Tread softly ...
Sometimes it’s easy to walk by because we know we can’t change someone’s whole life in a single afternoon. But we fail to realise that simple kindness can go a long way toward encouraging someone stuck in a desolate place.
Mike Yankoski
In just less than three months from now, I will take my first steps on a late-night 10km walk around central London.
Those steps will be taken in support of The Big Issue Foundation, a cause many of you know is close to my heart. For those who don’t know, the Foundation aims to help those homeless or at risk of homelessness get back on their feet. It offers them a hand-up, not a handout, by setting them up as vendors of the Big Issue magazine. The vendors buy the magazines at a cost of £1.50 and then sell them in the street to passers-by at a price of £3. In effect, BI vendors are running a business by buying a wholesale product at a volume they think they can sell (they can’t take the magazines back), then offering that product to the consumer. It’s an excellent product too.
We can all become a little holier than thou about why someone became homeless in the first place. The reasons are various and many. Why it happened is less important to me than the fact that the individual now wants to get their life back on an even keel. If I can help with that, I am pleased to do so.
But why do I support such a cause over many other worthy causes? Well, for those not familiar with the story (and I know many of you are), it dates from my first working day in London in mid-July 1974
My job was as an Assistant Scientific Officer in a Government Forensic Laboratory, in Cornwall House, on the south side of Waterloo Bridge. My journey on that first morning started with a walk from the Hostel where I then lived to Bayswater tube station. Then, Circle Line tube to Embankment and another walk to Cornwall House.
Leaving the Embankment station, I was unsure of my best walking route to the Lab. I, therefore, turned left to walk through Victoria Embankment Gardens with the intent of crossing to the south of the Thames via Waterloo Bridge.
The end of the Gardens borders the back of the Savoy Hotel. It was there that I saw ahead of me three recumbent figures. Once called ‘gentlemen of the road’, the figures lay peacefully asleep on the grass in their careworn ‘daywear’ of jackets and trousers. Given the season’s warmth, there was no need for an extra covering.
I drew nearer, and the sun, sitting just over the OXO tower, caught the morning dew that covered the slumbering forms. A gossamer blanket bejewelled with gold and silver light. Although out of context, these lines from Yeats came to mind.
“But, I being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams”.
And softly, I did tread as I passed those gentlemen.
On that first working day, with my mind full of the opportunity ahead, my thoughts turned to what dreams these men once had. Over the years, such thoughts occasionally return to me, especially when I do the London Walk supporting The Big Issue.
I know Christmas is pending, and purse strings are tight. Still, every little bit helps, so if you can, I would appreciate any contribution you give me in helping today’s homeless by my tramping the streets of London.
The route starts and finishes near St Martins in the Fields church in Trafalgar Square. It will then take us along the Strand into the City of London. Then past St Paul’s Cathedral and into the East End before our return through Farringdon by Smithfield Market. Then along Holborn to Covent Garden and back into Trafalgar Square
The walk should take me between two and a half to three hours, but it’s not a race. This is about helping a worthy cause and enjoying the atmosphere of fun created as people of all types and ages come together to participate.
Will you help? If you can, then here is where to donate.
https://lhc-londonwalk.blackbaud-sites.com/fundraising/harrys-doing-the-london-walk-2023
Also, please buy the Big Issue if you come across a Vendor. Don’t just give them some money. Please take the magazine. Remember this is a hand-up, not a handout, so show the Vendor the respect they deserve
.
Sadly, some people even take advantage of the less advantaged, so make sure you buy from an authorised vendor. They wear bright red jackets, and all have ID cards. They take no offence if you call the Big Issue Foundation to check before buying. And, unlike con artists, a legitimate vendor will always sell you their last copy. Also, exchange a word or two with them. They may appear dishevelled, but everyone I’ve met is an engaging character and never grumpy or miserable despite their life challenges.
Thanks, and if anyone wishes to join me on the walk, get in touch.