Chris, Princes Street
“It's a mad, mad story. I had two houses and two restaurants in Aberdeen. Then I went in search of happiness. I landed in Cambodia and in Vietnam and in Thailand for a year and a half. I had friends over there. Yeah, I went in search of happiness, and it led me to live with people who had nothing. Literally had nothing. They had food, which is the global currency, and they were just the happiest people in the world. I came back two years ago and just can't settle. I gave most of the stuff I owned away. When I was in Glasgow, three days before I flew to Thailand, I had a seven grand watch on my wrist. A guy on the street asked me the time and I gave him my watch.”
Olivia, Leith
“Oh, pictures!! I love pictures!”
Baz, Forth Street
“I was a bit of a punk when I was young, chip on the shoulder stuff. My father didn't love me and all that jazz. I didn't know who I should be, so I wore lots of masks. I got in with a lot of the wrong sort of people and that led to violence. I got found out for it and at the age of 22 I did seven weeks in ‘The Big Hoose’ (Saughton Prison). That changed me. When I was inside it was a whirlwind of mayhem and fear. But it was a choice that I made in there, that I'm going to consciously try to be a better person. I'm not saying that I'm a good person, but I got the chip off the shoulder and all that.
Before I went inside I had volunteered for a creative learning centre down in Portobello. I told the board of directors, “Look, I'm going to have to go away, but I really appreciate you having given me this time.” And they went, “When you come out there's going to be a space here for you.” So, when I came out, I went straight back to working with them, working with adults and kids with learning disabilities. So that was a massive thing in my life. Then the funding for that finished and to be honest it's been a series of pretty shitty jobs since then.
But I'm in a great relationship. I've been with the same woman for coming up to 17 years. We love our puppies, that's what we do. My partner’s had a lot to deal with recently. She’s lost her mum. So, I'm just trying to be there for her and help her deal with the shit she's going through. As for the future I just think, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’.
I like what you’re doing man, it's good.”
Annalise and Jennie, Lynedoch Place
How would you describe your mother?
“Sheer determination. She was a hospital ward sister of the old school.”
And how would you describe your daughter?
“I couldn’t possibly wish for a better one.”
At 91 years of age what message would you like to give to the world?
“Stop fighting. And now I would like to interview you.”
The Journey of a Bubble, Royal Mile
“The journey of a bubble is short but magical, reminding us that even the tiniest of moments can be filled with immeasurable beauty if we take the time to notice.”
Anon.
Anna, Pilrig Park
“I would describe myself as an extroverted introvert. I need big spaces. If I have a phone call, I need to have a nap for half an hour afterwards. I think my biggest challenge was just putting myself in spaces where other people were - the networking part of life. I ended up working for large organisations in Edinburgh that support creative networks, so I was literally looking after people and that, in turn, put me in front of all these people. It was so stressful to start with and I still find it stressful. That was definitely a big challenge because you think, do you have the right to be there?”
Do you think your friends and the people around you understand you for who you are, or do you think there's a discrepancy there?
“I've been thinking about this quite a lot recently. I think that my friends and people who know me know the best part of me, but I'm sure that each of them has very different perspectives on who I am. But that, I think, is part of the point. I don't think I’m a one-dimensional person. I don't think anyone is. I think there's a lot of pressure to feel that you should be, just for consistency or not to surprise people. But I think it's also important, when you have people who know you in all different aspects, to try to get those people together, to understand you as a whole rather than all these individuals knowing you as a different person, because it reminds you that you are not just that one way.”
Which three words best describe you?
“Complex. Optimistic. Persevering - or whatever word best describes digging in and pushing through, and not letting anything stop you from doing what you need to do.”
Anna has a consultancy business for creative industry workers. You can find her at FromNow.studio.
Derek, Edinburgh Transport bus driver
“I’ve been doing this now for eight years, and I love it. I can be on any one of 15 routes, so it’s never boring. But you don’t want to miss a stop, mate, you don’t want to miss a stop. There’s paperwork goes with that.”
George, New Kirkgate, Leith
“She taught me to smile. She always said, ‘You never smile, you never laugh.’ And I said, ‘I don't know how to.’ So she taught me to smile. It's the best legacy.
I met her at a bus stop in 2009. I lived at the time at the bottom of Portland Street and every morning I used to see her going into the bookies. And I thought, poor woman she's hooked. But she actually worked there! So, I plucked up courage one day to speak to her and she agreed we’d go for coffee. So, we went up the town. Well, it had been 25 years since I'd met anybody and I didn't know the social proprietaries. So, we went up to the coffee place by Marks and Spencers up at the Mound. And we went in, and I realised I didn't have enough money to buy a cake. I could only buy a cup of tea each! But it was like we'd known each other all our lives. We just blended seamlessly into each other.”
Lena, West Pilton Grove
“I came to Scotland 15 years ago from Ukraine.
After the day my mom told me it was full-scale war with Russia I walked about like a zombie for six months. I was frightened something bad would happen to them and I would never see them again alive. I couldn't think about anything else. I wake up every morning and I’m like, ‘Oh, the war is still not over.’ My mom and my sister are still living there. My sister's husband is fighting in the war, so it affects her a lot. She is on anti-depressants now. I am thinking all the time about her. But we met in Poland last August. I feel I'm beginning to feel calmer now. It’s crazy.
I think we forget that we do not need very much to be happy. Someone’s smile can make you feel happy. To be healthy should make you happy. We forget to say ‘I love you,’ and to call our loved ones every day. Even if you are busy, just send a message like, ‘How are you?’ I think people forget their feelings …. you know … love, friendships. I feel terrible now that people become very angry with each other.”
Mother and Daughter, St James Quarter
‘Isn’t She Lovely.’
Lacey, (student), Leith Walk
“I don't know why it happened but one day I felt quite depressed, and I was asking God why so many bad things happen. Why should children be killed? Why are there wars? I have not done anything wrong, but people are not accepting me. I have not hurt other people so why are other people hurting me? Why do no people hear my inner voice? I was quite angry and I just said to God, “I will not believe in you anymore.””
Amy, Melville Place
“Without therapy I don’t think I’d be where I am today.
So just be kind.
Other people are dealing with stuff too.”
Vala, Macmillan Square, Pennywell
“I was dead. But there is something I saw.
In Africa the electricity is not like here. There are many poles with many, many wires going all over the place. And some carry a lot of electricity.
I was walking home in my village in Africa. I was walking towards an area of water on the road, but I didn’t see that one of the high electricity cables had fallen and was lying under the water. I went to walk through the water, and I was immediately electrocuted. I just fell straight down onto my knees.
If you ask me, ‘How does it feel being electrocuted?’ I can say, it is a very bad feeling. Just imagine a lion eating you alive. It was like it was tearing pieces out of my body. But I couldn’t move. There was nobody else there because it was raining so much. And my vision was growing dim, dim, dim … until everything went black and I could see nothing. Nothing. That was when I knew I was dying or dead.
But then I saw someone. Somebody came. In that darkness I saw a man. He said to me - man, I’ll never forget this - he said to me, ‘Your time has not come. You have to go back. You have work still to do.’ I didn’t want to go back, I wanted to die. I saw a gate in front of me, and I knew that if I went through that gate that I couldn’t go back again. But then I felt something like a huge wind pushing me. Later, when somebody found me, I had bad burns but somehow I wasn’t in the water any more.
I’ve never told anybody outside my family this but you asked the question, ‘What is your happiest memory?’ so this is it, and I’ll never forget it.”
Sandra, Leith Walk
“You learn a lot in the hard times. One day my mom jumped from a building and killed herself. The very next day my five-year-old son was rushed to hospital with a life-threatening condition. He survived, thank God, but after all that I took an overdose. It was a massive cry for help. But something in me refused to give up.
I think you need to have faith. There's a greater power and a greater purpose, although it's hard to describe.
We need to learn to talk more about our problems, and to enjoy the little moments. You know, a young man stopped me on the street recently and he asked me if he could say something to me. I said, "OK, as long as it's not abusive." He said, "Your hair just cheered me up!"
Don't hurt others on your journey through life. I've done too much of that.”
John, The Shore, Leith
“Times with my kids when they were little has got to be the happiest in my life. I’ve got five children. But there have been some hard things. One was marital breakdown, with the loss of my partner and separation from my children. But my life is changing and transforming now. It’s a healing time for me.”
What is helping you most to heal?
“Reconnecting with people that I care for and who care for me. Especially with my children and my grandchildren.”
