So-Called Big Issue "Vendors Party" That Was ...

Of the hundreds of Big Issue vendors just
in London alone, only about 15 or so got to
last Saturday's so-called "Vendors Xmas
Party" that was held at the Turnmills Night
Club at London's Clerkenwell Road, EC1.
There was more TBI staffers than vendors at
the "do," so I'm told when I finally found out
this afternoon about the "party" that was ...
It's almost as if they wanted to keep the
thing a secret or to tell only a very select
few of vendors ...

For over a month I had repeatedly asked and
asked about the time and date of the vendors
xmas party. I finally gave up asking since none

of The Big Issue staffers I asked seemed to know

or they simply didn't want to tell me ...

Whatever, there was no meal given to
vendors at this year's "xmas party," I am
told. When I was there two years ago, nice
home-cooked meals were given to all the
vendors present. Staffers Jeanine Walker,
Paul Joseph and John Duffy were among those

who helped do the great cooking. I know because

I have a photo (shown above) that I took of the

cooks and helpers there at that time. This year

the vendors only got coke and I guess chocolate

bars with little else for the handful of vendors

arriving for the so-called "party" that was ....

If The Big Issue really wants its vendors
to attend such a "party," they would surely
publicize it either in the magazine's weekly
section "Streetlevel," or distribute flyers
for all to know in advance or simply have
the staffers at the various distribution spots
make a point of telling all the vendors when
they come to buy their magazines that they'll
be a party for them on so and so date and
at so and so place ... Nothing of the sort
happened as far as I know ...

Okay, so I, like hundreds of other vendors, miss-
ed this year's so-called "vendors party" because
we wasn't told it was on or when or how.
Never mind, I guess we didn't miss much after
all ... So just after I got the late news of the party
that was, a young fellow stopped at my pitch want-
ing money because he said he'd just gotten back
to London from Ireland after burying his dead
mom over Christmas. What he forgot was that
he'd told me the same exact story the Christmas
before with teary eyes. In other words, he'd no
more buried his mom than I'd taken a jump from
the top of The Gherkin. I gave him a few quid
no matter what. I would have done that even if
he'd have simply asked me to help him out alittle.


Before him, came a middle-aged fella with a
rather strange inquiry ... He wanted to know
if I was aware of any case studies of homo-
sexuality, pediphilla, and beastality among
Big Issue vendors. "What? Say that again,"
I retorted contemptuously ... He repeated
much what he'd already said, but used the
word "gay" the second time around. I won-
dered if the fella was looking for some kind
of sexual titillation or something else. I told
him to go "googling" and see if he was sub-
liminally satisfied with whatever he may or
may not find on the search engines. While I
doubted very much that he'd find the
specific study he seeks, if such was ever
done or even exists, on the human sex-

uality of the homeless and specifically

on the sexuality of Big Issue vendors

or sellers, I became otherwise curious

about what kind of case studies had

been thus far undertaken regarding
the lifestyle, condition, and personal cir-
cumstances of Big Issue vendors both
in the UK and abroad.

With the results of my online research,
I shall shortly present weblinks to some
case studies that should be of interest to
such vendors and the public at large.

In the meantime, I shall now plan for next
year's 2oo9 Big Issue "Vendors Xmas Party"

in the hope that I will not miss it yet again ...
Cheers, Monty. Big Issue Vendor No. 236.
+St. Ildefonsus, 2oo8.

:: Above Photo Caption: Cooks and helpers at The Big Issue

"Vendors Xmas Party," of two years ago and which was then

held on January 14th, 2oo6 ::

UPDATE: Another London vendor made these

comments to me today since my first post above

about this year's "do." He went to last year's 2oo7

Vendors Xmas Party that he said was at Kings Cross.

"When I got there all they had was a bowl of soup.

They told us the bar was open not for us. We could

only drink orange juice or bottled water ... I'd say

there was 20 (Big Issue) sellers at the most. I shall

not go again, mate, never ... " Why? "Didn't like it ...

No fun. Not worth going for that bowl of veg soup.

No mate, not for me or you ..."

+The Conversion of St. Paul, 2oo8.