have annexed us to their evil empire. They didn’t and the dictator came to rue the day that he did not kick us and walk all over us when we were down. Now 77 years later we are potentially down as we wait before the gates of Europe with our pleas to treat us nicely. We can’t remind them that they owe this beautiful post-war realm of their plenty to an alliance between Russia, the US and us, and bugger all to do with their own efforts; because to remind them is to be reactionary and…

“I feel amazing. I feel like a movie star. I feel a million dollars! I have come a long way.” William Herbert, 57, is sitting on the roof of the Houses of Parliament, looking the bee’s knees in his new suit, reflecting on a most unusual day. “I never thought I’d be here. To be honest, this is a dream. How many people in the world get to see the Queen? It’s just fantastic. Me seeing the Queen is like a fairy story.” With a little less of the usual pomp and ceremony, not to mention certainty and stability, the Queen’s Speech marked the state opening of parliament last week. Alongside the Queen, the Prince of Wales, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn, two Houses packed with politicians and peers plus dignitaries…

Stylish, bloody, violent, sexually charged – welcome to the voluptuous drama Versailles, which recently returned for its second series on BBC Two. Louis XIV (played by George Blagden, also Vikings’ errant monk Athelstan) has decide to make the nobility submit to his will by imposing a move of the court from Paris to Versailles, in a Machiavellian political manoeuvre. Trapped by their king’s ‘invitation’, the nobles of Paris (including Louis’ brother Monsieur Philippe d’Orléans, played by Alexander Vlahos, seen above alongside the king) gradually come to see the castle as a gilded prison, and soon even his most humble courtiers begin to show their viciousness, as a poisonous atmosphere seeps into the court. Meanwhile, danger threatens the kingdom as the Franco-Dutch war rages on, and Louis confronts his bitter rival,…

Love thy neighbour The local and wider community around Grenfell Tower demonstrated the saying ‘treat others as you want them to treat you’ – or ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ – in action. This should also apply to organisations and authorities. The answer to who is my neighbour starts literally next door. The gap between the public and politicians might also close. Leslie Barker, Tring Celebrating vendors Today I went out with my daughter and son to collect signatures for a petition for guide dogs, to ban pavement parking. My son is visually impaired and struggles with confidence but he was desperate to collect signatures for a cause that mattered to him. We chose to do it in Derby city centre near the Ram statue. Almost as soon as we…

Landlords have lashed out at the “desperate gesture” of the government to help renters with the introduction of the Tenants’ Fees Bill in the Queen’s Speech last week. The legislation is aimed at stopping renters being hit by huge deposits and struggling to get them returned. Richard Lambert, CEO at the National Landlords Association, told The Big Issue: “The decision to cap tenancy deposits at no more than one month’s rent smacks of a political gesture from a government desperate to court the voters who supported their opponents at the last general election. “We estimate that around 40 per cent of deposits exceed one month’s rent. Whilst capping them may reduce the move-in costs for some, it will increase the temptation for others to view the deposit as the last…

The Big Issue influence grows. It looks like our ongoing, tireless campaigning for the homeless and dispossessed will see a marked change in output from Fox, Sky and News Corps. Controversial global mogul Rupert Murdoch bowled up to a low-budget film about homelessness in east London last week. “It was The Big Issue wot won it,” he was not heard to utter. Murdoch was accompanying his wife Jerry Hall and her youngest daughter Chloe to the screening of Forgotten Man at Hackney Picturehouse, which is part of the East End Film Festival. Hall appears in the film, which tells the story of a struggling young actor in a theatre group for homeless people, based on the incredible goings on of the Cardboard Citizens group – frequently celebrated in The Big…

With more and more well-known faces speaking out about their difficult experiences on the prescription painkiller Tramadol, there’s a new spotlight on how using this drug can lead to troubles with addiction, drowsiness, and in some cases death. Tramadol is an opiate-based prescription-only analgesic, known as a ‘weak opioid’, similar to other drugs such as codeine and dihydrocodeine. It acts in two ways upon the brain and central nervous system – firstly blocking opioid pain receptors to produce pain-reduction and relaxation, and secondly by increasing neurotransmitters such as serotonin, leading to pleasurable sensations and improvement of mood. But side-effects include constipation, breathing problems and drowsiness. Due to its potential to be misused, Tramadol is a controlled substance, which means there are certain restrictions: only 30 days’ supply can be issued…

“I was listening out for what they are going to do about the housing situation. Immigration is another serious point that needs tackling, and the NHS – that’s what I was listening out for. Especially having heard what John Bird is up to. His talk about preventing poverty – I’ve lived through poverty, I know what it’s like and I support him 100 per cent. Prevention is better than a cure. And it is cheaper. He puts it the right way – he helps people to better themselves. And you have to stop young people getting into that position. I can throw them some advice, I can point them in the right direction – I have been through it, I have been there, worn the T-shirt, inside and out.”…

PHOTOGRAPHY LOST IN THE MISTS OF TIME New Yorker Larry Herman was a sculptor who emigrated to the UK during the Vietnam War, and worked on the London Underground and as a welder in Sheffield’s steelworks. Forty years ago he also photographed everyday lives of Brits as our major manufacturing and shipbuilding industries – shown here in Renfrewshire – began to decline. Clydeside 1974-76 runs until August 20, Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow; streetlevelphotoworks.org…

1. RAGE Wilbur Smith  This is by a South African writer and it was really fascinating to be reading about parts of Africa whilst I was travelling through it. It’s a bit of light reading but it’s also got lots of historical facts. 2. THE EYE OF THE TIGER Wilbur Smith  This is about a deep-sea fisherman who lives on an island and is looking for sunken treasure. There’s a whole spiralling bizarre storyline, which hooks you and throws you in all sorts of directions! 3. THE SISTERS BROTHERS Patrick deWitt It’s set in San Francisco when it was just becoming a town, which I loved. It’s inspired by the Wild West and has a really hilarious storyline. 4. THE SIX SACRED STONES Matthew Reilly  What I really like about…