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Alf and Lucky in a portrait taken by David Bailey last year |
Rag-and-bone man Alf loses fight with cancer
Celebrity tributes as much-loved character of the streets dies
OUTSIDE the house in Kentish Town, a green handcart half-loaded with scrap sits on the road, a poignant reminder of the life and times of the man who once lived there.
Alf Masterson, one of London’s last rag-and-bone men, lost his battle with cancer on Saturday and died peacefully in the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead with his sister, Valerie, by his side. He was a few weeks short of his 64th birthday.
The old-fashioned “totter” had pounded the streets of Camden for more than 50 years with his wooden handcart, bell and faithful Jack Russell terrier in tow, becoming a familiar, and much-loved sight to many in the borough.
Among those paying tribute to him this week were former Madness frontman Suggs, the journalist and broadcaster Joan Bakewell, and David Bailey, who photographed him for the Guardian last year.
Ms Bakewell said she would miss the sound of his bell ringing.
“When the bell rang I would look through the window and would see him and pop out and have a chat,” she said.
“We always had a chat. He was an extraordinary man, always upbeat. He enjoyed what he did and he gave a lot of pleasure to a lot of people. It’s just awful to think we won’t hear the bell any more.”
Speaking on the phone from Italy, Suggs, who described the news as a tragedy, said: “He was a really tremendous person. I met him when he used to come down my road. I gave him my old wardrobe and he used to leave me cigars. He was a bright spark, a really inspiring person in this world of blandness.”
David Bailey, who chose Alf for a series of Guardian portraits in 2006, said: “Everyone at the studio sends their deepest sympathies. We all remember the fun we had with him – he made an excellent model.”
His daughter, Siobhan, who had visited him regularly in the hospice with brother Damian and mum Phyllis, said her father had kept his sense of humour to the end.
She said: “That meant a lot to us. He had been in a lot of pain but on the day he died, he said he wasn’t in pain for the first time”.
She added: “Dad had the time of day for everyone – for the poor people and the homeless on the streets.
“He’d go and make them a sandwich and mix with them. He would also be mixing with the rich and famous. But he never forgot where he came from. He always kept his feet firmly on the ground.”
Her brother Damian said: “He always loved his job even though he’d been doing it for 50 years. He fulfilled a lot of his dreams and ambitions.”
Alf will be cremated at Golder’s Green Crematorium on Tuesday, with a convoy starting from his home in Montpelier Grove, Kentish Town. |
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