Dark Sightings At The Big Issue. By Uncle Monty.
Photos By Alex Albion.
Part 1 of 2.
***
Before dawn, or at the start of another Lord’s
day of English sunlight, I was observing and
recording the comings and goings of folkz at
the London HQ of The Big Issue at 5:30AM.
***
It was the early cold morning of the weekly Monday
distribution day in which the new edition of the street
rag is transported to the various Big Issue distribution
spots all around London and elsewhere across the
country. It was also like watching the dark sightings
at The Big Issue, while no doubt the odious owners
- Redneck Anthony John Bird and Peewee Peter Bird –
were still pampering themselves in their warm king
size beds. As they slept, it was going to be yet
another day for them to make even more money
and profits off the backs of their homeless street
vendors that I saw arrive later like dark ants
to collect the latest edition of The Big Issue
before heading out to their various pitches to
then sell their goods to customers or passers by.
***
At day break, vendors fraternize at HQ front door. ***
Not one to sleep more than five hours nightly before I need
to quickly get up again, I photographed all those I saw right
under their own noses, both in the dark and in the light,
over the course of my six hours stay at the Vauxhall HQ
for my latest story here “Dark Sightings At The Big
Issue.” By day break, I had seen a number of familiar
and new faces that I recorded to include their public
mugshots right here. Not one of them noticed me! And,
much like I also did a few days earlier at the Covent
Garden distribution spot in which I recorded all I saw
there for another later story to come about everything
at James Street. It was quite revealing to see their
unguarded antics there for all to see with my cameras.
***
In the meantime, Big Issue staffers and volunteers
arrived for work at various intervals at HQ and they
quickly disappeared at the staff entrance, although I
saw no sign whatsoever of the hideous Bird Brothers
unless by chance I missed them. Had I seen them,
I would have naturally recorded them, too. But
there’s always the next time to get their hideous
mugshots, right? Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep, I will! *
Note Their Black Dr. Marten's Bootz!! ***
Most of the vendors I saw were unshaven, male, wearing no hat or scarf; though most wrapped
in heavy clothing. While I saw some of them
in Dr. Marten's boots (like those shown above)
and with army fatigues. Some fraternized at The
Big Issue front door that was left open as usual.
But most soon scurried off to get to their early
morning customers before they arrived
at their office or work.
***
My aim here has been to tell you all about what
happens before you buy your copy of The Big Issue,
although most of my friends and ex-customers
no longer buy the street rag after what what
the Bird brothers did to me!! I am amazed that
folkz are still signing my petition against them
and demanding that my Covent Garden pitch
be given back to me. I prefer now to continue
to expose The Big Issue for what it really is
than to worry if I can get my rightful pitch
back or not after vile Peewee Peter Bird
deliberately killed my 5 year-long pitch and
then purposely threw away all of my many
good customers and even tried to toss
away my life!! He's nothing more than a
dirty bastard like his fancy brother John!
And even with over 1,600 folks signing my
petition, the arrogant Bird brothers have
ignored their support of me ...
.
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***
Two young and newly-arrived
Romanian immigrants At Big Issue
London HQ getting badged!
He's Now New Vendor No. 9045 ...
I was vendor No. 115, until the nasty sod
Peewee Peter Bird had the gall and nerve to
suspend me for "bringing the Big Issue into
disrepute" last May, 2011. What a Bird bastard!
***
With his Bucharest girlfriend and his new green Big
Issue vendor’s badge No. 9045, the short Romanian
guy was heading off to Covent Garden to be “trained”
in the ways and rules of being a street vendor. The so-called “training” of vendors is the biggest joke
of them all! When I was first badged I was sent out
to Covent Garden's Long Acre at the Spaghetti
Restuarant and stood there daily during 7 days
to sell my first copies of The Big Issue.
***
My "training” was nothing more than to stand
there and for either John Duffy or Samantha
Woolock to spy on you to see you were where you
had been sent. They gave no words of encourage-
ment or support or respect or even a smile in their
hardened and mechanical disposition. I was not even
a number, I was just a “thing” to them ... That
was more than 6 years ago now and today The Big
Issue treats new and old vendors with the usual
cold attitude unless you're, of course, a Big Issue
pet like Big Gob Billie Bickley. And, she's as
crude as they come!
***
Worse still, TBI now only gives five lousey free
copies to new vendors when at one time they gave
such vendors ten. The Big Issue is the most tight-
fisted and greedy outfit you’d ever want to deal
with. Money, money, money, and more money
- for nonstop Bird big profits - is all that they really
care about! Big Issue vendors are like down-
trotten migrant workers being exploited every
day by the ilk of the Bird bosses and their
little Vauxhall underlings and paid minions.
***
Yet Another Lost Alocholic Soul Inside
Today's "Bloody Broken Britain."
***
I'm back from Radio 4 and so I can now finish this story from yesterday of "Dark
Sightings At The Big Issue." Watching the
comings and goings at Vauxhall showed how
The Big Issue has gotten its money act down
to pat. Street folkz seem to be beholden to the
vile Bird Brothers all because there is no-
body to compete against them and their
street rag. They have a business monopoly
that needs to be challenged at every level.
The problem is there is no one person or
organization with the resources and
knowhow to take The Big Issue on.
Redneck John Anthony Bird and Peewee
Peter Bird are like feudal lords that
makes them a law unto themselves at
the expense of the homeless at every
turn. But like all things, The Big Issue
will come to end and die and be forgotten
sooner or later. Its long troubled history
and background will eventually cripple
it completely. They've had a good run
of 20 years and it is time for others to
have their say and way over the ilk of
the odious Bird Brothers, I really do be-
lieve. Will such happen? Let's hope so!!
***
Someone asked me the other day if I had
anything good to say about The Big Issue?
Absolutely not, since I no longer have any
stake in its well-being since vile Peter Bird
took my pitch away from me and killed it
out of his sheer spite against me. So no, I
will never have another word to say good
about him or The Big Issue rag! Never!
They badmouth me and call me every
nasty name under the sun all the time
and I consider that a compliment! I
don't need or want their praise and
they're sure not going to get any from
me ... Unless they change their ways
toward me for the better which is very
doubtful. They've dug their own graves,
haven't they? Suuuuure have!
.
Oh, and incidentally, I've already
written the redneck's obit entitled
"His Gift of the Gab Couldn't Save Him."
.
As for the dark sightings, I am glad to
record what I saw although only a tiny
bit of the 70+ photos I took have I shown
you all. But those photos will, from time
to time, appear on my growing
blog - allaboutthebigissue!!
*
Do a good deed today, Uncle Monty.
+Rt. Rev'd Thomas Bray (bcp), 2011.
*
: Feedback & Comments ::
*
Monday Morning at The Big Issue HQ at around 5:45am.
Next Part 2: Big Slob At The Big Issue. The burglar alarm went off and never seemed
to stop as the female staffer had also had difficulty
opening the staff door when she arrived for work.
Every body was late along with one big slob
confronting me about my camera flash having
gone off, so he claimed. He was lying thru his
dirty teeth and bad mouth, was he ...
More next week on the big, bad slob
at The Big Issue ...
...
British Honours.
By Lord Leonard Carr, KLO., M.D.
Edited By Uncle Monty.
*
Women's Night Shelter.
Tuesdays at 7:00PM.
At The Shoreditch Church.
Warm Bed - Hot Food - Breakfast.
No Alcohol - No Drugs - No Violence.
.
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