I met George Watt in St Peter’s Square, Manchester. We were both there to support the Homeless Rights of Justice Manchester protest camp. He is originally from an Irish traveller family and told me he had previously been homeless himself. When he had seen the protest on the evening news he had to come down to help them.

George was one of the first people to sell the Big Issue in Manchester in the early 90s.He was full of praise for the Big Issue and said that it had ‘turned his life around’ and helped him into accomodation after a long spell of homelessness. The big Issue had originally been set up in Swan St Manchester, by Ruth Turner and her partner, but has now moved to a new site.

George also mentioned having a chat with Prince Phillip of Spain when he came looking round the Big Issue office with the Prince of Wales. He had a poem to recite, I have included a transcribed version and the audio version can be heard below along with a montage of photos from the various protest sites .

I Cried on a Sunday

‘I cried on a Sunday the salt in my tears was stinging my eyes
We moan about the weather the snow and the rain
It helps us forget about the sorrow and pain
We seem to be content within our own bubble
Turn a blind eye to others and all of their troubles

I have spent sixty years looking for the meaning of life
Is it a job, a home, two children and a wife?
There is a time in our lives to take off our blinkers
To take notice of others become more of a thinker
We all have a duty to look out for others
Fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers

Just try to do a good deed a day
Inside your heart you will find your own pay
A good deed can be fleeting, you might miss it if you blink
Most people are kind hearted but seldom stop to think
And it’s the thought that counts.’

George Watt