Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘You have to keep warm if you want to stay alive’
“Your feet and legs get the coldest,” says Paul Carr.
The 64-year-old rough sleeper is sitting alone on a low wall outside the Barretts car showroom in Pound Lane.
It is 4pm. In an hour, the sun will set. Canterbury will be plunged into darkness and the temperature will dip below zero. It is no time be outside. And yet Paul and dozens of other homeless people spend every night exposed to the frigid night air of deep midwinter.
Sipping from a can of Polish lager, Paul gazes vacantly towards the Westgate Towers as he speaks.
“It’s your feet and legs that you have to worry about,” he says, pointing to the pair of dirty blue jeans he is wearing.
“Underneath these I’ve got a pair of tracksuit trousers, but my shoes are good.”
Paul is wearing a sturdy pair of black ankle-length lace-up boots and several pairs of socks. He has on two T-shirts, three jumpers and a heavy green coat. His head is protected by two hoods and a black hat.
Under the hat sits a weatherbeaten, bearded face which tells of life on the streets. He doesn’t smile, but neither does he exhibit any pain.
Born in Ashford, Paul lived and worked in London on building sites.
He suffers from mental health issues and found himself in care, but says he could not bear to be confined in a unit and has been living on the streets for years. He thinks it is about seven, but isn’t certain.
His worldly possessions are contained in a carrier bag and black pullalong case. It is effectively a survival kit against the cold.
Among the contents are a blanket and a sleeping bag, plus a waterproof cover he can drape over himself in heavy rain.
With temperatures this January regularly dropping well below zero and snowfall earlier this month, cold is the rough sleeper’s first enemy.
Even so, Paul is phlegmatic about his plight: “To be honest you become acclimatised to the cold, you learn to cope with it.
“Your layers keep you warm. You might feel dirty, but you try not to take off your clothes in case you expose yourself to the elements.”
When the city centre begins to shut down and the shoppers depart for their homes, Paul will join other rough sleepers in St George’s Street.
They will make their beds under the covered walkway on its western side. They will begin to gather after 7pm and remain there for the night.
Those with a few pounds in their pockets will relieve themselves from the cold with a hot drink at Mcdonald’s.
“It’s all about keeping warm,” Paul says. “You have to if you want to stay alive.”