Innholdsfortegnelse for 2/6/2023 i The Big Issue

Last week, near the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Greenpeace protesters boarded an oil platform bound for the North Sea. When it arrives in the Penguins oil and gas field north of Shetland, the floating production storage and offloading unit will unlock eight new wells. It is Shell’s first new manned vessel in the North Sea in 30 years. Greenpeace calculated that emissions from the Penguins field could amount to 45 million tonnes of CO2 – more than the total annual emissions of Norway. As the fossil fuel industry rakes in record profits, they make little contribution towards reversing damage done. The protesters had a simple message: “Stop drilling. Start paying.” “We won’t stop until we get climate justice. We will make polluters pay,” one of the group, Yeb…

Living on benefits is a constant struggle. Opportunities are thin on the ground and your field of vision is drastically limited. “It isn’t an existence,” says Phil Wayland. “I barely leave the house.” The 42-year-old has been claiming benefits since 2010, when he was signed off from work due to drug dependency and associated mental health struggles. He lives in Essex with his mother, who is 79. “If I was on my own and didn’t have her, I would be screwed, to put it bluntly,” he says. “When you’re on welfare, it is always a battle. The government is using the tactic of hardship to promote behavioural change and force you into work. They make life intolerable. People are not living a life on benefits.” Wayland is one of four…

The Gallery is a nationwide public art exhibition taking place on outdoor media from billboards to digital screens and bus stops. The second season sees 11 artists respond to the theme ‘The State We’re In’, through topics ranging from motherhood to the cost-of-living crisis, disability and anxiety. The project aims to make art truly accessible and thrust thought-provoking pieces into the heart of public conversations. Among the contributors this year is Hugh Malyon, a south-west of England-based disabled artist, whose work confronts ableist and “one-size fits all” attitudes among society. Exploring vulnerability on his own terms, his digitally-created artwork shows Hugh’s body multiplied and crammed into a sardine can – a symptom and a cause of the state we’re in. The Gallery is on display in public spaces around the…

REVIEW Essential queer movies for LGBT+ History Month The history of queer cinema goes back almost as far as film itself. With this year’s Oscar race celebrating a combination of gay characters (Brendon Fraser in The Whale, Cate Blanchett in Tár), camp icons (Angela Bassett, Lady Gaga, Michelle Yeoh), and, in Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Stephanie Hsu, the first openly queer actor nominated for playing a queer character since Ian McKellen in 1998, now is the perfect time to swot up on your queer cinema essentials. The Wizard of Oz (1939) dir. Victor Fleming Context is everything. Somehow MGM’s classic is simultaneously the least and most gay film on this list. There’s no overt sexuality or romance of any kind here, and (probably) no intentional queer coding, but such…

INDUSTRIAL ACTION Amazon workers tell Bezos to ‘share the wealth’ as they stage first UK strike Amazon workers downed tools at a warehouse in Coventry in the first ever official strike at the trillion-dollar company’s UK operation. The warehouse has been described as a “pressure cooker” environment where some employees work up to 60 hours a week of physical labour to make ends meet. Around 300 members of the GMB union walked out for 24 hours over pay. They are demanding a rise to £15 an hour, after receiving an increase of 50p an hour last summer, which took pay for most workers to £10.50 an hour – which from April will be on par with the new minimum wage. The pay rise, described by workers as “pathetic” and “an…

Get in touch The Big Issue, 2nd floor, 43 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 1HW letters@bigissue.com@bigissue /bigissueUK@bigissueuk@thebigissue Lee-mendous We were shopping in Cambridge when we met an amazingly dynamic and positive vendor, Lee, outside The Round Church. We had a wonderful chat while I bought The Big Issue. Lee reminded me so much of Eric Idle, with his jolly personality matching his appearance! I wished Lee the best of luck for the future. All the best to him. He’s an absolute inspiration. Vanessa Easton, Bassingbourn King vendor I would like to thank Chris, who sold me a Big Issue in King’s Cross station. He was very kind and polite, and a pleasure to chat with. I was very pleased for him when he announced he’d sold all his copies. I wanted…

OPINION An individual argument for the collective When I was five years old, I watched the Challenger shuttle explode. I remember running from the TV in the living room to the kitchen to tell my mum. It was astonishing. The first civilian supported by NASA, the world’s largest and most well-funded space agency, had just died. I listened to Jean-Michel Jarre’s Last Rendez-vous (Ron’s Piece) – a dedication to the crew – on repeat. I was not deterred, and wanted to go to space too. Alas, spaceflight was beyond the reach of a council estate kid from Plymouth. Fast forward to 2021, and a man who started on online bookstore – Jeff Bezos – went into orbit aboard his Blue Origin spacecraft. Not long after, and not to be outdone,…

THE BARCLAYS SEVEN As the bankers and consultants of Canary Wharf made their way to work on a clear April morning in 2021, seven women on a very different mission were in their midst. At 7am, they were not walking up to Barclays headquarters to begin a day of spreadsheets and bar charts, but rather to draw attention to the bank’s financing of fossil fuel projects. The seven were Extinction Rebellion activists, armed with chisels and hammers. What happened next led to a high-profile trial for criminal damage, and this is the inside story. It is not just the story of broken windows and legal arguments. It’s a snapshot of how climate movements have evolved, how the courtroom is being used as a platform, and the toll a life of…

One of the greatest privileges of my life has been meeting so many affected by Northern Ireland’s recent conflict and helping them to tell their stories - documenting them for history’s sake. My book, On Bloody Sunday, is a culmination of this passion as well as an important reminder of just how many more stories are waiting to be heard. When approached by Octopus about a 50th-anniversary book I knew I had to say yes. I’d spent over a decade collecting oral histories spanning the civil rights movement and the Troubles, and in particular Bloody Sunday, and knew the immense value of such accounts. As a Bloody Sunday relative myself and previous author on the subject, I also knew I could tell the story better than most. We grew up…

Crossword CRYPTIC CLUES Across 5. Remove water from the shoe (4)7. Jack being the first native of Australia (10)8. Spots teenagers may have to face (4)9. In a frightening way but only marginally upset (10)12. First coat of paint for an elementaryschool book (6)13. Some felt remorse with a quiver (6)14. A way of acting (6)16. Unwell in the front of the ship – becauseof this wave? (6)17. Trap Morecambe’s partner on the diagonal (10)20. In Elba skinhead will lie in the sunshine (4)21. Rash, comely, upset and inclined to weep (10)22. Old historian said to be strung up (4) Down 1. A small party up on the lake in Wales (4) 2. Deep sleep mocha (not hot) could produce (4) 3. More unpleasant gruel I concocted (6) 4. Honour…