“It is 3am on Sunday morning, 9 October and I am very cold and just about at my lowest ebb, says Michele (pictured right).
Earlier, at 6.30pm on Saturday as I met up with fellow ‘Sleep out’ volunteers in St Laurence’s church I was dismayed to see that there were nowhere near the same amount of people as the same event in which I took part in 2019. A sign of hard times and financial strains.
Nevertheless, we had all worked hard at obtaining sponsorship from family, workmates, and friends, many of whom thought we were barking mad and had no hesitation in saying so. I totally believe in the marvellous work that Launchpad does in Reading otherwise I would certainly not be sleeping out on a cold Autumn night.
We were shown a video involving Launchpad’s drop-in centre which featured an interview with a gentleman who badly needed help with finding a job, accessing benefits and generally putting his life back together. He was so grateful for the help he was given.
The drop-in service is a very important part of Launchpad’s work which aims to prevent homelessness in the first place. They helped over 1,000 people in Reading to get back on their feet last year.
Having had a very nice meal, entertainment, a raffle and a talk by Launchpad’s chief executive officer, we trooped off to our venue in the Abbey Ruins. The ground was quite wet as, unfortunately, it had rained the day before.
Never mind. I had my tarpaulin and my son in law’s sleeping bag which he uses for fishing expeditions. I am not a camper. The nearest I’ve ever got to camping is sleeping in a caravan. Did I have trouble laying out said tarpaulin and sorting out the sleeping bag in the dark? Yes, that’s me.
Anyway, having managed to sort my possessions into a plastic bag, found the torch which I lost and found several times during the night, ditto my mobile phone, I was set up.
It was OK at first sitting up in the sleeping bag chatting to Chris the woman next door to me. We took photos of each other (when I was still smiling and not shivering) had a good chat and settled down.
It was a very clear night. The stars were bright, and it was almost a full moon. From the town centre came screams and shouts from the clubbers. In our sleep out area it was becoming very quiet as people prepared to sleep.
To sleep! Ha! That was the idea. When I’d laid down, I thought it was on a fairly level piece of ground. During the night lumps and bumps seemed to rise and make me uncomfortable in various places.
I laid on my side and my right arm hurt. I laid on the other side and my left arm hurt. I blame the dog for this always jerking my arm when he’s on a long lead. Little rat!
One lady had her dog with her. A sweet little Shitzu with a knitted coat. When I spoke to her later, she said she’d let him into the sleeping bag with her. It would be no good having Coco with me. He’d be wanting to go and say hello to people and prodding them with his cold nose. There wouldn’t have been room for a getting a rather portly Cocker Spaniel inside my sleeping bag or he could have made himself useful by helping to keep me warm.
I’ve seen many homeless people on the streets with dogs. A great comfort to have something to care for and to care about them.
Although I had the sleeping bag and had nestled myself down into a sort of cocoon, I kept feeling sharp darts of coldness. My feet were warm, but the tops of my legs were cold. Having fixed this, I was still getting icy draughts elsewhere. In wriggling around trying to seal myself in I ended up off the tarpaulin and mostly on the grass. Grr. I also kept losing my blow-up pillow.
I re-oriented myself with great difficulty and snuggled down again. Laid on my back for a while trying to distract myself from the creeping cold by staring at the stars. I am positive that one of them was moving around in a most odd way. Was it my eyesight? (Still had contact lenses in or I wouldn’t have seen anything).
Managed to see the time on my watch to find out how many hours I had left. It was 3 in the morning. A very low point. I am feeling very cold. With difficulty I remove myself from the sleeping bag and totter off to the Portaloo trying not to fall over anyone on the way. Opened the loo door to blackness. Consider that it might be better to spend the rest of the night inside as it would be a bit warmer. Had difficulty opening the door to get out.
Totter back to sleeping/non sleeping bag and just have to distract myself from the cold until 6 – 6.30. Not sure if I had a moments sleep. Some around me did because they were snoring. Keep peeking at my watch. Time is now 5am. Not too long to go. I try to distract myself from the cold. It’s difficult.
Oh joy! I can hear movement around me and talk of coffee. Fold up sleeping bag with very great difficulty as it is heavy with wet. It makes my hands very cold. Can’t get it in its bag so have to cram it in my big plastic Sainsbury’s bag.
Fold up the sopping tarpaulin and make sure I have everything. Troop off to coffee (wonderful, something to warm my hands on) and a bacon bap.
I say goodbye to Chris, have a chat to the lady with the dog and we all drift off.
It’s very strange to be in the town centre in the early hours of the morning. I try to be as inconspicuous as possible as I wait by the Forbury for my lift home. It’s fantastic to get into a warm car. Inside the car it says it’s 5 degrees outside. I’m not surprised.
I think of the people sleeping out in the town who don’t have the luxury of a warm bed and home to go to after such a cold damp night. I really don’t know how they manage to survive. I hope that the money I’ve raised will help Launchpad to assist people in the most positive ways.
I’m glad I’ve done it and my most sincere thanks go to all the kind people who have sponsored me.”
You can still donate to the Big Sleep Out and help us reach the £40,000 target so we can continue our vital support. And don’t miss the photos from the night on our Facebook page!
