William's Gift

Here is a little detail from the lovely old radio in our kitchen. It was a present from William. I ran a student cafe in Edinburgh for a year, and one of my regulars was William, a lovely homeless guy with a passion for strong beer and charity shops. He would ask passers-by for money, which he would then spend, rather ironically, in the Shelter shop, on his daily gifts for me. He was such a gentleman, and despite my protests at his generosity, he would appear each lunchtime to deliver another trinket with great excitement. He arrived with this radio one day, and it has brought me much joy ever since. It saw us through many a lunchtime rush and mountain of washing up.

I often think of William and hope that he's safe and smiling.