Breadline

I heard about a man who was on the 19p a loaf breadline. He lived in Kings Cross and ate Pease pudding on toast for breakfast. He liked to take photos but could only afford 36 exposures a week. He’d use his freedom pass to ride the buses and snap the days of the city. His flat was covered in a thin layer of mould, it was worse around the sofa, and he worried how he’d afford to fix the TV if it broke.

He had a daughter who he rarely saw, although when he did he liked to take her out for a pot of tea and a cake in a nearby café. He’d have to make sure he always kept a few pounds back for these hastily imminent visits. These were the only savings he could speak of.