By George, he’s back!

We celebrate our vendor and hero, Istvan Kakas. Last week, a little girl cycling by the River Avon in Bath fell in. Her father went after her, but got caught by the currents. Quick thinking Istvan moved to fish them out and save both their lives. THAT is worth celebrating. He also has something to say about passers-by who FILMED it rather than helping.   

And more…

Our Letter To My Younger Self is with Robert Lindsay. A bruised character who has wrestled with depression, he says it took a long while to leave behind the insecurities of the spotty kid from Derbyshire. Even Wolfie Smith couldn’t help him do that.

Eureka Street is the definitional modern novel about Belfast. Its author is Robert McLiam Wilson. About eight years ago he moved to Paris and went quiet. He wrote for the French press but he hasn’t written for the British press in a decade. Very recently he emerged, said he had ‘something’, would The Big Issue like it. This week we carry it. It’ll knock you sideways.

John Bird considers the huge importance of education in fighting poverty – how it’s not working and why we need to hit the “education alert button”.

Related to this, and jumping off from her experience in TV show Famous, Rich and hungry, Rachel Johnson gets ripped into diet and what bad food is doing to the nation.

The coveted My Week spot is taken by Nickolay Lamm. He started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to manufacture a doll for kids that looks like a real woman rather than Barbie. He has got over $420,000 in just over a week.

Our featured vendor in My Pitch is Steve Taylor, working in Islington. A former engineer, he is saving to build his own business. Kathy Burke features.

Elsewhere, we have a great guide to rebuilding civilisation after the apocalypse (this is a very good, and useful, read), Belinda Carlisle meets Mackenzie and there is a very old tortoise.

If you’d like to subscribe to The Big Issue, or if you wish to buy a copy but can’t locate a vendor, email robert.white@bigissue.com