I’ve been selling the magazine here for three years. It’s gone really well – it’s a nice part of the world. My regular customers have helped me get back on my feet.
People know Chipping Norton because Jeremy Clarkson and the guy from Blur live here. I haven’t met them but I have met the Prime Minister, David Cameron. He was out campaigning one day during the last election. He walked past me with a big bunch of people. I shouted to him and asked him to sign one of my magazines. And he did – he came over, said hello and signed one. ‘Best wishes, David Cameron.’ I’ve kept that copy.
There’s a good bunch of people here. Everyone in the village loves my dogs Menace and Sweep. Menace is a mastiff cross-Staff and I gave him that name because he was always tearing around, full of beans. He was a handful but in a good way – a very good-natured dog.
Menace is Sweep’s daughter. Everyone thought she was lovely as a pup but she’s getting quite big now. I called her Sweep because a pal of mine noticed she looked like the kids’ TV puppet.””
There’s nothing I like better than going on a long walk with my dogs. There’s no shortage of good walks in the Cotswolds. I came to this part of the world in 2002. I came to Oxford and I was really down on my luck. I slept rough on the streets there for quite a long time. I liked the city but I didn’t like staying in the hostels. I slept in a tent there for about six months.
When I came to Chipping Norton my luck turned. I got a place to stay in a caravan. And selling the magazine put some money in my pocket and helped me get things in perspective. Recently I found a little flat to live in. I’m very happy with it, though it’s taken a while to get on top of bills and adjust to finally having a roof over my head again.
I was really grateful for the help I got from The Big Issue Foundation, so I took part in the 
