Inside the magazine, James Bowen pays tribute to Bob, and ends on a note we thought was worth sharing:
Big Issue vendors recently ventured back on to the streets after more than 100 days of lockdown. This week they will go to work with Bob at their side once more, "Staring out for the 11th time from the cover of the magazine he helped me sell all those years ago outside Angel Tube station. It is so fitting that it should be hitting the streets at this particular time". As the editor Paul McNamee wrote a couple of weeks ago, Bob had become a symbol. "He represented a second chance and hope and never giving up on somebody, things that are hardwired into The Big Issue DNA. That indomitable, irrepressible spirit has never been so badly needed. And I know that he will provide each and every vendor with a piece of it. He never failed me. I know he won't let them down either."
Of the hundreds of messages we've received about the impact Bob had on his devoted followers, we run some that show he really did have a monumental, unbelievable impact on people's lives. Really recommend you read these, cat-lover or not. We also have the editor of the Big Issue in Japan about why Bob had so many fans over there, and vendors too talk about how their own pets have helped them through hard times and lockdown.
Also inside:
- We also introduce the Ride Out Recession Alliance - our new campaign to fight the imminent post-viral tsunami of poverty. We want to bring together a wide range of ideas to plot a plan for the future - more details of this will come next week.
- Vinnie Jones - a hardman on both the football pitch and the big screen opens up on his feisty younger self, and talks candidly about the death of his wife Tanya just over a year ago.
- Laura Whateley looks at fast fashion in the wake of the Leicester factory scandal.
- Fact/Fiction investigates whether bubonic plague is the next outbreak we have to shield ourselves from.
And you can tell everybody we've teamed up with Elton John's Aids charity to boost HIV testing.
We also continue our new series of Vendor Expert guides. Following Ian Duff's recipes, Richard in Exeter explains how to make good compost. If you know a vendor who has a particular set of skills that readers might benefit from please let us know!
