Letter to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Big Issue Foundation

Yesterday Declan sent a registered letter to who we thought was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Big Issue Foundation (and Chief Executive of The Charity Bank), Malcolm Hayday. The Big Issue Foundation’s “Who’s Who” webpage is in need of an update: Hayday emailed Declan at 10.00am this morning stating: “I am no longer Chairman of the Foundation, having retired a couple of months ago but will ensure that your letter is brought to the attention of Ian MacArthur at the Company and my successor at the Foundation, Steve Round.“ (Ian MacArthur is the Managing Director of The Big Issue Company.)

This letter that Declan sent to Hayday (see below) was in relation to the pitch we lost in Covent Garden two Saturdays ago because an outreach worker found that neither Declan nor I had worked it for two and a half weeks, an allegation we have been refuting ever since. Anyway, today we learnt that we have our Convent Garden pitch back as before (to be worked by either of us on Tuesdays pm, Thursdays pm and weekends), but were informed that we have no security of tenure whatsoever in relation to our respective pitches at Liverpool Street Station, as they are in fact “training pitches”.

So all the work we have been putting into our Liverpool Street pitches since the beginning of December, thinking it would pay off in the coming months, may not actually pay off at all – or at least not for us. Mindful of The Big Issue’s code of conduct, and in particular the company’s responsibilities to vendors, Declan has sent another email this afternoon to the founder of the Big Issue, Dr John Bird (his fourth email to Bird to date, see titles), which I will publish in my next blog.

In the email Declan is seeking to determine whether the Liverpool Street pitches we have been developing as (self-employed) vendors are training pitches or not. We always understood that these pitches were ours, which is why we have been working them on full weekdays from 7.30am until 7.30pm (with breaks, of course). Frankly, I would like to know how many Big Issue vendors work with such dedication, and so personably.

The ramifications for us, should it be established that these two pitches are indeed training pitches, could not be more catastrophic, particularly as we have been additionally informed that our Convent Garden pitch may become a training pitch unavailable to permanent vendors should the volume of new vendors increase. It would mean that we could end up with either pitches that don’t work for us or pitches registered to other vendors.

Take what happened to us the last two weekends in Covent Garden (during the weekend our pitches in Liverpool Street just die): somehow we ended up losing money instead of making it: two weekends ago we had to return 41 magazines to co-ordinators (19 of which we are still waiting to be paid for), and last weekend we dumped 15 unsold magazines into a bin. The question is: could we end up dumping magazines every day of the week?

In relation to the Methodist-run Whitechapel Mission and the Sisters of Mercy-run Dellow Centre, these are the highlights: a homeless woman knocks loudly on the mirror I am using to wash myself, determined that I answer her question: do I have a spare cigarette (Tuesday at 6.15am, Whitechapel Mission); I am called a whore and a slut by some homeless guy that sat at our table after I told him that I didn’t have a light (Wednesday at 6.45am, Whitechapel Mission); the nun in charge of clothes gives me a pair of jeans that might have been fashionable 10 years ago: plenty of homeless go around the establishment wearing a fine pair of jeans, thank you very much (Wednesday at 10.30am, Dellow Centre).

Anyway, this is the letter Declan sent to Hayday yesterday:

Dear Mr Hayday

Re:  The Big Issue Company

As Chairman of The Big Issue Foundation, I enclose for your attention copy of my registered letter of 2 April to the founder of The Big Issue Company, Dr John Bird together with my email to Dr Bird of 31 March therein referred to.

In reference to the loss of our day-pitch in Covent Garden on 31 March, the finding that neither my wife nor I had worked the pitch for two and a half weeks is worrisome. As stated in my email of 31 March to Dr Bird, either my wife or I had been working this pitch for the period in question, as agreed with head office, on Tuesdays pm, Thursdays pm and weekends, bar Tuesday, 27 March (as I had informed head office) and Thursday, 29 March (it was raining).

I can confirm that I have yet to receive a reply from Dr Bird or anyone on his behalf.

Yours sincerely

Declan Heavey

Third email to the founder of The Big Issue

I am afraid that this morning Declan and I must have got out of our sleeping bags with the wrong foot because things have been going from bad to worse.

First in the women’s washroom of the Whitechapel Mission I am told to f*** off by a friend of the homeless woman that a few days back threw a ball of wet toilet paper at me in the same washroom after I wouldn’t get into conversation with her. This time her friend claimed that I had pushed her on my way into a toilet cubicle. (These verbal assaults don’t bother me much. I am in and out of these sorts of places really; it is not like I am living with them in a hostel.)

This bad luck followed us into Covent Garden (where we sell The Big Issue on weekends). We have been going for a few weeks now into this little coffee shop on a Saturday morning. So, here we are drinking our coffees peacefully, as we are talking quietly about how we will present our case against the UK to the European Court of Human Rights, when this worker decides she wants to mop the floor beneath us. She actually had us moved along chairs half the length of the coffee shop when we decided it was best to just exit by the back door. Next Saturday we are going to a bigger place, like a Pret a Manger: see how easy it will be to move us out from there.

However, the bombshell was delivered by the Big Issue's head co-ordinator at Covent Garden: she had been instructed to take our pitch at the Noël Coward Theatre (formally Albery) off us because an outreach worker had found that neither Declan nor I had been there for the past two and a half weeks.

Such a finding could not have come at a worse time for us: we are under financial pressure because for the past two days it has been raining and we were unable to sell The Big Issue (Thursday and Friday also happen to be the best two days for us to sell the magazine), coupled with the fact that on Thursday Declan spent £85.00 on the definitive book available in London on taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The finding is also very worrying. For the past two and a half weeks either Declan or I have been working this particular pitch, as agreed with head office, on Tuesdays pm, Thursdays pm and weekends, bar last Tuesday pm (as Declan had informed head office) and last Thursday pm (the rain).

This is the email that Declan sent this evening to the founder of the Big Issue, Dr John Bird, his third email to Bird to date (see titles):

Subject: Covent Garden pitch

Dear Dr Bird

I refer to the removal this afternoon of the Albery Theatre pitch from the pitch slip of my wife (badge no. 1170) and I (badge no. 1163) by your head co-ordinator at Covent Garden (Sam) and, given that this removal was based on the allegation that neither my wife nor I had worked the pitch for the past two and a half weeks, which we refute, would be grateful if we could be issued a pitch protected by both pitch slip and pitch listings to sell The Big Issue in Covent Garden before 6.00pm on Tuesdays pm, Thursdays pm and weekends.

I beg to point out that not only has either my wife or I been working the Albery Theatre pitch for the past two and a half weeks on Tuesdays pm, Thursdays pm and weekends bar last Tuesday pm (as I had informed head office) and last Thursday pm (it was raining), but last Tuesday morning in your head office a member of staff (Sanjiv) stamped our pitch slip for the Albery Theatre pitch for the week ending next Tuesday, 3 April and registered the pitch in pitch listings for the same period.

Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey

A copy of this email will also be sent to Bird to Monday by registered post.

Isn’t the UK secular?

On Monday night we got back to the porch we sleep in, this time to discover a fire extinguisher blocking the door from the inside – it is a window door, so you can see straight through. It hadn’t occurred to me that the police might use the fire alarm on us – they are already using the burglar alarm – are they going to have to the porch a fire engine and fire-fighters with their hoses as well?

It got better on a rainy night last night (after 9.10pm). No sooner had we laid some cardboard, with the alarm from the medical centre across the road going off, than a worker from our building comes out – there was nothing obstructing his way, so he must have been quite disappointed.

Some 10 minutes later, two handymen come out (the alarm still blasting) only to go back in again almost immediately – leaving wet shoeprints all over the cardboard – which was followed a short time later by four handymen leaving the building.

Who in the police comes up with these things? Or is it brainstorming? Perhaps it is more sinister and the British police are well used to running such schemes against people the Government – or should I say the Establishment, the church being part of it – wants out of the way.

The Irish police sprang things on us not unsimilar, which would indicate to me that these are standard policing practices. You really wouldn’t expect less from Ireland, with its Catholic baggage, but it is an eye opener that it would happen in a secular UK, where most people don’t bother with religion at all. Does it not indicate how necessary is an organisation that brings together individuals and groups from across the globe who work for public policies based on secular principles rather than religious doctrine?

Monday afternoon Declan was quite busy dealing with The Big Issue head office. After taking a trip out there he then faxed Joe Perkins, an outreach worker. This is all in relation to the pitch we were given in February in Covent Garden and which is not only shared by Declan and me, but another vendor who Declan had to threaten with a complaint last Saturday – it gets complicated, I know.

Anyway, Perkins said he would be making a definitive ruling within 24 hours on who – if anyone – has precedence on this crowded pitch … no precedence would mean that whoever steps in first would get the pitch. For the record, this is Declan’s email to Perkins yesterday afternoon:

Subject: Covent Garden pitch

Dear Joe

I refer to my fax to you of 5 March with copy of pitch authorisation slip for my wife (badge no. 1170) and I for the Noël Coward Theatre (formerly Albery) in Covent Garden.

I can confirm that this morning I spoke with your vendor co-ordinator for Covent Garden, Mr Steve Farrell regarding the difficulties my wife and I experienced at our Albery Theatre pitch with vendor Steve Elliott (badge no. 1157) on Saturday last.

I understand that it is your definitive ruling that although the Albery Theatre remains a sharing pitch between three people, my wife, as well as myself, continues to have precedence on this pitch.

If I am in any way mistaken on this matter, please call me on 0779 2843167 at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey
Badge no. 1163

We are making advancements

Selling The Big Issue in Covent Garden over the weekend is never boring. Yesterday, while I was relieving Declan from our pitch, the vendor who is sharing it with us came along. First he wanted the pitch for himself on weekends – yeah, he already told Declan last week that he wanted the pitch for himself everyday, all day – and then wanted me to take off so he could step in to sell the magazine for the afternoon.

When Declan pointed out that we had precedence over him, the vendor was adamant that he had precedence over me. The vendor eventually took off – “its game on,” he said – after Declan threatened him with a complaint. If the Big Issue runs more pitches like ours, the sales staff at head office must be inundated with vendor complaints – and a few fights, if you ask me.

Last Thursday night PC Richard Bentley left a message on Declan’s mobile – he must be back from his holidays – informing him that Ali was going to be arrested, after which Declan could make his statement. (Ali is the homeless guy that punched Declan twice in the face in an unprovoked attack on 17 February in the Whitechapel Mission.)

PC Bentley hasn’t phoned Declan since, so I assume Ali is giving him the slip. We haven’t seen this Ali or his girlfriend for a few days either. Last week, we were running into them every day – on one occasion, Ali’s girlfriend ran into me in the toilets of the Whitechapel library.

Yesterday morning, as we were about to leave the porch we sleep in at night, a police car stopped by. After we were asked if we were heading off, and were wished a good day, the car drove on. It’s a small advancement, but one of the threats the Bishopsgate City of London police have held over us – namely that we cannot sleep in the porch – would appear now to have been lifted. Of course, we still have to deal with the porch alarm, people invading the porch before we arrive, workers going into the building to do handiwork, and sleep deprivation techniques. Cold, wind and rain (perhaps even more snow) have also to be dealt with, but fortunately for us the police have no control over them.

We are being moved out of our porch

Last night was quite an interesting night. Ten minutes after we arrived at the porch we sleep in, and while Declan was gone to check the result of the rugby game between Wales and France, this guy comes to me and, pointing to our bags and cardboard, tells me I have to move immediately for the night, that he is going inside the building to do some handiwork.

He had parked his car beside the porch and had with him a small rucksack and a sleeping bag – perhaps an indication of how much work he thought he had to do. While I was waiting for Declan to return, he tried repeatedly to open the door of the porch and, having failed, proceeded to make a long phone call on his mobile.

Declan and I stood in the porch until he had finished his call, after which he informed us that we could stay where we were for the night but would have to leave when he returned either tonight or tomorrow night. He then drove away. Maybe I should have pointed out to him that the keys he had could have been for the front door of the building, not the side door.

As soon as we woke up this morning (7.30am on Saturdays and Sundays, 5.15am the rest of the week), Declan went around the corner where there is another kind of porch. It is quite dirty but we are happy to clean it – we are very nice homeless people!

I told Declan not to check the porch in daylight, that the Metropolitan Police will set up somebody to move us out, but Declan said that they would do that anyway, and off he went. The police may not be a beacon of intellectualism, but they sure can come up with imaginative ways to make one’s life more difficult.

Things in Covent Garden went quite well yesterday. Despite the rain and Declan’s watching of the rugby game between England and Ireland, we still managed to sell a good number of The Big Issue magazines. Our favourite pitches, which were made unavailable to us a few weeks ago, were free yesterday and so we took the opportunity to step in to them. We have been given a pitch to sell the magazine in the West End during the week – a crowded pitch though. A guy is sharing it with us and he wants to stay in it all day, everyday.

This morning in the Whitechapel Mission a homeless guy sat in Declan’s chair while he was in the washroom. When I realised that he was going to hit me in the face if I kept telling him that the chair was occupied – Declan’s coat was hanging on the chair – I duly shut up and kept writing my blog …

Still waiting for a Lord Justice to rule

Well, I have to say that there is nothing I miss from the WLCHC (West London Churches Homeless Concern) rolling shelters: the food was bearably eatable (with the exception of their Monday shelter at the Chelsea Methodist Church); the women’s rooms were of late unheated; homeless were catching scabies off blankets and mats; and the women had to usually share toilets with the men. Then, of course, there were some of the homeless themselves. I wonder if faith-based initiatives can provide anything other than half-baked services.

From now until April, our biggest challenge is going to be the weather - apart from the usual police harassment. It snowed two nights before we had to quit the WLCHC programme on 28 January.

We have bought high quality thermals (top and bottom) for the both of us with money we earned this week selling The Big Issue. Other expenses were two seven-day bus passes (£28), plus food (lunch and dinner, sometimes breakfast). On Friday, the base of my left foot was swollen as result of all the standing around I had been doing. Anyway, if you take out the cold, and people are sauntering, we both enjoy selling The Big Issue.

Covent Garden is where we have been going on weekends – our pitches at Liverpool Street station just die for us on Saturday and Sunday. And up to last weekend we had been getting two pitches in Covent Garden that worked very well for us, while at the same time keeping our bags safe. Not any more. Yesterday, one of the Big Issue coordinators in Covent Garden informed Declan that both pitches are restricted. When Declan asked for two other pitches that have also worked for us, he was informed that one is restricted and someone had just been sent to the other.

Our new pitches turned out to be almost a washout. We didn’t know where to put our bags and passers-by were not buying the magazine. In regard to the bags, the majority of Big Issue vendors – we get on with a number of them, especially in Covent Garden – carry only a small rucksack. The reason is that they are either in temporary accommodation or hostels. But you need benefits for such placement and our claim for unemployment benefit was terminated on 27 September.

On the subject of benefits, Declan lodged his amended appellant’s notice (to include transcript of judgment) in the Civil Appeals Office in the Royal Courts of Justice on 17 January, and still a Lord Justice in the Court of Appeal has to give us the go-ahead to appeal Judge Walker’s decision of 11 December to refuse us permission to apply for a judicial review against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Funnily enough, when Declan first lodged his application for judicial review on 24 August, he did so with an application for urgent consideration. I don’t know why they bother providing such an application when it can be so easily disregarded.

Our case certainly casts a shadow on the whole idea of the integrity of the Court, especially when the DWP can so blatantly deny us the right to the internal review process prior to irrationally terminating our claim on 27 September (because Declan did not “sign on” two days before he was due to do so on 29 September), and we are still waiting – having been forced to sleep rough – for the Court to rule on permission to appeal.

Nelson Mandela, in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, writes: “I went from having an idealistic view of the law as a sword of justice to a perception of the law as a tool used by the ruling class to shape society in a way favorable to itself. I never expected justice in court, however much I fought for it, and though I sometimes received it.” I can’t think of anybody more qualified to make such an assessment, so I am happy to go with him.