Gazza, Prince William and me

Have you heard the one about the ex-footballer, prince and Big Issue vendor? It sounds like the start of a joke but when Big Issue vendor Karl Burns was selling the magazine right in the heart of Bournemouth when he heard Prince William was in town. He decided to go over to see if he could meet the future king. He was hoping William’s history with The Big Issue would get him in. As well as help from one of his regular customers. “I already knew someone who was there and that was Paul Gascoigne,” Burns tells us, beginning the start of a remarkable story you can read about this week!

Also inside

• The evolution of supermarket loyalty cards that give us discounts… but at what price?
• Ken Loach explains how his new film, The Old Oak, is about showing solidarity during trying times
• A Bristol exhibition that showcased the artwork of five vendors
• Uncovering the secretive £500m business changing the shape of our universities
• A car crash and heart attack couldn’t stop Eddy Grant’s musical odyssey as he proves in a Letter To My Younger Self
• How globes have helped s map our planet’s human history
• And Cardiff vendor Mark (who fulfils our subscriptions programme) is already planning his Halloween outfit. How can he top last year’s Count Dracula?!

Plus much more!

If you can, please buy a copy from your local vendor.

If you can’t buy in person, you can purchase magazines from The Big Issue Shop or download a digital version via The Big Issue app, available now from the App Store or Google Play