The kindness of friends

A little while ago I was inspired to join the Big Issue Foundation's Big Bristol Sleepout - an event where we would sleep out, to recognise, draw attention to, and raise money for the incerasing numbers of homeless people in Bristol.

The event was last Friday night - which happened to be the coldest night for  years - well into sub-zero, with snow and freezing wind.

I got a call from the Big Issue Foundation on the Wednesday, after I had packed my spare socks and gloves with my sleeping bag, but before I had set out, telling me the event was cancelled because the First Aiders could not guarantee the safety of sleepers in severe weather conditions.

I travelled to Bristol anyway, as I was working there on Thursday and Friday. It was indeed freezing cold - bitterly so - and I was lucky enough to catch the only train apparently leaving Bristol on Friday morning (having gone to the station early to check the services), so I got home. My journey was fine - an extra couple of hours due to cancelled connections, slow trains due to icicles in tunnels, and so on - and it was very cold on stations and in one train whose heating failed - but I was fine.

Many friends offered sponsorhip - funds going to the Big Issue Foundation - and I am frankly inspired by the generosity of friends and their caring about issues such as this. Of course on cancelling the actual event people were offered their sponsor money back - but everyone was pleased for it to still go to the good cause.

Not only the sponsor money, but the caring friends showed towards the much more harsh reality confronting real homeless rough sleepers - people whose night on the streets could not be cancelled due to bad weather, who could not get the early train home.

Seeing how much homelessness has increased since I first started working in Bristol four years ago, I am shocked at society's (our..) failure to help. But I would like to thank my friends for showing also, in very practical ways, how much people do care.

At some point I will find something else to do to 'earn' the money people gave: something more directly practical, probably: but it is heartwarming to have been priviledged to see at first hand the generosity of friends.


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