"The Wizard"

This is my shrine to a guy known locally as "The Wizard". My mum called him "The Snappy Dresser", no doubt he had other names, possibly in other dimensions!

I've lived for years on a council estate in the UK; in the US they would call them "the projects", but it's a bit more civil over here, less guns, but plenty of crazy - some bad, some good... The Snappy Dresser was good crazy!

I don't see him anymore - time has moved on, everything's been gentrified and privatised, so all the wacky old characters have gone... I miss 'em. There was a hulking guy called "Tick Tock" who if you asked him the time would gleefully roll up his sleeve to reveal at least five watches! He had a down's syndrome girlfriend who always used to walk ten paces behind him. There was "Criss Cross" who would cross back and forth over the road repeatedly whenever he walked anywhere. There was "Apple Pie" Grahame who would do the "apple pie dance" if prompted, he also had the "lemon dance" in his repertoire - they were both the same dance - a shuffling little jig... the dance would be jauntily performed, then he would be on his way. There were many more colourful characters - care in the community was the way mental health was done with people deemed non-violent, so these guys just became part of the milieu.

As rumours go Snappy was in a car crash (or some other life changing incident) and ended up on long term incapacity benefits. A portion of this money was used to buy period costumes, he would then walk the streets looking like something out of a Dickens novel! I often saw him striding past my house - massive buckles on his shoes, hat like the witchfinder general, a cloak - propelling himself along with his iron shod staff!

I've seen him striding past with a cat on a lead, no fucks given, by either him or his cat!

My mate (who worked as a council plumber) went round to his house one time to sort out his central heating - a voice calls out "Come in! The doors open" my buddy looks round the door and Snappy is stood at the top of the stairs in a full suit of plate armour!

He'd talk at the garden gate to my neighbour, Merv. You'd see him in the shop buying groceries, kids would take the piss, he'd just laugh at them. He had a kind of rosy-cheeked face, very similar to Elton John.

Yeah, good old Snappy, guy's like him make life better for everyone!

Everyone's happy when The Wizard walks by