Smurf

Smurf grew up in the Lake District and his mother was murdered when he was 3. His father was an abusive alcoholic who mentally and physically tortured him throughout his youth.

His father was also a police officer who and because of this he quickly developed a problem with authority. Smurf rarely attended school as he found it boring and uninteresting. At the age of 18 he decided to start travelling; he started with the U.K travelling up and down the country.

He has encountered a lot of prejudice over the years and told a story of a time he was living in York and busking with a pennywhistle when he was approached by a police officer who was asking for his busking license, however he did not have one and responded by saying that he was saving the money to buy one. The officer started to be very abusive and after a long shouting match they came to a compromise that if Smurf was able to play three tunes the officer recognised then he would be allowed to continue, unfortunately due to Smurf’s anti-authoritarian mind set he decided to play the German national anthem in a time when the Police Service were still seen to be racist and the officer then proceed to arrest Smurf and told him not to return to York.

He has travelled much of central Europe and wants to continue travelling. He has been married twice and divorced twice and says that he is now happy on his own with his dog Luna. He now lives in Cambridge as he feels it’s a friendly and happy place where he feels safe and comfortable. He has never been able to hold down a job due to his lack of qualifications. He now sells the big issue to earn money for food and lives in a tent which he pitches when and where he can.