Still raising merry hell: Exclusive interview with Michael Gambon
Issue 1135
In this issue…Happy new year! Here’s a brief run through what The Big Issue is bringing you at the start of 2015.
Michael Gambon doesn’t do a lot of interviews. So it’s great to have him. Here, he takes Eamonn Forde on a rip-roaring trip through a life well-lived – with cameos from, amongst others, Spike Milligan, Peter O’Toole and JK Rowling.
Sticking with lives well lived, our Letter to My Younger Self is with John Cleese. Philosophical, regretful (his dentist told him his jawline changed because he was grinding his teeth so much through worry) and now without ambition but with a simple idea of how he wants to be remembered…
John Bird explains how a visit to an independent bookshop helped crystallise thoughts on morality and consumerism. It sets up his simple plan for 2015 – new year solutions not resolutions.
Damian Barr, meanwhile tackles the reality of fuel poverty. He lived through it as a child and doesn’t want anybody else to face it. It’s a crackling piece.
Our Pause feature this week comes from Dr Shelley Trower. She explains how to listen to the sounds of the city – and what they tell you.
Hidden Britain provides a guide to the Delamere Meridian, a place of huge importance to the mapping of Britain. Yes indeed!
Our featured vendor this week is Steve Johnson, who sells outside the National Portrait Gallery, in London. From care homes and foster families, he has had a life of uneven breaks. But this is a great, ultimately uplifting piece.