Vendor of The Week

Edinburgh is great at this time of year

Gareth Houlston
Age: 34 
Pitch: South Bridge, Edinburgh

I was moving around the country and I lost all my identification so I couldn't sign on for unemployment benefits. I was in Manchester when I went to the Big Issue office and they said I needed to register with a homeless advice centre

just to show that I was eligible. I had lived in squats before then and I was moving around the country but it was difficult to find places. I was relying on homeless centres for a shower and that sort of thing. I stayed in a hostel a few times as well.

I was in Edinburgh last year for the festival and I worked this same pitch. It is a great place to be during the festival because of all the live acts setting up and all the people around. I am studying fine art down in London and I am doing this until I can get a job to make some money to pay for the next year. I am only half way through my degree at the moment. I am still at the materials level, just learning how to use different pigments and materials, and computer graphics as well. I am a bit older than the other people in my class but I am learning a lot.

I always wanted to study art but I never really had the time. Then I found out that you can get a loan so I am trying to encourage all my friends to go back to school. I have made a few leads already for jobs when I finish. There are quite a lot of opportunities abroad. They like English speaking professionals in a lot of different countries. I am into art theory, that's one of things I have got really interested in. I don't know where to go with it really, there are a lot of different careers.

At the moment I am staying in the Cowgate where they give you a place to sleep and an evening meal. It is not a hostel, you have to be out 8am in the morning but that is perfect for me right now.

The Big Issue has been a real safety net for me. I have to focus on getting some money to pay for the next year of my course. I have been applying through some of the local agencies, and I am hoping to find work maybe on the land. I think a lot of the jobs round here will be agricultural. I have done a lot of work like that before - path clearing, fencing and stuff like that.

Gareth was talking to Jack Black