Paul Thompson, Tesco Superstore, Brewery Lane, Bridgend

Image: Hamish Foster

It can be difficult to make money. There’s nothing out there. I was on the streets. I was struggling. It can be a full-time job not having a job. You’re out all the time on the streets, with no purpose, and you’re trying to dodge the weather. I don’t gamble but I used to go into William Hill bookie shops just to get out of the cold. I suffered aches and pains. It was very cliquey. I also stayed in hostels.

So, it was a rough starting point, but I think for me – and not everyone is the same – it inspired me to really go for it and get good results for my future. 

I started selling the Big Issue about four years ago. I had been involved with charity work, but sadly a lot of companies these days are more interested in the companies themselves and not the people. It wasn’t as rewarding as Big Issue. Big Issue has been really good and very supportive. I rent my own place now. I’ve got a room. It helps pay my bills. It helps pay for the food. It helps pay for a lot of things. 

I’ve got my regulars. I think it’s important to stay in the loop with people and keep out in the community. After Covid, a lot of people cut themselves off and carried on with the self-isolation, which I don’t think is for me. Big Issue gets me back out into the community, meeting people.

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I find it challenging but rewarding as well. There was a lot of rain this winter, but I was talking to a customer the other day and said: “You know what? I think you just get to a stage where you can’t let it faze you.” I’m not really fazed by it any more. I see customers who go past and it’s raining and they say: “Oh, it’s a horrible day.” You can see it really does niggle people. You can let something like that spoil the whole day, and the weather is really one of them things that does get to people.

It’s good to see my regular customers. We can talk about life in general. It’s all very good and very busy. I’d just like to say thank you to my customers for all the support over the years. It’s been able to get me to a level and a stage that would not have been possible without them.

I went to the House of Lords in London with Big Issue. Another time I had to give a presentation to an audience of 100 to 200 people. I was on stage giving a talk about how Big Issue had helped me and how well I’d done. I had the microphone on the collar of my T-shirt and I felt pretty confident. Christopher Eccleston [actor and Big Issue ambassador] was there too. He has run the marathon for us. John Bird gave a speech too, and it was good to listen to their stories. That was a good day. It’s nice when you go to events like that and you can take knowledge away from it. I’ve been selling Big Issue for so long now, but I think if I wasn’t doing it, I’d try to get back into sales or maybe some sort of security work.

You buy the magazines and sell them, and it’s a 50/50 split. You’re not going to get any fairer than that. I’ve had people react negatively, saying: “You’re just stood there”, as if it’s a waste of my time. You do get doubters. But my response is: I’m here selling Big Issue on my pitch, and there’s no difference with that to someone that stands behind the bar at a Wetherspoons pub.

If someone’s got work and it’s paying their bills – and this is my work and it’s paying my bills – I can’t see any difference in it. Of course, I want to progress and move forward in life, but things are going so good at the moment. It would be difficult for me to find a job that could cut it and be this good.

Interview: Isabella McRae

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Tesco Superstore, Brewery Lane, Bridgend, UK