STREETSHEET Stories, poems and pictures by Big Issue vendors and friends
“Good morning, The Big Issue…” “G’day old bag,” would be the response down the phone. “G’day old girl how are you?” I’d reply, “decided to come into work today have you?” And we would chuckle. This was a regular routine between Jenny and Big Issue support staff; she was cheeky and had a spunk about her. It’s with great sorrow we farewell Jenny, who passed away recently. Jenny had been a vendor since 1997. Her regular pitch was on Collins and Russell streets – you could often see her there, radio blaring, singing very loudly (and badly), having a good time. Jenny had attitude, and we are going to miss her, the sassy old girl. Gemma, Kirstie and all at Melbourne Vendor Support.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
Hi, my name is John. I sell The Big Issue at Bayswater, Boronia and sometimes at Belgrave. I mainly go to Aldi and Coles in Bayswater, as this is where I live. On 14 February at approximately 8.30pm I decided to go for a walk (in my wheelchair) before I went to bed. Boy, was that a mistake. Some young guy came behind me and punched me in the neck. Luckily a good neighbour found me. They were very kind and brought me home. My carers rang the police straight away. An ambulance also came. I spent the night in hospital for observation. My carer stayed with me to see if I was okay. I came home the next day and my coordinator wanted me to stay home, but I said no, I want to go back out into the community to sell my magazines. So now I will be getting a camera on my chair for extra precaution. John F sells The Big Issue at Bayswater, Boronia and Belgrave in Melbourne.
HAPPY CAT
I stand and sit every day selling The Big Issue so I can feed me and my cat Squishy, and sometimes I get to thinking of what Squishy is doing at home – sleeping or looking out the windows or playing with her toys. The best part of my day is seeing Squishy’s happy face. On the bad days I just think of Squishy’s happy face at the end of the day. Garry sells The Big Issue for his cat Squishy at Flagstaff Station, Melbourne.
BOWLED, JASE!
I recently went on a trip to Geelong to play in the National Cricket Inclusion Championships. My highest score was three runs against Victoria. It was my
first ever state tournament so I’m happy with how I played. I am the only spin bowler on the WA team! I have been playing cricket for almost 20 years and I am obsessed! The Perth Scorchers are my favourite Big Bash team, and Australia is my favourite international team, of course. My favourite WA player is Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon is my favourite Australian player. I saved the money I earned from selling The Big Issue to help pay for the trip. Thanks to all my customers for your support, see you at my pitch! Jason sells The Big Issue at Boas Avenue, Joondalup, and Royal Perth Hospital.
FOOD STORIES FOR THOUGHT
I have worked in a lot of restaurants. Usually it’s hard work, fast and sometimes pressured. It does, however, have its lighter moments. One night one restaurant I worked in was sprayed for cockroaches. The next day at lunch a customer had just finished eating his garlic bread; he picked up the napkin at the bottom of the bread basket and under it he saw a dead cockroach. In another restaurant, ice cream was served
in brown glass bowls. One hurried staff member picked up an ashtray – also brown glass – and put a scoop of ice cream and topping in it. Fortunately, a waitress noticed it before it reached the customer. Another time there was a water scare in Sydney. People were advised to boil tap water before consuming it. I made some jelly, sat it on the sink to cool and a waitress said, “I hope you used boiled water for that”. I said, “How do you usually make jelly at home?” She replied, “Just forget I said that.” In another place a girl was asked to strain the beef stock – she tipped the liquid down the sink and kept the solids. I heard of another restaurant that had a big stock tank (it had its own heating). A chef had put ingredients in it to make beef stock and turned it up high to get it going. He was going to turn it down before he left and leave it to simmer all night. He left and forgot all about it. In the early hours of the morning, it blew up and someone called the fire brigade. Darrell T sells The Big Issue in Ashfield, Sydney.
» All vendor contributors to Streetsheet are paid for their work.
THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU 4–17 MAY 2018
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