Jess, Corstorphine Retail Park – ‘all the collagen in her body is too stretchy’
“I’m a self-employed subcontractor. I do litter picking and rubbish removal on retail parks in Edinburgh, Fife and Midlothian. I’m subcontracted to two big grounds maintenance companies. I’ve been doing it for eight years. It's a weird one! But there's flexibility in my time so I can work around my family.
This is my whole life.
My daughter is 21 and has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. All the collagen in her body is too stretchy, so her joints bend backwards, and she has a lot of chronic pain in the rest of her body. She has chronic headaches and nausea; she vomited consistently for a year and a half, but that's mostly under control now. She spends a lot of time at her boyfriend's, but still a couple of nights with me.
It's probably going to get worse as she gets older. Some people with her condition, though not many, end up in wheelchairs because the joints dislocate so much that they can't really use them anymore. But some people live really normal productive lives, so we're just kind of in the middle of figuring out which direction it's going to go. Yeah.”
How is she coping?
“She just gets on with it. There’s no way out. In the good phases, we're like, ‘Oh, this is great.’ And then there'll be a downturn. At the moment she's kind of mourning the fact that she's probably not going to live a normal life.
But she has amazing friends. That's why she stays in Leith with her boyfriend a lot because it's close to her work, and she's got really close friends all within a 10-minute walking distance. They all help. They’ve all supported each other.
She's into all sorts of crafts. She's got a spinning wheel, and she plays the harp. She has to have rest days in between her workdays, and she sits in bed crocheting constantly. I never see her without wool or needles. She can't be without something in her hands. I find her amazing.”
John, Waverley Bridge - ‘I met the Pope’
“I’m a biker. I'm Legion Riders, because I'm a veteran.
I've been in a wheelchair since 1977, when I came back from Ireland. I served there with ‘The Greens’ and I was injured. I have a twisted curvature to my spine and a damaged right hip. There’s no point in operating because I'll never be able to walk properly again.
Now I'm freelance foreign correspondent for GNS News. It's a European Press Association based in Germany. I used to go all over Europe until COVID lockdowns. But I still travel.
I met the Pope in Italy in 2003. I met the Duke of Edinburgh last year. I do Armed Forces Day. I do Poppy Scotland, sitting at corners with a bucket in my hand doing poppies.
I do a lot of photo shoots. I’ve done Fawcett's Day, I'm doing Anzac Day on Friday, I'm doing VE Day, I'm doing the Highland Show, I'm doing Truck Fest, I'm doing the Fringe, I'm doing the Tattoo, and I'm doing VJ Day.
And I'm just going to keep on doing what I'm doing until I die.”
Angela, Waverley Market – ‘I play violin in The Really Terrible Orchestra’
“I play violin in The Really Terrible Orchestra here in Edinburgh. It was started in the late 90s by a group of people who were a little bit jealous that their kids had all this musical input at school. They just thought, ‘we want to do that,’ and they dusted off some of their instruments and The Really Terrible Orchestra was formed. Our main concert is at the Fringe. We play at St Cuthberts every year and it’s usually a sell-out. We’ve had 600 people there.”
How does it feel to play live in an orchestra?
“It’s amazing. When I’m practicing at home by myself, you just can’t get the feel of the piece of music until the whole orchestra comes together. Usually, we’re quite overwhelmed afterwards because it takes a lot of mental energy. But that feeling of making music with other people is amazing. Yeah, I love it.”
It sounds as though you’ve living an almost optimal life.
“It’s very difficult with long-term ill health, so I try to find things that help me to manage that. Music is wonderful. It just takes me to a different place. So does art - any arts and crafts, especially using watercolours. They’re quite forgiving – you can make a mistake and just wash it out! I love making cards for people, friends and family. And I love reading. I love the classics. I studied Wuthering Heights at school, and it’s still one of my favourites. Cosy crime is another favourite. I love Agatha Christie and Victorian novels. And I love nature.
It’s just finding things that keep me well. Yeah.”
Peter, Robertsons 37 Bar, Rose Street
If you could choose your own caption for this photo what would it be?
“George Cluny.”
Mary & Stephanie, Waverley Bridge - mother and daughter
“She smiled with a gentleness that could only come from a heart both playful and kind.” (Jane Austen)
Frankie, Dalry Road – ‘I’m enjoying it right now’
What is your job title?
“I'm a Posting and Maintenance Technician.”
Who do you work for?
“BUILDHOLLYWOOD. They do advertising all over the country. We put up the posters and keep the area clean for 30 metres around the panel. We’ve got to paint it out and take off any stickers. Edinburgh's quite bad for graffiti, so it's just kind of keeping on top of stuff like that, you know. I've literally just started. I've just been here a couple of months.”
Do you think you'll enjoy it?
“I do. I'm enjoying it right now.”
Stephen and Linda, Gyle Shopping Centre – ‘you must be a forgiving person’
Stephen: “We've been married for over 40 years. Relationships are simple at one level: if you love someone, they love you back, and if you hate someone they hate you back. But it’s not always easy. No, no. You must be a forgiving person. And very patient.”
Linda: “Every Valentine's Day he still buys me flowers, and we go out for dinner. Or else we buy food in, and we make a special meal at home together.”
Maaz, security guard, Tesco, Hermiston Gait - ‘my manager got stabbed three times’
“I'm a security officer here and my role is to prevent shoplifting and any other unforeseen trouble. For example, if someone started a fight with a staff member, I have to stop that.”
Is shoplifting common?
“We see it three to four times a week, but it’s really hard to deal with them. Sometimes they’re drunk and want to fight. But it's company policy that you cannot touch them. You just have to talk to them to sort things out.”
That must be challenging, especially if they're physically threatening you.
“It is, for sure. My manager got stabbed three times. He has shown me the stab marks.”
Joseph, Sainsbury’s trolley collector, Cameron Toll Shopping Centre – ‘I’ve just been given my 15-year service badge’
Do you enjoy your job?
“Well, I’ve just been given my 15-year service badge from Sainsbury’s. It’s a good job for me because I love being outside like this and talking to people.”
Can you imagine the chaos here if you weren’t doing this?
“It can be complete chaos even when I am!”
Sharon, Ford’s Road, Saughton – ‘to know forgiveness is a wonderful freedom’
What are you most proud of?
“It would have to be my children. For 16 years I've invested and sacrificed quite a lot with regard to work and career and that sort of thing. I'm proud of that. But I'm a Christian so actually I don't really like to use the words ‘proud’ or ‘pride’.”
How does your faith help you?
“As far as parenting is concerned, I believe God has created my children and has a plan for them and that he’s directing them as much as he's directing me. That liberates me. It allows me to not put the onus and pressure on me - although it’s not all plain sailing by any means.
And just to know forgiveness is a wonderful freedom. To know that it's not all just about trying to earn a buck to get the holiday, you know. It's about investing in people. It's about investing in my future. And I know God provides for me, for all my needs. So, it's a good life.”
Have there been times when you've found it difficult to continue to believe?
“Well, yeah, I mean, constantly. It's almost like on a daily basis where life throws you a curveball and you doubt, and it can unnerve you for a short time. But then you go back to church and then you hear the truth again and you go, oh, yes, I'd forgotten, and you reset. Our journey of faith is full of highs and lows, but as the Bible says, ‘God will never leave you or forsake you.’”
Have you had a particular struggle which your faith helped you to come through?
“I had an ectopic pregnancy. I didn't even know I was pregnant, so I couldn't understand my symptoms and I let it drag on and on until I was critically ill. But I had such a peace. When my husband came in before the operation we just said, 'Look whatever happens the outcome is all good. We're winning either way. If I go to glory, hallelujah. And if I stay on this earth, so be it.' It’s almost through the suffering that we come closer to God. It's such an encouragement to know that he is in the minutiae and in every moment of our lives.”
Marion, Gyle Shopping Centre - ‘you can lose it just like that’
“I was made a homeless single parent to four kids by my ex-husband. He failed to pay the mortgage. That was a massive thing. For 18 months I tried to keep the house, because I was absolutely grief-stricken that I was losing it. It was my dream house. It was in Fife. It had a big balcony overlooking the Forth, with everything I ever wanted. But after 18 months I came to peace with myself that I was losing it.
But do you know what? It’s only bricks and mortar. So, from then on, I’m like, you know what, you can have it one day and it’s gone the next. Nobody knows when they’ll be up here one day and down on the floor the next. Yeah, you can lose it just like that. But now, 12 years later, everything’s paid off, everything’s hunky-dory, and it’s all back to normal. I don't give up very easily. If I want something, I'll go and get it. And I don't give up.”
Meditation Teachers, St James Quarter - 'imagine not taking a shower for 50 years'
“We teach meditation all over the world. Meditation is like a food for the brain. It’s for everybody, not just for Buddhists, not just for Christians. I don't want you to be Buddhist or to change anything."
What’s the benefit of meditation?
“Oh, okay, you take a shower every day. You clean your teeth every day. But can you brush your brain? No. But the brain eats a lot of anger, delusion, jealousy - so many things that the brain takes in and they accumulate over years. Imagine not taking a shower for 50 years. So, meditation is good for to release all the stress, to relax your mind.”
If somebody wanted to start meditating, how would you advise them?
“Find a quiet place to relax, somewhere you feel comfortable. Sit down, relax, turn on some soft music and then you can mantra. Something like, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus’. Then let your mind relax for quite a while and it will calm down. All the bad thinking will go to the bottom.
I want you to be happy in your mind. When I see people happy, I'm happy.””
(The monk who spoke to me is on the right of the photo. He is Thai and his name is Phra prapun puttakito. The other two are (l-r) Canadian and Scottish.)
Patricia, WH Smith bookshop, Waverley Bridge - ‘Scottish people always try to help me’
“I’m Spanish, but ten years ago it was hard to find work in Spain so my sister and I moved to Edinburgh.”
What was the hardest part about coming here?
“The language! In Spanish we speak the same way we write. But English is written one way and pronounced another. I still find reading in English hard. I read some of the books here in Spanish so I can make recommendations to customers.
All the English I’ve learned has been through working. I’ve never had any formal classes. I sometimes get problems from some people for my accent, you know, but Scottish people always try to help me. I like that.”
Nick and Ziggy, Union Park, Carrick Knowe – ‘as a man, coping with grief is difficult’
“It sounds like a cliche but, as a man, coping with grief is difficult. When my mum died in 2019, I thought I’d prepared myself for it. I imagined it would be like a tidal wave of grief that passes and then you'd be okay. But it wasn’t. It was more like being out at sea with the waves always coming and going. Today you're good, tomorrow you're bad. And it took a lot longer than I thought it would.
I was coming back from somewhere last Wednesday night, when I realised that for the first time I'd forgotten the anniversary of her death on Tuesday. Part of me said, ’That's terrible Nick. You forgot.’ But then a part of me thought, ‘No, that’s quite healthy.’ One of my sisters was exactly the same. She'd forgotten all about it as well. But it’s a good thing, because we’re remembering her life now, not her death.”
Ben, St James Quarter – ‘it was like flying without a safety net’
“My family history is storied and varied, which is one reason why I've moved around a lot. Without going into specifics, there are periods where I have been isolated or by myself through no choice of my own. Those things have been obstacles, but they're things to overcome.”
Do you think you became stronger through those experiences?
“Yes. There were skills and experiences that I’ve learned from all that. It was flying without a safety net, but you come out on the other side with more understanding, and stronger.”
Would you like to relive or change anything in the past?
“No, I'm comfortable where I am. It’s the sum of all my experiences have got me to where I am. Would I do anything differently? No, then I'd be a different person. I like myself.”
Are friends important to you?
“Yes. I like having a few key friends rather than lots of more superficial ones. As human beings we need connection, whether that's close friends, or close family or a combination. It's different for different people.
One of my best friends from Leeds moved up to Edinburgh, and he's the main reason I came here after travelling. It was like, ‘You're up here, so I'll give that a go then.’ So yeah, that was a key influence in coming here. And it’s worked out well.”