"Big Isshue"

Dear All

Each Christmas the office staff go out onto the streets of Cape Town and sell copies of The Big Issue. It is a mark of support and respect for the vendors and to remind them all what the vendors go through each and every day. Any proceeds made go the vendors.

So, on Friday I sold TBI on the streets of Cape Town. At a set of robots on Buitengraght Street to be precise, (robots are traffic lights). It was a hot, windy day and we were all kitted out in our Big Issue T-shirts. The other staff were dotted down the road at various intersections. Each time the lights went red I walked up between the lanes of traffic holding the magazine aloft and saying "Big Issue?"

As the time passed I noticed three main reactions. The drivers who looked straight ahead pretending that you didn't exist, windows tightly closed, aircon blasting away. The second was a negative nod indicating that they weren't interested. This, at least, acknowledged that you existed and was a perfectly acceptable response. The third was interaction! Either it was waving a copy they had already bought, or a "No thanks, not today", or "I already bought one" or "I haven't any change" or sometimes the odd joke.

There was one exception to the above. A guy in his 30s, white, in a 4x4. He saw me coming up the traffic lane, looked straight ahead - ignoring me - while winding up his window. Like I looked like I was going to mug/hijack/abuse him. What a sad way to be.

When the lights turn to green you jump back onto the middle pavement smartish, walk back down to the lights and wait for the lights to go red once more.

I did this for about 1.5 hours and sold precisely zero copies. It was hot and the dust blew into my face and eyes. The exhaust fumes began to give me a headache and made me feel sick. It was a brief insight into how a day pans out for a vendor. Except they often sell from 8 am to 7 pm every day in the heat of summer and the wet of winter. They also often walk long distances to and from the The Big Issue depot and their pitches.

So, the next time you are waiting at the lights and someone comes up the lane selling a Big Issue magazine at least acknowledge that you come from the same species. Ideally put your hand in your pocket and buy a copy. The vendors have to buy their magazines, they work hard to sell them and they deserve some respect.

Over and out.
Claire