AlfieH
“This Is My Street”
MyStoryUK “everybody has a story to tell”
MyStoryUK AlfieH “This Is My Street”
It all started on a cold grey December 1960 when I came into the world, not in good shape. I had an illness that kept me in hospital for over three months. When it was time to come home, my mother had post natal illness. It was unheard of in those days. I had an older sister, Grace. She is eleven months older than me. When I was five, I went to school, it was OK. Lots to do and lots of friends. The years from five to eleven went well. Lots of holidays.
When I was seven, a little brother pops up into the world, his name is Sean. Never liked him from day one. Mum and Dad were very busy running the company 24/7. I went to a Roman Catholic boys school. Disliked it from day one. Lots of religious studies. Found out something I was good at, football. That’s it, I will be a footballer. Left school at sixteen and three months, London here I come. Hated people from the midlands and up north. Went to live with my grandmother in East Finchley. She was a good woman, a little old Jewish lady, a very tiny person. The bright lights of the West End hit me. I began to spend a lot of time there. In those days it was mainly drinking sherry and beer. Met lots of interesting people from all walks of life.
MyStoryUK AlfieH “This Is My Street”
Very close community in those days. I saw a lot of death on the street, good people who did not deserve to die.
Hated religion. Hated rules. Hated sobriety. Went for loads of detoxes and rehabs, too many to mention, some good some bad. Went to a place called Caplin House. It was a good place. Dawn, who ran it, lived with an alcoholic. I stayed for one year and dry. Then one day, it was a hot sunny day, I thought I would love a beer. Just one. Went to the Off Licence and got a can of Tenants. Sat on some steps for ages, just looking at the can.
Then I opened the can. One can will not do any harm. Little did I know. Just get four cans and that’s it. Drank the four cans and then thought, “Fuck it. Just for tonight, go out and get out of my head.” I had hit the streets as a bright eyed nineteen year old boy. It seems a long time ago. Sleeping on the streets - The Embankment, The Strand, the back of the Savoy Bullring. I can always say I stayed at the Savoy. Met so many people, doctors, solicitors, ex-forces all had a story to tell.
Spent my days begging, needed to supplement my drinking. I called it, “My job.” It was hard work, especially in the winter, surviving using the Day Centres to eat and keep clean.
MyStoryUK AlfieH “This Is My Street”
So many soup runs. You try to get your head down but many of the soup runs would wake you up to see that you were OK. Shoplifting was a way of life. The police were good to me, always looking out for me. Death was a way of life.
One
time sleeping next to a Scottish guy, I got up in the morning and he had died. What a waste of a life? Sunday was my day off, made my money on a Saturday night. Always went to Covent Garden on a Sunday to watch the street entertainers. Met so many good people who gave me money and food. I could have opened a sandwich bar with the amount of food that people gave me. The Bullring in Waterloo was like a little village. People built their own little homes from cardboard, wood, plastic, some very good. Big fires.
Some years ago, there were government hostels, we called them Spikes, dorm accommodation. Get a shower, get my head down for a day or so. The camaraderie was good, we all looked out for each other. Things began to change. The Council wanted to clear up the streets, get us off, move us out of the area. We would always come back within a week. So, they gave up. As I got older, my health began to suffer, in and out of hospitals, always discharged myself. Hospital was a lot of seeing my health deteriorating. Never think of myself as getting older. The years got harder. The drinking got worse.
MyStoryUK AlfieH “This Is My Street”
I had a few partners in my time. Met Kim, very strong woman, been through a lot herself. But I know I can trust and love her although sometimes I still don’t show it.
Moved into Riverside House from Saint Mungo’s to whom I will always be grateful. Riverside has taught me to respect myself. They asked nothing from me, only to try to keep sober. They keep telling me, it is me that does it, but I know without Riverside it was not possible. At the moment, I am studying at College, something I thought my kind did not do. But I am doing OK. The impression I get from Riverside is that I see people really trying and I think, “If they can do it, I can.”
People often ask me do I have any regrets. No regrets. Would I change things? Maybe. But my journey has made me the person I am today. I will soon be moving on, my journey is still not complete. Last but not least, I would like to thank all the people that have helped me in my life. I will sign off for now. Be safe and happy. Thanks, Alfie.
MyStoryUK AlfieH “This Is My Street”
Published by the MyStoryUK project written by Alfie H 2007 (Hanbury) editors CharlotteK and RodB design and photos RodB the Spitalfields Crypt Trust www.sct.org.uk and the New Hanbury Project 020 7613 5636 3 Calvert Avenue London E2 7JP November 2008 ISSUU May 2012
Feel free to share this heartwarming story with your family and friends. For paper copies please contact Spitalfields Crypt Trust Janice Taylor 020 7613 5677 janice.taylor@sct.org.uk 116 - 118 Shoreditch High Street London E1 6JN.
More productions by the MyStoryUK project: “Collectors Item” & “CellBlock NHP” DVD Alfie speaks about “Change” plus 5 other people’s personal stories and songs. Alfie is the Bishop in this prison musical drama. Lee H My first experience of living on the streets “It was the same old thing, drinking in the park. The same old story.”
MyStoryUK “everybody has a story to tell”
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