Met a bloke called Ben yesterday. He used to be a juggler. I was well impressed as I tried this as a kid and couldn’t get the hang of 3 balls never mind the 7 Ben could manage. We talked about this and that, the football etc. Ben was sitting in a quiet corner with a battered hold-all listening to his transistor radio. He didn’t like going into town begging, he’d rather sit somewhere quiet and watch people. He was “doing ok but not ok” if I knew what he meant. Anyway, I sorted him out with some tobacco and a few bits and pieces, went home and made a coffee and brought it back for him. He was a bit worried about getting the cup back to me but I said he could keep it. Today I’m in the front bedroom writing some copy for a big insurance company. It’s all fairly pointless. No one will ever read it. They’ll keep on using their own copy, even though no one can understand it. Still they’re paying me two grand for doing it. I went round the corner this morning to see if Ben was there and needed owt. He wasn’t but he’d left the coffee cup on the wall for me. This is the world we live in. Think yersen lucky.
Yes 2 grand for writing a few words about insurance it’s crazy ,some folk got to do 2 months in a factory for that ,what a world we live in
Good story. At least Ben couldn't give a monkeys about the cost of gas, electric, petrol and the price of Lurpak like us poor buggers. We have nothing to worry about, do we.
It could be John Lewis next years Xmas advert that story ,if I was Statis I’d write the script and pitch it too them
EDIT 1: I’ve changed the rate I was paid. It was less than originally quoted. Sad story and thanks for sharing it. I’m interested in the last part in that a few years ago I was part of a small team of freelance writers getting paid £1 per 100 words on a wide range of subjects, for various companies, including financial institutions. Mostly I knew nothing about their business but somehow managed to produce original content which was the key requirement - no plagiarism allowed! Most of my articles were a minimum of 500 words so I would be paid £5 for the whole thing. Creative writing skills help I suppose. I’m beginning to think that I was grossly underpaid for my work, hearing what you have said above. I was fed writing tasks by a middle-woman who sourced work from all over the world. I wonder what SHE was making when she was paying me and a few others such small amounts. Luckily I didn’t need the money to live on. EDIT 2: I should add that for the last couple of years doing this “job” I was writing exclusively about poets, some pretty obscure ones, some well known. I enjoyed doing the bit of research necessary before writing the required piece but, as I said above, the pay was very poor.
I didn't mean no one else has anything to worry about. Course they do. I don't lose much sleep over Lurpak though. Lidl own brand will do me.
We've a cold snap coming on. Hope Ben's going to be OK. I can't imagine how scary being on the streets must be.
That's brilliant what you did. Don't beat yourself up for what you earn. But to go back and check him out ,shows what a lovely person you are. This is sad that unfortunately we have so many homeless around.
I very much do. Hope your new mate keeps warm over the next week or so, looks like it's gong to be very cold.
You can report rough sleepers/the homeless to a website, and they in turn, alert local services who will try and contact them to give help. You just give time/location/rough description - if possible. https://www.streetlink.org.uk/
I found him again this afternoon. He is in contact with someone like that luckily. He got a bit vague when I asked if he was sleeping out and didn't want to push it.
or google 'Barnsley Homeless Alliance.' The Dryden Road guy I was seeing last winter (see earlier post) told me one morning he was going to commit suicide so I contacted the police - the only agency open at 7.00 a.m. They turned up and said they would contact a local group and I left them to it. The rough sleepers/homeless are extremely vulnerable and often the victims of assault/crime.
