Tuesday, April 20, 2010
King of the Beggars
In Totnes, even the panhandlers have style. Actually, Graham Walker is not a beggar but a Big Issue seller, and when we met him he was dressed like a Victorian entertainer in top hat and long coat, selling his personal broadsheet called the Big Tissue - far better than the regular magazine, in my opinion. He had a stuffed dog and a notice asking us not to feed it.
Graham is clever and witty and has written a book which I shall order, called "Unsettled: In a hole, climbed a mountain". (Cheque or P.O. for £7.99 payable to "K. Walker", 48 Thornleigh Road, Horfield, Bristol BS7 8PH). He also has a blog (http://bigtissue.blogspot.com/) which currently just has a video sidebar including the YouTube thing here, which tells his story in brief and is well worth watching.
Graham has raised large amounts for charity - the poor are the most generous to the poor.
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2 comments:
They are actually. I give far more now to charity than I ever did when things were good.
This gent is extraordinary. Given his challenges growing up (the picture of him as a boy is quite moving), he could have so easily ended up dead or imprisoned at a young age. There is a real intelligence about him, and a real command of language. He has dignity, which so many lack.
Thanks for sharing this.
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