The fire in a bucket still burns in the chilly March air at 2pm. This site is under the arches of a motorway junction near Acton. I parked at the nearby B&Q and took these pictures. Every time I have been to Acton I have seen it. Managed to remember my camera today...
Above: A more distant shot of the site, clearly temporarily vacant, awaiting its resident's return and below, a clear and damning expression of how the dweller under the junction feels about this country, which has all but forgotten him or her. Tens of thousands of cars pass these arches everyday. Many must wonder whether someone lives here for real. They do...
Gosh, I thought I recognised that as soon as it popped up in my reader.
ReplyDeleteI live nearby and pass there often. It's shocking.
The children and I always say a Hail Mary for him.
He's been there for years. His health must be poor living with all that heavy traffic going past 24/7. It's so grimy.
I've only rarely caught a glimpse of him behind the boards and stuff that he uses to screen off his living 'zone'.
You're braver than me. I'd be a bit scared to take a photo. I've heard he's not at all friendly to anyone who approaches his patch. I would imagine that surely attempts have been made to house him that he has refused. He can't be well.
It's terribly sad to see a human being living like that.
I'm going to show these pictures to the children. They always try to read what is on the board in the foreground but can never quite make it out.
It seems to say "The vile English even deny a man tap water".
The poor soul must be mentally ill.