Nangle Natters: Don’t keep it under your hat

It’s that time of year again. When we start arguing about whether it’s cold enough to put the heating on yet – or if, just because it was cold enough yesterday, does that mean it’s cold enough today? Autumn clothes are coming out, hats are for keeping you warm not just for stopping the sun getting in your eyes, and going out in the evening means definitely wearing a coat. It’s getting chilly. Which means it’s getting even chillier for those on living on the streets.

We’ve always had a prominent residency on the pavements of Brighton, and a few years ago I decided to start knitting bobble hats and giving them out to people huddled in doorways. My reasoning was that if you’re homeless something that’s a rarity is frivolity, the unnecessary, and a pom pom on the top of your head is just that. And it’s dang cold, so the attached hat might be a good thing to receive.

If you’re homeless something that’s a rarity is frivolity

Last year funds were a bit tight for me so I started doing Hats For The Homeless, whenever I had a stall at a craft fair selling my other knitted wares. It’s an arrangement where you can buy a hat for yourself for the regular price, or you can pay the price of the wool alone (cheaper!) and choose a hat to go into a bag that I then deliver to a local homeless charity (Project Antifreeze, www.offthefence.org.uk/antifreeze). It worked pretty well and about two thirds of my hats went to the charity – with lots of different colours to choose from.

This year my friend is helping me make even more Hats For The Homeless, and we’re hoping every hat on the street will be warm and bobble-attired by Christmas. Stay warm.

Hats For The Homeless will be on sale at on Sunday 27 November at the Christmas Gift Fair in Exeter Street Hall, and Thursday 8 – Saturday 10 December at New England House Open Studios