For most of the book, Kelly is on a pilgrimage to return a ring that a drunken bride-to-be misplaced on her hen night. This pilgrimage leads her on a trudge across Scotland, meeting a cast of characters (Collieflower the dog being the highlight) and ultimately her moment of redemption, where the reader finally finds out why Kelly is estranged from her family. There are some harrowing scenes along the way - one particular scene in a pub will be forever etched on my brain. Most novels I’ve read don’t dig quite as deeply into the past as this, and the few that do don’t in … For all this, Paper Cup remains only just on the safe side of whimsy. Occasionally it strays into the realm of the inspirational quote. “If we all put something in the kindness bank, it’s an investment, isn’t it? Maybe it will be there when we need it,” says one of the characters Kelly meets. Some of these people are unconvincing, too straightforwardly good or bad: the hippies who give Kelly a lift in their camper van; the posh Englishman whose dog Kelly steals; kindly Clara who makes her breakfast. And there are a few handy gaps and conveniences: Kelly rubs her finger with seaweed to try to remove the stubborn engagement ring, but never tries with soap in the various public toilets she visits. The biggest convenience of all is that the wedding just happens to be in the same town where Kelly grew up. There is a lot of drama and at the same time challenging the stigma as she ends up saving a person's life. We get to learn about the unfortunate events that led to Kelly losing her job and accommodation, and learning to cope on the streets. An old English teacher of mine liked to quote that Tennessee Williams line from A Streetcar Named Desire. “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”.

I mean, how incredibly tough would it be to be homeless? To literally have all your possessions on your person. And how much harder to be a homeless woman, with the incidences of violence more prevalent. Not a topic most of us want to think about, and I always despair of the people I see begging on the streets of my beautiful City. It simply doesn’t make sense that this should still be occurring, when there is more than enough to go around. But help is tied up in layers of bureaucracy that people are unable to deal with.I'm afraid I'm very much in the minority here, and too right - this is a story worth telling. We are put into the the battered shoes of a homeless person called Kelly. Kelly is an interesting character, she doesn't like to get too close to people she bumps into, and her observations are revealing.

There’s a wonderful line in here about how libraries are “beacons of light”, as they are places where people with no internet access could avail themselves of the library WiFi. As well as the human interaction with the librarians, and a place to come in out of the cold. Karen Campbell is an extraordinary storyteller. She has a deft touch leading you through the narrative with complete enjoyment. There is not a word out of place or a sentiment that is wrong. PNG Fall/Autumn Antiques 2 Clipart Bundle, berries and leaves elegant retro items, camera, birdcage, bicycle, book Commercial Use DigitalKelly is living rough in all aspects, an alcoholic who seems to have accepted her lot in life, something dreadful has happened with someone she loves dearly earlier in her life, and she will not return home. The way this story unfolds shows simply not how hard it would be to walk a mile in her shoes, or how impossible it would be to sleep on the streets, or how awful one is treated when begging. It is more than that. It shows the desperation of one human being who believes it is what she deserves, the ability for this person to still see good in what she is in the midst of, and the select few who still help and care. The blatant experience with what seemed to me an almost non existant support and welfare agency was frustrating, Kelly certainly was buried deep in loss. One wanted this woman to get there, wherever there was. Anders Frang is a freelance illustrator from Denmark. He studied at the Danish Design School in Copenhagen as well as Edinburgh College of Art. He is currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Glowing with empathy and wry intelligent wit. Let Kelly into your life. She'll change you, and you won't forget her." - Kirstin Innes On her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, Kelly encounters ancient pilgrim routes, hostile humans, hippies, book lovers and a friendly dog, as memories stir and the people she thought she'd left behind for ever move closer with every step. Safe in their hoose with their telly and their walls, they have no concept of a soul’s fragility. Nobody does, until they are made vulnerable themselves. Strip away your trappings, rip off your shell and let’s see how hard you are. When you beg, you have to think of everything. How you look, how you sit. Where you sit. In what manner do you hold out your hand? Cupped (greedy)? Outstretched (pathetic)?” Book Lover Wrapping Paper Roll | Bookshelf Pattern | Book Nerd Gift | Mother's Day Graduation Present | Holiday Gift Wrap | ChristmasThe opening chapter is the joy and giddiness of a hen’s party. In the wee small hours. The bride to be and her girls are well and truly happily plastered. By a strange twist of fate, or synchronicity, the bride pauses for a moment on a park bench, where Kelly lies sleeping. In high sprits, the girls “take pity” on the tramp lying there, and gift her the coins they’d collected for strangers to kiss the bride to be. And in this exchange, Susan's engagement ring, unbeknownst to her, becomes entangled in the coins. This really is a special little book. Kelly has had such a difficult life, everything she touches seems to go wrong, and the drink has its clutches in her every step of the way. She's such an endearing character, clever, strong, witty and unstoppable. If you're affected by cancer you may want to know there's someone you can turn to for help. Someone who can help find answers to your questions, whatever they may be. The Macmillan @ Glasgow Libraries information point can help you find information you need on living with all aspects of cancer as well as signposting you to the nearest support and information service. Do they think people want to live like this? Crusted with their own filth? Cold and old and hungry. Wanting to be seen, and be unseen. Wanting to be present, even in their self appointed margins. Do they think it’s a choice to be scared and lonely?” It’s like that wonderful maxim of not judging a person until you walk a hundred miles in their shoes.

Dinosaur Kids Sublimation Tumbler Designs - 20oz Skinny Tumbler Wraps Templates - PNG Sublimation Designs for Tumblers Throughout the book we get glimpses of Kelly’s past, giving hints at how she ended up on the streets after what seemed like a fairly privileged upbringing. I loved how these parts of the story were randomly inserted into the story, it was almost as if they were thoughts creeping into Kelly’s mind, reminding her of who she was, who she’s become and maybe who she really wants to be. It also shows how easy it can be for people to become homeless but how difficult it can be to escape. I saw a fresh perspective of how difficult it must be for people with no fixed abode. The myriad of social workers who are overrun with case work. Kelly falling through safety net after safety net. Just don’t be in such a hurry to get away from here” she says. “Because you can’t recapture it once it’s gone”.A] poignant and harrowing read. Campbell gambles on our empathy when she shows Kelly at her worst, and she wins because she has written, without judgment or criticism, an original and memorable protagonist; one who moves through a landscape described with love and care, and whose interior voice will continue to ring in the reader’s head even after the long journey’s end is reached” A]mbitious … picturesque … generous and often wryly comic novel: a nice variety of incident and characters, fine descriptions of street life in Glasgow and of Kelly’s journey - a quest that is both physical and spiritual, offering the prospect of recovery and redemption … readers are surely likely to find pleasure and satisfaction in the humanity of Campbell’s treatment of people who have led difficult lives” On her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, Kelly encounters ancient pilgrim routes, hostile humans, hippies, book lovers and a friendly dog, as memories stir and the people she thought she’d left behind for ever move closer with every step. On her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, Kelly encounters ancient pilgrim routes, hostile humans, hippies, book lovers and a friendly dog, as memories stir and the people she thought she’d left behind forever move closer with every step. Paper Cup, for me, was quite a hard and slow read. It is written in Scottish dialect and sometimes I failed to understand the words, however, it is also a poignant, harrowing, yet incredible read.