Day 2:

Hello everybody! I am pleased to report that spirits are high following a very successful last 24 hours. When the last blog entry was submitted we were still completely broke and facing another diner from cafe a la skip if we didn't get our act together! Fortunately we were able to find some plastic bottles in a bin, which we filled with water. Chris then began juggling frantically with some success on Cornmarket Street while James made friends with none other than the city's number one big issue salesman Micky. Micky gave James some helpful insights into life on the streets as well as some encouraging words which I am happy to say have been the only response we've encountered from the homeless community so far. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the only negativity we've encountered has been heckling shouts from friends driving past in their cars (mainly Lucas). I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank our communities of St Andrews and the Cherwell alumni for the support and encouragement we've received. From facebook messages to bumping into people on the street, we would have found this time a lot tougher if we didn't know that you guys are right behind us.

Chris then returned from his busking exploits with six, yes six whole pounds! Not bad for half an hour's worth of making a fool of yourself, although the fiver was given as the first donation, which may have been a bit of a fluke, certainly got the ball rolling. Without wasting any time at all we made a bee-line for the West-Gate Sainsburys, where we purchased not only a hearty feast of bread, humous and apples, but also sponges, cloths and washing up liquid that we hoped to put to use washing cars in the afternoon. We ate our meal in pennyfarthing place in the bright sunshine. We had had nothing for breakfast making this the most anticipated and enjoyed meal either of us had eaten in a long time. With the adrenaline pumping, due to our success at getting something to eat and the prospect of earning some more money, we promptly set off for the bright lights of Summertown. We got as far as the University Parks before collapsing in a heap on the grass next to north lodge.

We woke up at about three thirty and after much persuasion Chris managed to get James on his feet and moving in the right direction again. When arriving in Summertown James stumbled across two clean buckets in a skip outside the Woodstock Arms, while trying to find somewhere to wash the dirty one we found the day before. We now had all the equipment necessary to put Hunter/Harlow Car Aesthetics Solutions Plc. into business as we set off down Victoria Road in search of our fortune. To my genuine amazement the first women I asked accepted our offer and we gamely began scrubbing away. We then found two other customers in the next ten houses giving us a tidy fifteen pounds. Feeling very satisfied as well as very tired we made out way to the Summertown shops hoping to make the most of the pre-closing discounts. The car washing venture showed some interesting insights into our characters. Chris appears, in this area, to be a bit of a perfectionist, always making sure that every last inch of the cars was wiped down at the end. Alternatively James, despite demonstrating an invaluable ability to sweet talk old ladies into having their car washed, most certainly is not a perfectionist when it comes to actually cleaning the cars. In one instance, he actually went and had a conservation with a friends mum, leaving Chris to finish the job, though"if it gets an extra donation in then it will surely be worth it."

On arriving at the Summertown shops we were distraught to discover that M&S simply throw out there out of date products rather than reducing them at the end of the day! Disgruntled we promptly headed over to Co-op and filled up on a wide selection of bakery items all reduced to 20 pence. We then headed back up into town to meet Sam Bright, who is providing fantastic IT and fellowship support, to film the latest video diary entry. We then met up with Martin, who was his customary hour late - fortunately we had nowhere else to be! Finally we made our way back to Summertown before bedding down in the porch of the church hall on Portland Road.

Despite the last day being a considerable success on all fronts, we do have a number of concerns at this time. First, we both seem to be developing a condition christened 'athletes crotch', as well as having very painful feet and legs from all the walking we've been doing. James has also been battling his hayfever, while Chris has been battling the noises made by James battling his hayfever. Our hopes for the next day is that the weather would stay good and we would be able to make some more money, as well as have the opportunity to spend more time getting to know other members of Oxford's homeless community. We plan to spend tonight sleeping in a group within the City centre.

That's all for now thanks for reading,

Chris and James