Innholdsfortegnelse for 10/20/2025 i The Big Issue

TRANSPORT Could building new train stations help get Britain back on track? → They’re building new train stations in Bedlington, Okehampton, Blyth Bebside and by gum, it’ll put them on the map. The 200th anniversary of the UK’s public railways was on 27 September. Opening at the end of October is Beaulieu Park Station in Essex. As nationalisation beckons, new stations are popping up across the country. “They’re essential,” said Christopher Martin, co-founder of Urban Movement and a vice chair of Living Streets. “Without question we need new light rail and heavy rail stations”. Opening new stations in the UK is not simple. A total of 13 were scheduled to open in 2024. What commuters have ended up with is not delayed trains, but delayed stations. Over a year on,…

→ Homelessness rose for the first time in over a decade in Finland last year. When the news broke in February it made global headlines. Such is the success the country has had in tackling homelessness over the past four decades. That’s why Big Issue headed to Helsinki recently: to find out why progress had slowed in Finland. It’s a well-worn path: British leaders have made a pilgrimage to Finland to learn how the Finns have managed to solve a social problem that no other country has been able to lay a glove on. Housing secretaries such as Sajid Javid have been there over the last decade as has Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who has taken such inspiration from the Finnish Housing First model that he has adopted the…

As the UK drops again in the World Happiness Report while Finland soars, this questions the vital importance of access to the countryside and the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of nature. Finland’s right to roam, or Everyman’s Right, has historical roots in customary rights of way and was formalised by a key court case in 1920, where a forager, Ilma Lindgren, successfully defended her rights of access to pick wild berries against a landowner. Britain is currently ranked at the bottom for Europe on the nature connectedness network and it has been said that British children spend less time outdoors than the UN-recommended guidelines for prisoners. There’s a ‘right to roam’ in under 10% of England and when we do have access there are limits to what we can…

Why is sauna so big in Finland? In a sense it’s a geographical destiny. By simply looking at the landscape, you can see that Finland is made of trees, lakes and stone. Each one of those elements is an essential component for sauna: timber and firewood, lakes for cooling off, water to splash on heated stones to summon löyly, the magical steam that fills the hot room and embraces bathers like the breath of a kindly dragon. Then there’s the fact that saunas simply made sense for survival. When humans gradually settled in the cold northern reaches of Europe, saunas were a constant companion. Anything, including staying clean and healthy, giving birth, tending to ailments and kilning malt, involved saunas. Times changed, but Finns never let go of their sauna…

I remember being strangely drawn to churches as a teenager. It wasn’t because I was, then, particularly religious, nor do I think that I was nosier than most people – after all I didn’t feel the same compulsion to push open the doors of shops or libraries or random people’s houses and peek inside. But with churches I always did feel that urge that I couldn’t just walk past, I had to, even for five minutes, poke my head in. Soon I realised that this urge was time well spent, that church buildings were the most incredible collections of stories; that their stones and monuments, their clutter, even just their atmosphere, could communicate across centuries. There was something very special about being in places where people had come with their…

→ Housing First gained a reputation for being the solution to homelessness, particularly after its success in Finland. It’s never been quite that simple, of course – there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But the Housing First model – giving someone a home alongside support for as long as they need – has been proven to work in countless studies. So why hasn’t it conquered the globe? Scotland and Wales have made Housing First a big part of their response to homelessness – 1,820 tenancies in Scotland and 792 tenancies in Wales have been started with people remaining indoors in around 90% of cases. In England, there are a number of small-scale Housing First schemes but the three big government projects – in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham – remain pilots, despite debuting…

FILM Between These Times By Dan Bowhay → Dan Bowhay spent 10 days, 19 hours, 33 minutes and 15 seconds travelling the length of England by bus. From Land’s End to Berwick-upon-Tweed, he caught only local services and kept within the restrictions of a disabled concessionary bus pass – which can only be used during off-peak hours. The result is Between These Times: From Land’s End to the Scottish Border, a ‘slow TV’ film exploring the many issues that are faced by disabled travellers: delays, disruptions, and the painfully slow pace that bus travel can often result in. Bowhay’s 10-day journey is retold in a little over 10 hours, roughly the amount of time it would take to drive the same journey by car. An accompanying photobook of the same title…

Maybe he needs an Oscar nomination or two first. But with his hopscotching career – from playing Prince Charles in two series of The Crown to smashing it as a horny tennis pro in Challengers – Josh O’Connor would be an intriguing specialist subject on Mastermind. Boning up on the English actor’s filmography would certainly not be dull. The 35-year-old has already played a closeted farmer unafraid to get his hands dirty (God’s Own Country), a rumpled but gifted grave robber adrift in Italy (La Chimera) and a pugilistic priest accused of murder in upcoming star-stuffed whodun-nit Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Until he gets his flowers from Clive Myrie, O’Connor will have to content himself with being the lead in 1970s-set cautionary tale The Mastermind. That…

Struggling Irish creatives have been given an unexpected piece of good news. Ireland’s Basic Income for Artists pilot scheme has just been made a permanent fixture. The pilot, which launched in 2022 to prop up the creative industries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, saw a trial group of 2,000 artists, actors and musicians given a basic income of €325 (£280) a week to support their careers. The scheme had already been extended to February 2026 earlier in the year. But this month, the Irish government announced in its budget that the Basic Income payment would be made permanent, with 2,000 additional recipients to be admitted in 2026 – possibly extended to 2,200 if the budget allows. Rodney Owl, who was on the initial pilot, told Big Issue that…

→ Why on earth is Big Issue banging on about Finland? It’s a fair question. You see, it’s a hell of a thing to be the best in the world at anything. Whether that’s the most hot dogs eaten in a minute (Miki Sudo, with six hot dogs and buns, fyi) or having an education system that’s the envy of other countries. For many years, Finland has been able to claim to be both the World Happiness Report’s happiest nation – for eight years running, no less – and the best in the world at tackling homelessness. When the Finnish Embassy invited Big Issue to Helsinki to find out what makes it the best in these two areas, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to dig deeper. Because Scandinavia…

→ If Vladimir Putin was to turn his attention to Finland then be warned: the Finns are prepared. While visiting Helsinki, Big Issue was given the opportunity to meet Petteri Korvala, the secretary general of Finland’s Security Committee. Korvala’s job, working alongside representatives from across Finnish society and public bodies, is to keep Finland safe. But that involves far more than just rallying the troops. Finland has a comprehensive security strategy that sees the vital functions of society protected by authorities, businesses, organisations and even down to individual citizens. The message is clear: it takes everyone to keep society safe. The origins of this model are perhaps not a surprise. Finland has been an independent nation for much less time than the UK and secured independence from Russia in 1917.…

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade – an adage used to encourage an optimistic mindset for those who face adversity. I’m almost certain this was first said by some rich asshole in an attempt to pacify the poor. Because who said I had access to water, or sugar, or even a glass to make lemonade in? This is the reality of the white working class trying to break into the film industry. For Black people, it’s worse. Even when the lemon looks juicy, we often cut into them and realise it’s rotting inside. The bright, shiny rind was preserved by layers of wax (promises of change) on the surface. While we squeeze, the gatekeepers, who expect us to be grateful for these lemons, are drinking freshly blended tropical…

ALAN’S BIG QUESTION Who was the oldest actor to take on the role of Bruce Wayne / Batman in a film? (Answer below) Crossword Cryptic clues Across Child of four telephoned the French square (10)  Raymond’s sound increase (5)  Ringleader comes in to arouse support for the foot (7)  Be certain to do this (4,4)  So huts have been replaced (4)  Into an unusual state (6)  Germ I’m developing for a headache (6)  Frank has nothing to write (4)  Pedestrian to go round with rest turning out (8)  Be inclined to think that he did it (7)  Gathering at church to repent outwardly (5)  Having risen well again (2,4,4) Down Fast living (5)  Strong dislike of a translation (8)  Have recourse to a seaside holiday town (6)  Extremely handy sort of file (4)  Dog, one going…