It was a sad day in our city. A local man who was well known to many of us has died. I blogged about him a couple of years ago but didn’t say too much about him because he didn’t like a lot of attention. Tea Cosy Pete was a gentleman of the road, a man with a lifestyle that would be too eccentric for most of us, but for many decades he lived on the city streets, politely turning down offers of housing. Today the harsh lifestyle caught up with him and he died from a stroke, in his mid 60s. Peter was well liked, respected and accepted in a way that might not have been possible in larger cities. There has been a huge outpouring of grief across social media and the local press, with many tributes and people telling their own Tea Cosy stories.
I often saw him standing and sitting around Swansea, but I only did one drawing as I felt uncomfortable about intruding into his privacy. It’s not something that normally bothers me, I think that artists are by our very nature, voyeurs, spying and scribbling. But it wasn’t the right thing to do with Tea Cosy Pete. May he rest in peace.
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Sad to hear that, RIP Pete
Looks like half of Swansea is going to turn out for his funeral 🙂
That’s fantastic, I won’t make that but just given a fiver to the Evening Post appeal.
Aw thanks. I’ve donated too and here’s hoping we can get a permanent memorial to him. He deserves it 🙂
bless x
🙂
Sad story. But he’s now on a beautiful place. I can imagine you all miss him.
He’s being missed very much, he was in the city centre every day. Will seem strange without him.
R.I.P. Tea cosy Pete. You were loved and respected by all who knew you and will be sadly missed x x x be at peace with the Angels
He is being missed already, poor soul. x
I think you are right – in a big city people like Pete would become part of the group of homeless people, and less visible. He was clearly an important part of life in your area.
I think his life also shows that it’s possible for communities to accept and look after such people on their terms which is a credit to the city.
How sad. RIP Tea Cosy Pete.
Thank you. We’ll all miss him very much.
Love & hugs. x