A Rough Guide to Sleeping

There are essentially two types of rough sleeper: street sleepers and tent dwellers.  Both are certainly not without peril and each offers different benefits.  A tent, in serviceable condition, affords very useful shelter from the elements.  It also provides a possible storage solution which is more than handy for during the day when you do not want to lug your world around with you constantly.  A tent, in theory, is more comfortable than cold, hard ground.  There are downsides too; tents offer no protection from human attack.  A thin piece of material is all that separates you from an attacker and if somebody attacks your tent while you are in it escape is next to impossible.  Tents also have zero security, anything stored in a tent (and the tent itself) may well be missing by the time you return.

Tents are very static devices.  Unless you plan on dismantling and re-pitching your tent every day, and thus giving you something else to carry around all day, you will be wanting to return to the same spot each night.  These pitches need to be chosen very carefully indeed; aside from the people hazards you also have to contend with all manner of natural hazards.  You do not want your tent to get flooded every time it rains, but you also need some shelter from wind, sun, snow and whatever else the climate dreams up.  Different weather events also attract different wildlife and nobody wants to be at the mercy of wasps, gnats, ants, midges, mosquitoes (yes, even in England), rats, badgers and foxes to name but a few.  Clearly there are enough factors here to literally give a person nightmares.

Street sleeping is also far from plain sailing; for the most part there are no animal perils to contend with aside from the occasional dog having a sniff around and if there are any rats around then clearly there are much wider issues to contend with.  Human threat is the main issue; if you are in constant real fear from the genuine risk of violence then also there are much wider issues to deal with.  Careful selection of sleeping spot can afford a very useful level of shelter.  Keeping as much out of the elements as possible makes a huge difference.  Warmth and comfort are the two next necessities.  The latter is something which will need to be entirely man-made with whatever is available; as a general rule the planners and builders of urban areas do not use much in the way of soft furnishings when constructing our towns and cities.  Handy objects such as benches tend to be sited in very exposed places so they are not so good either.  If you have found somewhere sheltered from the elements then that should afford you some natural warmth.  Cardboard to sleep on makes a surprising difference but in these days of corporate recycling is also becoming something of a scarcity.

Whether you are a tent dweller or a street sleeper, your general warmth is dictated by bedding and clothing.  With these in place you are pretty much ready for a good night’s sleep.  If you feel safe, are warm and dry, then use whatever comfort you can find and rest ye well – outdoor life during the day is a whole other kettle of fish.  Speaking of which, the time is rapidly approaching for me to bid adieu to the library for the day, find some edible morsels and cosy into my favourite space for the night.  Who knows what that will bring but I am sure time will allow events to unfold.