A couple of things that happened to me recently prompt this Reflection.
The first was my encounter with a Big Issue vendor in Bristol. I’d gone there for a day of urban walking. To explore the historical Clifton area. For those not au fait with the city, it’s the area that includes Brunel’s Suspension Bridge that you often see in UK TV programmes.
I came across the BI vendor on my way back to Bristol Temple Meads railway station. It’s in another historical part of the city named after the Knights Templar, whose church was close to the now station. An Anglican church later replaced that of the Knights Templar. That ‘new’ church now known for its leaning tower. I’m told the lean is greater than that of the Tower in Pisa.
Anyway, getting back to the BI Vendor. Anyone who has read anything of these weekly offerings knows of my support for that cause. And that I buy the magazine. As I approached the vendor on this occasion, I realised I carried no cash (does anyone carry around ‘real’ money these days?). While thinking I would need to find a cashpoint, I saw that another customer was using a credit card to make his BI purchase.
As a tongue in cheek comment, I asked the vendor whether he might take American Express. He replied, with a beaming smile, “mate, if it means selling a copy, I will happily take anything, including two chickens”. Then adding more seriously, while pointing to his handheld reader, “this thing takes any card you like and even Apple Watch”. My first contactless purchase of a BI duly followed as I continued my conversation with the vendor.
He was delighted with his recent technology. He told me that The Big Issue Foundation did a deal with the reader manufacturer to sell the readers to vendors for £20 each. My vendor said he’d covered that in his first week, as using the reader had boosted sales. To make use of the reader, my vendor needed Wi-Fi access. He got that by agreeing with some friendly retailers around his pitch, access to their Wi-Fi. He then mentioned there was one thing he now needed to manage: his cash flow. He still must buy his weekly supply of copies of the magazine on a Thursday, but all credit card sales might not have all gone through by then, so he must keep enough cash in reserve just in case.
Never in the world would I imagine I would one day have a technology/business conversation with a BI vendor. It reinforced to me the benefit the Foundation offers for those down on their luck. Although having said that, I’ve yet to meet a vendor down in the dumps. They all offer a smile and a friendly greeting, a courteous response when you make a purchase, and they sell an excellent product too.
BI Vendors are also always up for a bit of a chat. They may look at first sight disconcerting, dishevelled and unkempt. Their clothes old and careworn. But they have a spirit within them that is engaging.
The other activity that caused me to reflect was my postal vote. Anyone who has postal voted will recall envelope A and envelope B. The need to put the right thing in the right envelope and then one of the envelopes into the other.
Given the three elections where I live, I repeated this process three times. Halfway through, my memory was triggered of the old phone boxes with their button A and button B. Anyone remember those? For those that don’t, you made a call by putting in your coins (no contactless in those days) then dialled the number. If someone answered, you pressed button A, and the coin would fall, and a connection made. If no one answered, you pressed button B, for the return of your coins. It became something of a habit as a youngster when passing an empty phone box to pop in and push button B as it might result in a small windfall.
Something else you could do with the cradles on old phones is make a call without using the dial. You could ‘tap’ the number using the cradle. To dial, say 127 – you tapped once, then paused, then twice and paused then seven times. In old films, you’ll see someone frantically tapping the cradle. That’s because if you tapped 10 times, the operator would answer.
All basic stuff and a world away from using the phone in your pocket to send messages, buy things (such as the Big Issue), check the weather, find your way, interact with a ‘social’ circle, watch TV/movies etc. Ironically, the thing I do less often on my mobile phone is make a call and speak to someone.
Makes you think, doesn’t it? ….
As to music, there is a tenuous telephone link with this song. It’s one of my favourites. ‘Hearts of Stone’, written by Bruce Springsteen. It’s not often that another artist better sings a Springsteen song than the man himself but, in this case, it’s true. Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes just hit the soul of this song so well. Talk about weeping guitars ……
Reflections 