Table of contents for 7/22/2024 in The Big Issue

I always used to think that if I was a bird – rather than just having the surname – I’d be a crow. I like their jet-black look. And their noise. And the fact that they are supposedly clever and, like me, up early and often to bed late. But now I see myself more as one of the seagulls who are often up even before me, their cawing noise disturbing the light sleepers in our house. I do not live near the coast but these birds have moved inland and are being noticed, with press comment about the nuisance they have become. Apparently in 2019 their culling was terminated because of the extension of human rights to other species. They are big, strong birds, and if you get the…

When I was 16, I’d actually already started cycling competitively. The first time that I went to a race abroad was in 2008 and I raced in the Europeans for Great Britain. I was still at school. My mum and dad wanted me to stick at school but I thought I was starting my career. I remember we got sat down for a careers meeting in year 11. And they said to me, what do you want to do? And I said, I want to be a professional cyclist. And someone said to me, but that’s not a proper job. And I was like, hang on a minute. Because I was already getting paid. It wasn’t much but it was money and lots of other people weren’t even on a…

Boomers get a bad rap, blamed for everything from the destruction of the planet to economic instability. But despite that, I’m quite jealous of them. They lived through the swinging Sixties, they don’t have to work any more, and they couldn’t give two hoots about Hailey Bieber’s smoothies or the best restaurants in Berlin. I am deeply inspired by my neighbour Mary, who sits in the sun on her doorstep, drinking wine at 4pm and cheerily yelling, “This is what you can do when you’re retired!” as I sadly trudge through my endless to-do list. If you want further evidence that Boomers are enjoying life infinitely more than other generations, just tune in to the Sunday morning chillout zone that is Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh. As the kids…

Get in touch The Big Issue, 2nd floor, 43 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 1HW letters@bigissue.com @bigissue /bigissueUK @bigissueuk @thebigissue Age of exclusion I am 76 years old with five serious health conditions including painful arthritis. I am poor and cannot afford to go private. My issues are that the NHS is so short of resources that it is having to ration healthcare, it is difficult to always get the treatment you need. You need to do your research online then tell your doctor what is available and ask for it, as the GP is too busy to do this. Also, there is no preventative medicine, you have to again find this out for yourself. Some doctors are not interested until you become really ill, for instance with diabetes. They are…

“Big Issue? Let’s go,” says Rob Delaney. “I read the Big Issue all the time. My kids read it. I’m thrilled.” It’s been quite a week for Delaney. Not only is he promoting Deadpool & Wolverine, the biggest movie of his career, by talking to his favourite magazine, but there has also just been a general election. For the first time since settling in the UK in 2014, Boston-born writer-comedian-actor Delaney is not living under a Tory government. How is he feeling? Is the mood music in the country noticeably different? “It does feel a little bit different. Anything that gives people a little beacon of hope is always positive,” says Delaney. “I wasn’t telling people to go vote Labour this time, for a variety of reasons, but I’m entirely…

SOCIAL MEDIA Dear internet trolls, I’ll wear whatever jacket I like As a person vaguely in the media who possesses a body and clothes, I’m no stranger to the hatred and vitriol that comes from all directions when online. I’m talking about trolls – not little plastic figurines that sit atop your pencil, but hairy, smelly men who live under their mum and dad’s house and reply things like, “that dress makes you look pregnant” to the tweets of the Loose Women. Of course I’m being facetious; internet trolls can take many forms. From middle-aged women who didn’t like an answer I gave about the civil service on House of Games to football fans who call me a woke snowflake for publicly liking women’s football (joke’s on them, I do…

RUNNING TUNES Your bespoke soundtrack to busting a gut The Olympic Games in Paris are fast approaching. Humankind’s great ancient festival of exercise will feature many impressive feats of physical prowess, including falling into water, hitting things with sticks and lifting heavy things before putting them down again. But above all things it will feature running. There’ll be short running, long running, medium running, running with jumping, running where they also throw things. It’ll be a great big running party. Which means that if you, like me, happen to absolutely hate running, then you may be in for some triggering channel flicking these next few weeks. There comes a time in every grownup’s life where their metabolism slows down, carefree overconsumption of food and alcohol catches up, and before you…

STEVEN PATERSON, 47 Interacting with people is what I enjoy the most about selling the Big Issue. I was unstable on my feet when I started selling the magazine, I was really struggling in life with my mental health and my depression. Lately, that’s gone away. I’m thinking a lot clearer and I’m more motivated. Doing the books makes me get out and about and speak to people. I’m taking a little rest just now but when I go back to selling it seven days a week I’ll be motivated to get up at six o’clock every morning, shower, go out, sell. It’s not so much the money why I do the Big Issue, it’s the interacting with people. The money’s a bonus. I chat about anything on my pitch.…

Britain is quite a lot happier than sad. Last week, according to YouGov, 50% of the population said they were happy and 22% said they were sad. It’s not binary though. There are other measurements including whether we all feel frustrated, stressed, optimistic, don’t know (a pretty steady 2% over the years) and apathetic. At present that sits at 15%. Though, if you were really apathetic would you care to fill out a survey? Taking the numbers as they are, that 28% gap, with sadness dipping way down, is the largest it’s been in over a year. The first week of June 2023 made people feel good (though not sure why – Manchester United lost the FA Cup final to Manchester City and record numbers of syphilis cases were reported…

A new series of short films exploring why people become homeless has been made by Cardboard Citizens, a charity that uses drama and performance to transform the lives of those who have lived experienced of homelessness, in association with Black Apron Entertainment. Each film is written and performed by people who have experienced homelessness and can be watched at bigissue.com. This week’s film is Ozwald Boateng, If You Must , written by Roy Williams and performed by David Olapoju. The protagonist is Johnny, a Big Issue vendor. He may be a character in the film but his experiences reflect those of vendors across the country. “This is my first day, but I just need a minute,” Johnny begins. He is nervous about standing on the street, bringing attention to himself.…

REVIEWS A cult favourite crosses the pond It is with gilded trumpets and celestial harps we should announce that finally (finally!) Kate Zambreno’s books are being published in the UK. A long-time cult literary figure, Zambreno has been your favourite writer’s favourite writer for years now. One of the progenitors of that ever-controversial mode of writing known as autofiction, it was upon the publication of her now-classic nonfiction work Heroines in 2012 that Zambreno suddenly found her name mentioned in the same breath as Maggie Nelson, Eileen Myles and Sheila Heti. Her latest book, The Light Room, which is subtitled On Art and Care was published in the US last year and is being put out by Corsair in the UK, marking the first time Zambreno has been published here.…