A Big Issue seller has taken up residence outside our local Waitrose. I guess he thinks that he will fare better here than outside the Tesco in town, although I’m not so sure. You see, in my experience, and I can’t say that I have ever sold the Big Issue, but I have had low paid jobs and been very skint, in my limited experience people with money rather like to hang on to it. Now, I’m not saying that they are necessarily tight, but they certainly are suspicious and if they don’t trust you, they will be resolute in not parting with a couple of quid. They may trust Oxfam, certain Cancer charities, they may have ‘their own charities’ that they support, but unless they can see your credentials, or you are endorsed by someone they know, they won’t want to part with their dosh.
I’d smiled at the Big Issue seller the day before, as I rushed passed to grab a coffee. I hadn’t bought his magazine. I’d felt guilty, but I appeased my guilt by reminding myself that last time I bought it (several years ago) I had thought it was shite. It may or may not have been. I may just have been having a bad day that day, but my memory overruled my guilt.
Today, however, I was sat at a table outside with the dogs. There he was, greeting every shopper with a smile and a: would you like to buy the Big Issue? Most people ignored him. To an onlooker that looks so incredibly rude, but when you are confronted by someone selling you something, you feel pressurized and embarrassed and your auto-response is to pretend that they aren’t really there. Some people smiled back at him and others mumbled, no thanks.
I asked him how many he had sold. 2 in 2 hours, he replied. I asked him where he lived: Croydon, with 3 children in a hostel, he said. I felt bad. I asked him how much it was. £2.50, came the reply. I thought about £2.50. I thought, why the hell wouldn’t I buy the mag? Who cares if it is crap?
When the Big Issue first started in 1991, I thought that it was such a good idea: giving people whose lives are blighted by poverty an opportunity to earn a legitimate income. I saw sellers around a lot – perhaps because I worked in and around London. I made a point of frequently buying. Since I have moved to the sticks, I have seen sellers less. Buying the mag is not on my radar and by the look of the seller today, it is not on many people’s radar around here.
I returned to Waitrose this evening with daughter 1, who was on a mission to cook fajitas, despite the only ingredient in the fridge for this dish being a packet of chicken. We needed more supplies. The seller gave me a wave and a cheery, ‘hello’.
He said, ‘hello’ to you, mum, she said. ‘He remembered you!’
Yes, he did. He remembered me, because I handed over a couple of quid for his magazine. That’s nothing. In return, he remembered me. Yesterday, I gave him nothing as I entered the shop and as I left the shop, he had already forgotten me and asked me again if I wanted the Big Issue. Today he remembered that I had fulfilled his hope for me and he repaid me for that with recognition.
As I we were getting in the car tonight to go to daughter 4’s dance class, a lady passed us. I noticed that my daughter smiled at her. I didn’t say anything, but as we drove off she said to me: ‘I always smile at old people, just in case they have lost a husband or a wife and they are sad. A smile can make them happy’. It made me think of the Big Issue seller this evening when I returned to the shop and he was still there, that’s a demoralising 8 hour shift and he gave me a smile of recognition and a wave. It made me feel happy. It cost me £2.50, but actually that is really nothing compared with what that money meant to him.
In the inside cover of the issue I have, there is a tweet: @bigissue thx for giving man @ seven sis a job. You’ve humanised him & givn back self-worth & rspct. The change is remarkable. I salute you.
£2.50 changes, humanises, gives people self-worth and respect…it’s nothing – buy it and you will almost certainly get a smile back, which is priceless.
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Ohh I’m so guilty of never buying a big issue. .I will also smile at the seller’s and will say no thank you when they ask if they want a big issue instead of ignoring them. It does make me feel horrible for not buying one though as they are always so friendly. How lovely that he remembered you, it just shows how much you buying a magazine really meant to him.xx #anythinggoes
Yes, it certainly was a lesson to me. Thank you for commenting x
The Big issue sellers are alway really friendly, I always make a point of saying hello and normally a no thank you. THis is a great post. I love how caring and compassionate your daughter sounds to smile at old people is brilliant. smiling at anyone is good. #anythinggoes
Thank you for your lovely comments.
Just calling back from #bigpinklink… You’re the post before me
Oh my goodness, what a lovely thing for your daughter to do and say. Sometimes it is the “small” things which may not be small to the people around us, that sometimes we do not see. I didn’t realise the story behind the Big Issue sellers. Thanks for opening my eyes. #bigpinklink
They can surprise us sometimes these tweens, can’t they?! The Big Issue story certainly is interesting. There is a great book: A Street Cat Named Bob, about a BI seller and his cat. It’s well worth a read and I believe it’s being made into a film.
So lovely of your daughter to think that way, such a nice thing to do. £2.50 isn’t a lot to make someone feel worthwhile but even when people aren’t buying I think it’s at least decent to say ‘no thank you’ rather than not even acknowledging someone. Thanks for sharing! #bigpinklink
Yes I agree about acknowledging people – at least that is treating them as a human. Thank you for your comments.
Such a lovely comment from your little daughter 🙂 I’d have to play ‘hunt the big issue seller” where I live but the next time I see one I will buy it! #bigpinklink
They can surprise us, sometimes, with their thoughtfulness! Thank you for your comments.
Oh heavens the last bit in particular. And your daughter re elderly people. Bless her!! Good on you my dear. #BigPinkLink
Guilt is a powerful emotion!
Oh this is lovely. I am guilty of it – seeing the big issue seller and just not wanting to stop, or not wanting the magazine altogether like you say! Your daughter’s last comment made my heart melt and is a wonderful reminder of the small things we can do to brighten up someone’s day. Thanks for sharing x #anythingggoes
We were in Brighton on Sunday and we noticed so many people asking for money, homeless, in sleeping bags. It must be hard if you’re living there to know when to give and when not to. It’s so hard when it’s ‘in your face’ as it were – when someone is looking at you and asking directly. Thank you for commenting.