A London coffee shop caused outrage when it refused to sell food to a good samaritan for a homeless man. But I saw far worse during my time recording their lives
Illustration by Mark Long
Like many other people, I watched Adrian Pinsent’s video of coffee shop staff at Waterloo station last week [early July] refusing to let him buy food for a man with no home and an empty stomach. A member of staff claimed that it was company policy and the rules of the station. The employee was wrong, it turned out – but the incident brought back some vivid memories for me.
I recently spent several months in central London recording 30 homeless people as they chronicled their lives with great candour and humility. Much of what they talked about was their life, now, on the street. No front door key. Few possessions. Little dignity. I collected their stories and called the book Four Feet Under, because they live four feet under the rest of us.
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