I’ll admit that I struggled with whether to post this photo or not. As a general rule I don’t like to post photos of people too often (if you can’t clearly see their face I think it’s okay or if they have demanded people look at them). There are plenty of people laughing at the expense of strangers on the internet already. However the juxtaposition in this photo between someone sleeping on the cold, hard pavement to the people comfortably ensconced within the Ritz was too poignant to resist.

There’s nothing really funny about this photo, I just wanted to post it to remind people that there are people sleeping rough out in the cold this winter. Without friends or family around you it can be alarmingly easy for someone to slip through the net and end up living on the streets. Years ago I worked briefly for a homeless charity and was shocked by the stories I’d hear from people whose lives had taken a turn for the worse and had ultimately ended up finding themselves with nowhere to live. It can happen to anybody.

On your way home tonight if you see a homeless person give them a quid or two. I know there are some people that argue that giving homeless people change doesn’t actually help them and in some cases exacerbates their problems but frankly I think that is bullshit. I know that if I were on the street and someone gave me a pound that I could spend on a coffee or even a beer it would temporarily take me out of my bleak situation if only for a couple of minutes…and really that’s all any of us can do.

Spotted by Helen Bode

*Sorry that wasn’t very funny. I’m hungover and when I’m hungover I can get a bit maudlin. If that sounded preachy as well, I apologise. Now back to things that look knobs and stuff like that…