Pauline, Simpson Loan

“It came to a point where I knew it was going to be terminal. It began to strengthen my spirituality then, because when physical strength cannot do anything, and medical knowledge cannot do anything, that's when you are left with just God. And it was just me and God for a long time. And I’m glad because it strengthened that relationship.”

James, The Shore, Leith

“I’m just out doing some missions.”

Missions?

“That’s what I call it. I’m ex-military. I joined the army when I was 16.”

Did you enjoy the military?

“Yes, I did. But I was in Iraq in 2003 and I saw things that could drive you insane. But I don't dwell on it. Think about what World War Two soldiers saw and experienced. They dealt with it. I think we can be too soft.

The problem is that the army trains you to be a killer, but it doesn't teach you how to transition back to civilian life. You need intense focus and self-control to stay calm when things get tense.”

How do you manage yourself at times like that?

“I act preventatively. I have a fixed focus on my goals, and I discipline my body and mind through exercise. I use martial arts a lot for that. So, it’s working out OK for me. But you'll see a lot of ex-military guys walking around here who haven't adapted. They’re lost, man. You see it in their eyes. They don't know how to cope because nobody's taught them.”

The Two Amigos, North Meadow Walk

Anton (left): “I cheffed all over the world, mostly in the States. I loved Philadelphia especially, but you can live a real spicy life in Edinburgh.”

Mark: “I was a professional DJ back in the day. I worked all over Europe, in Germany and France and Belgium. Yeah, loved it.”

Anton: “Yeah, he was a DJ of the 1980s style. Lots of Duran Duran, and making announcements over the tannoy like, ‘Would the owner of the blue Ford Anglia please go and move it as it's causing an obstruction in the car park!’” 

The Four Amigos, Lister Square

“We stick together!”

Trevor, Rose Street North Lane

“I came back to Edinburgh after 30 years in London. I thought some of my friends were still here, but everything had changed, and everybody had left.

I was totally alone. I just slept in a stairwell that first night.

I'm a private person and I don't approach people very well, but local churches helped me a lot. I managed to stay positive, and I never gave up. I had worked as a plasterer, and one day I just met a bloke who gave me some tools. So, I started work three months after I got to Edinburgh, and I’ve been working ever since.

Homelessness can happen to anyone, but it doesn’t have to be the end of your life.”

John (‘Kipper’), North Junction Street

“I worked in the building trade, then as a gardener. I'm 76 years old and I just retired last Saturday. I’ve got to go just now, but I usually drink in that wee pub just round the corner there. You’re welcome to come for a pint. Just ask for Kipper, that’s how I’m known by everybody around here.”

Is there anything you’d like to say to the world out there?

“Be kind to each other.”

Marlene and David, Royal Botanic Garden

David: “I'm nearly 81, and I absolutely believe, 100%, that walking keeps you healthy. That’s why I want Marlene to keep walking too.”

Marlene: “David’s had bleeding in the brain. He’s been seriously ill. It would have been very easy for him to say, ‘I'm not going anywhere’, and just be sitting about the house all day. But no way!!”

David: “And we must never lose the art of conversation.”

Anna, Inverleith Park

"I'm dyslexic. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 19, so it caused frustrations and complications in school. Being dyslexic I had to work harder, and I got chronic fatigue when I was 14, right in the middle of my GCSEs. I was off school for two years. 

But do you know what? I managed to come back after two years and crash all of my exams, and I almost got straight A’s!

I still had chronic fatigue in my first couple of years at uni. That felt lonely and dark sometimes. I didn't like to talk about it, and I couldn't socialise that much; just at that time of life when you're desperate to make new friends and travel and everything. 

But then, a friend that I had met got glandular fever. She was really unwell too, but she looked into a course called The Lightning Process. It had been shown to help chronic fatigue. We did it together in 2019 and the very next thing I was out running again! I’ve been really active ever since.

I got a First at uni. And I'm getting married in July."

Alan, Water of Leith

“I've got an artificial leg and my other leg doesn’t bend very well, so I can’t use a normal cycle. One leg was injured in a motorbike accident, and the other was cancer. I had the motorbike accident at 19, and four years later the cancer diagnosis.”

Mike, St. Mark’s Park

“Dancing is my thing. I especially enjoy dancing in nature, those moments when I’m totally alone. I feel connected to the land, and there's just a sense of power and freedom. I've had some kinds of peak experiences doing that, a sense of joy and simplicity in connecting with my body and with the land and the earth. Yeah, those have been some of my most joyous moments.”

Is that something you still enjoy?

“Yes, but I don't do it as much. More often I just dance in my apartment. I have sensitive ears so I don't listen to music on headphones that much anymore. But without music, it’s just moving, you know, with the swing, like with trees in a forest – that’s something I like doing. I feel a little self-conscious when there are people around, but I try to remember that, you know, they don't care. It might look weird but, hey.”

Paul, St Andrew Square

“You know what, mate? They put us indigenous natives, otherwise known as the working classes, into reservations, otherwise known as council estates. But it’s just like in the Titanic movie - the best parties are down below in steerage class. See all those First Class social codes - no, thanks!”