The pursuit of happiness with Ken Dodd. He’s 88 – and he’s still further out there than you or me

In this weeks issue…Ken Dodd is odd. And very funny. He’s 88 and it feels like he’s been a permanent fixture in British entertainment forever. In a rare interview he talks happiness, The Beatles, judging a rainbow of laughter and obsession. He’s 88, he’s still out there. You’ll feel better after reading this.

Another different point of view comes from a woman who became homeless last year when she lost her job. Faced with the street she decided upon another solution. A tent. She has pitched up in an Oxfordshire forest while she gets herself together. It’s a story of how to live off-grid while you map your way back.

Our Letter To My Younger Self Self is with Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush. Star of The King’s Speech and Shine he is an outsider still listening, he says, to the voice of his gawky teenage self.

John Bird considers the fate of ex-servicemen suffering from PTSD and the trauma that can lead them to some terrible crimes. We must do more to help, he says.

Alain De Botton writes for us this week about love. And about the need to lie in order to maintain love and relationships. Before you get carried away, he’s not offering carte blanche. It’s complicated…

Jenny Eclair, meanwhile, details her obsession. Tapestry. It brings untold pleasure.

Our featured vendor this week is Richard Broadway who sells in Birchington-On-Sea in Kent. He grew up in care and foster homes. He was brought down by booze and depression, but now gives talks in schools about the positive effects of selling The Big Issue.

Brendan O’Neill looks at the Trump phenomenon. A monster maybe, but one of the establishment’s making, he says.