h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I lived in Gloucester (in the mid 80s) there was a tramp who lived on the street. He seemed a cheerful enough fellow always ready with a drunken smile.
He always had a milk bottle with tea in it and a bottle of whisky. I felt sad for the guy (as you do) but it was only after his story appeared in the local paper that I always ensured I said hi. He never begged and just sat on the street.

Basically he had a council flat, his pension etc... there was no need for him to live on the street. Basically he'd been one of the British soldiers caught, and mistreated, by the Japanese. His experiences left him claustrophobic which is why he lived where he lived. It brought home to me Churchill's
"Never has so much been owed by so many, to so few."