On Saturday in Heavitree, I came across these flowers. Just outside the Co-op was Graham’s spot. He was the Big Issue man and we often said hello.

While I was there, two very elderly ladies came along, both knew him well and said he’d been around Heavitree for at least fifteen years,always had a smile on his face and never a bad word.

I believe that Graham had been homeless for many years, but I don’t know which of the night stops he visited.
He always seemed healthy, so it was a total surprise that he’d passed away. He was probably around my age, there but for fortune . . . .

Just a couple of weeks before he died he was given a flat, too little too late. Graham’s cheerful presence covered a very different reality, he must have had serious mental health problems, because he threw himself in front of a train.

Rest in peace Graham, I wish I’d taken more time to speak to you.