Next day, it’s safe to say I’m feeling excited, as it’s the day that Scotland finally play their first football match at a major tournament in 23 years. As with everything else over the last year and a bit, this bloody pandemic has messed with sporting schedules so badly that the Euro 2020 tournament is being played a year later in Summer 2021, which should make for a good pub quiz question in a few years' time. It’s an electrifying day to be a Scotsman - for more than two decades we’ve traditionally been glorious failures, seemingly always falling at the final hurdle and missing out on European Championships and World Cups, so it feels great to finally be part of something big like this, even if it’s long overdue. Fair enough, Steve Clarke’s team end up being soundly beaten 2-0 but still, it’s just nice to be at the party. It feels fitting then that today fate throws up a very Scottish festive documentary, the grim and gritty, Glasgow-set Homeless at Christmas.
This harrowing doc follows Scottish minor celebrity and film director James English as he embarks on a week living rough on the streets of Glasgow in the week running up to Christmas in a bid to investigate how homelessness affects those that experience it, as well as those who dedicate their lives to helping them. I’ll admit, I don’t know very much about English but the internet informs me he was once the star of a very short-lived Scottish version of reality TV fluff The Only Way is Essex that was called GLOW. I normally detest those so-called ‘reality’ shows that feature irritating, good-looking people moaning and cheating on each other and where the cameras just happen to always be there when shocking ‘revelations’ are uncovered, so I feel like I’m hard-wired to hate someone like English. However, fair play to him, he’s taken on an exceptional challenge with this project and has obviously used his fame and clout to give something back to the world.
What James does is pretty bold - he leaves his pampered life behind for a week to live on the streets but doesn’t tell any of his family what he’s doing. He just explains that he’s “away for work” and leaves his phone and all his belongings behind, bar a sleeping bag and the one small camera he uses to document his experience. Literally the only person who knows what he’s up to is his producer who checks in on him once a day and makes sure the camera battery is charged…and that James isn’t dead. It’s brave and a compelling hook.
This makes for a harrowing, effective experience and feels especially heavy for me, as the office I work in is just a stone’s throw away from the streets he sleeps rough on. I recognise all these street corners and alleyways and am fully aware of just how bloody cold it can be in the middle of December. I’ve passed by and recognise many of the people he meets and I shudder when I realise I probably walked right by James on those streets at least once or twice that Winter.
English’s film makes the powerful point that, especially at Christmas time, it’s all too easy to turn a blind eye to the plight of the destitute. It’s sad to see that, at the height of the festive shopping period, with people spending a lot more than usual on stuff they probably don’t need, hundreds upon hundreds of pedestrians walk right by these desperate, penniless vagrants, not giving them a second look, never mind a coin or two. I feel even worse to think that I was likely one of them.
The film also really captures the sense of boredom and sheer hopelessness that many homeless people face. James knows he could just quit and go home at any time, but the real street folk he meets don’t have that option. He feels an obligation to see this thing through and it all feels brutally real. His story highlights the importance of little things, like just being able to go into a McDonalds, library or a bookies for a while to get some heat. Each night he documents in great detail how tough it is for him to get to sleep due to an inability to drown out the noise of the city and the constant fear of danger - chiefly drunken passers-by who think it’s fun to harass, rob and even urinate on the homeless. It’s sickening but at times also humorously candid, especially as James regularly complains about his “sore arse” and later confesses to doing a poop in a plastic bag. Elsewhere, he’s overjoyed at being able to pinch a sneaky spray of aftershave at Boots. It really highlights the importance of the little things.
We meet some unfortunate souls along the way, including addicts, people with mental health conditions and one man who can’t get into any homeless shelters because he refuses to give up his pet dog. It’s heartbreaking. Faced with the horrors he sees, James realises he could probably get access to showers and hostel bedrooms that many others can’t, but respectfully declines, not wanting to deprive other, more needy folk of these options. It’s illuminating to learn just how little money James is able to get from begging on some of the country’s busiest streets. He talks candidly of being offered drugs constantly and reveals he’s been offered more drugs than actual money. There’s something wrong with that.
Attention is drawn to the UK government’s failings with regards to housing and homelessness. James explains that in France there is a law whereby supermarkets are not allowed to throw out waste food but must donate it to the homeless. Why the hell is there no such law in our country, he asks? He also spends time with big-hearted volunteers at missions and soup kitchens, people who feel obligated to do something, many of whom were once destitute themselves. It’s all so humbling.
I really appreciate that James has made this film free to watch on Youtube and implore everyone to watch it. It’s a powerful reminder of how worse off some people are and that the enormity of the poverty divide in our country continues to grow, which is never more glaring than at Christmas. I’m counting my blessings while watching this and my feelings are likely similar to those of James, whose conflicted emotions are palpable on his final day as he wrestles with his conscience following all he’s experienced. He’s so clearly wracked with guilt that he gets to go home to his cushy lifestyle, while so many others have nowhere to turn. A man shouldn’t have to put himself through something like this in order to raise awareness for a cause that’s right in front of our eyes, but he’s very glad that he did. Watching this helps put the Scottish football team’s defeat into perspective. It’s only a game and though the trouncing stings a little, I’m fully aware there are more important things going on in the world and vow to continue to be thankful for everything I do have. At least I don’t have to poop in a bag.
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