I had a word with Helen my friend, former colleague and assistant at numerous festivals over the last couple of years to see if she would be interested. Long story short we were four. Me, Helen, Doug and his wife Sharron (Who by the way does not do rough!!!)
Friday night arrived and we were in mini festival mood. We had sponsorship and decided this would be fun. The weather was not particularly pleasant. Lots of showers predicted (It didn't disappoint) and a temperature of around 5 degrees.
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| Fort Complete |
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| Lincoln Cathedral |
We met in the Magna Carta in Lincoln. Lovely venue Castle square cobbled streets and quiet. The cathedral was lit up beautifully. Wonderful historic area this was going to be fun.
We wandered over to the Cathedral signed in picked up some boxes which were to be our accommodation for the night. Using these boxes to get us in the mood we were having a Fort building competition.
We duly built our forts. I had pre prepared some stuff to decorate. I had my Grey Goat logo from my guitars, some pre printed words. A couple of Gargoyles (for Sharron) and a Lincoln Imp. Made some castleations for the top and cut an arched window in to the cardboard. Quite pleased with the result.
We were then told Hot dogs and Piri Piri chicken rolls were ready along with Coffee and tea. As you can see the "Homeless" "rough sleep" experience for us is somewhat better than the reality.
We ate, sat around chatting, playing some music and having a few drinks. So far mini festival on 3rd March. Bit cold and it was raining.
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| Sharron Glam before the rain |
We eventually bedded down. Tarp on the floor, cardboard on top, bed roll mattress. On top a sleeping bag, Dog blanket, another blanket and a tarp for waterproofing. I was wearing Thermal underwear, Jeans, Thick socks. T shirt, Fleece, Micro fibre jacket and a waterproof coat topped of with an Animal winter hat with ear flaps. Yes I was quite cozy but the ground was hard, the rain was coming down, It was cold and very noisy. Even the quiet periods were noisy. I could hear traffic. The street lights were on and the Cathedral, as are all historic builds was illuminated by very bright lights. It was not very comfortable. Wasn't that the idea?
We had access to clean warm toilets all night. As much tea coffee and soup as we wanted and a nice warm kitchen if it got too much. There were periods in the night when I was very cold. All night I was uncomfortable. Helen in the morning at around 6 o'clock said to me through shivering teeth "If you ever ask me to do anything like this again I will punch you in the face!" She has a great sense oh humor.
I got up my hip hurt like buggery so did my knee and I was very stiff!
Breakfast was announced so we had coffee and bacon butties in the kitchen. Everyone looked tired but the atmosphere was great. I was told that the YMCA at this point via 86 of us doing this had at that point raised around £15,000 which is brilliant.
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| Wonderful Caterers that kept us fed and watered |
We went back to our rain soaked cardboard homes which in the half light looked bloody awful. We started to pack up our soggy stuff and pile the cardboard up for disposal. Doug and Sharron had left at this point. They had not had a pleasant night at all. Spending some of it wandering. Lots of wet stuff and particularly uncomfortable. This I believe was the case for most of us. Once packed up and tidied away I helped Helen with her stuff back to her car, said our goodbyes and I wandered back towards my car on the other side of the Cathedral. The car park was pretty deserted. I was carrying a holdall a sleeping bag and mat, looking a bit like a Michelin man with all my layers I looked like an early morning homeless person. Got a glance or 2 from random people who I would guess were thinking "Look at that homeless person"
I got in the car. Very tired sitting and reflecting on the previous night. Driving home in the early morning mist it was all a bit weird. Normal life continues and the majority of people don't have a clue.
It is now Sunday evening with the reality of homelessness sinking in. If I had been homeless I would have been looking for somewhere to be during the day. Looking for something to eat. Trying to stay dry and then again looking for somewhere to sleep tonight. Then doing it again tomorrow then the next day......... It all goes on.
My clothes that I wore for 24 hours, slept in sweated in and carried around all went in my washing machine before I climbed into bed for a couple of hours waking up to enjoy the rest of my weekend.
I will not forget this experience, something that has changed my perception. People don't chose to be homeless despite the difficulties they have in their lives. It happens for so many different reasons. All are human beings with feelings and dignity. There are more people just one pay cheque away from it than we'll know.
I don't know what I am going to do now but I will think about it very differently. We raised some money which I know will help but I think my attitude change may prove to be far more important.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Gordon-McCranor
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