One of the most striking exhibits that they had, was a series of 'memorial hangings' that had been made by various members "from across the community, as well as Jimmy's guests, to help us remember the almost 200 homeless Cambridge people who have died in the last 20 years."
As I looked at this display, I was startled by a name that I recognised - and to my shame, had almost forgotten about... Alfie Wright.
Alfie died in a homeless state - but it wasn't always that way! Here's an outline of his life (as I knew it) from the potted history that he gave me over the years of our friendship and afterward:
Alfie didn't grow up in a loving home, it was marked by abuse and violence; so from a young age, Alfie's life was shaped by a disadvantaged upbringing. Alfie quickly took on the 'hippie' scene and became addicted to drink and drugs, as part of that adopted culture and life style.
His life of addiction, eventually led him to a term of imprisonment in HMP Wormwood Scrubs!
It was whilst in Wormwood Scrubs that Alfie had some kind of 'encounter' with God. After praying for help, for the very first time, he felt a 'dagger' being removed from his heart, as he sort to give his life over to follow Jesus Christ in the Christian faith.
This experience enabled Alfie to come off drink and drugs (without any unbearable 'cold turkey') and was eventually released from prison, into the care of a Christian community, based in Foxton, near Cambridge. At the same time, he took on an apprenticeship to become a bricklayer... He duly qualified as a 'brickie' in the latter 70s (I think).
Although I'm not sure how it came about, Alfie, although self-employed, eventually became a partner in his own construction business, with fellow builder, Derek Morrell. Although originally under the firm name of D&S Builders (Derek and Sandra - husband and wife team), this changed to A&D Builders after the formation of the partnership. Derek was a qualified and competent builder, albeit disorganised and sometimes 'cowboyish' (but that's another story)!!
As Alfie grew in competence within A&D Builders, he found a love-hate relationship with his partner, Derek, but they both pressed on relatively successfully. It was at this time that we (my parents family) got to know Alfie, through a local church connection - and we all loved him! He was naturally easy to like with a great sense of humour!
It would be an understatement to say that I did particularly badly in my end of school exams in June 1980 - I was hopeless at them (I would perhaps have been OK with continual assessment!). However, after doing an 'electronics technicians' course at the Cambridge College of Further Education (now known as the Cambridge Regional College (CRC)), I managed to scrape together some respectable GCSEs. So at the end of this period, I was at a loose end and still hoping to join the RAF to whom I had applied and got through their initial selection requirements!
Whilst on my way to do some course fishing, in June 1981, I was passing a friends house where A&D Builders (Alfie of course) happened to be working. I stopped, and Alfie called me over to give him a hand with some garage roof sheeting materials; so I did... The rest, as they say, is history! I joined A&D Builders as a labourer - and got to know Alfie as a 'boss' as well as a family friend.
I worked with Alfie and Derek for two years, before deciding to move on into a 'proper' career, but in that time, I can honestly say I learned a great deal, not only practically, but also in matters of 'life'... I don't know what I would have done without this 'start' in my early life! I remain forever grateful to Alfie and Derek for giving me the start that I needed.
Due to Alfie's rather 'hot tempered' relationship with Derek and more recently his marriage to a long-standing girlfriend - which gave Alfie a very different perspective on his contractual relationship with Derek - Alfie decided to split from Derek and grow his very own self-employed business.
The trouble was (and it was obvious to me, whilst I was still working with them) Derek was the 'brains' behind A&D Builders, and in many respects, Alfie was more the 'brawn'. So for Alfie, leaving to go on his own, was a recipe for disaster in my humble opinion.
I don't know how long it took, but slowly and surely, Alfie's grip on life started to founder... The business started to shake beyond recovery, his marriage began to fail and I suspect his Christian faith became fragile. Over time, Alfie's world caved-in on him, causing him to lose his business and his home - restarting his reliance on drink (and possibly drugs, but I can't be certain of that).
Alfie ended up homeless once again - but at least helped by Jimmy's.
Regrettably, I knew only too late that he was there - I only now wish I could have reached out to him as a friend!!
Sadly, during his tenure at Jimmy's and being involved in a fight (away from Jimmy's), Alfie was struck and later died of his injuries.
I don't know whether or not this led to a manslaughter charge, but that is not the point here.
The point is, that Jimmy's was 'there' for Alfie when he needed support, in a way that no-one else was - and his life is now a constant reminder to me that 'there but by the grace of God, go I'.....
Thank you Jimmy's, for all you do to support the homeless community in Cambridge. I wish you well for the next 20 years of dedicated service!!
More about Jimmy's can be found here:
http://jimmyscambridge.net/