On a very recent train journey out of London to our home-destination, among the travellers who joined on one of the many stops was a man carrying a used and tired cork bulletin board with the word ‘free’ boldly written on the one side. Valdo, our border terrier, caught his attention so he plunked himself and what he termed his piece of artwork on the other side to where we sat. There were three other passengers on his side. From appearances and assumptions (my own), I wondered (mindful I may be wrong) whether the man may have been just returning from some protest, was a traveller who had too much to ‘drink’, or just someone with a brilliant sense of humour who thought that the train would be ideal for his message.

Courteous throughout his short journey, he seemed more interested in having an expressive conversation largely with Valdo (with us trying to answer on Valdo’s behalf): are you hungry? are you friendly? why are you so curious?  And this sweet (while opening his sweetie) is not for you! Valdo was also interested at every move the man made and especially trying to sniff our who and what was there on the other side of the carriage. The two kept eyeing-up each other. The man eventually got up and leaned across to the person opposite him (who was engrossed with his phone) and asked: “would you mind if I rest my art against the seat and side”? To which the other passenger responded: “sure mate, please go ahead”. The man then got up and seemed to stretch his legs and before we know exited the train with his artwork (free) prominently resting in ‘plain view’.

Being bombarded by the current ‘E-files’ revelations and wondering about the contents of any ‘D-files’ or S-files, that parked piece of ‘artwork’ titled ‘free’ stimulated my thought in multiple directions. It was fascinating to see, after the last person sitting on that side disembarked, that the steady flow of travellers joining the train in the next five to six stops: glanced at – read – and avoided sitting near the sign. We wondered why. Perhaps, the weight of the signage (on cork) would have caused irreparable damage, should it fall on someone. Free and to be ‘free’ carries a heavy weight

We did turn the sign around to see what was on the other side. It was blank or if you prefer: the art there remained largely invisible to me the viewer. Perhaps, the man who brought that ‘artwork’ on board was intentionally or unintentionally saying to us: can we rethink ‘free’? what have we turned ‘free’ into? how ,why and when did ‘free’ (like everything else) become so shackled and commodified?

Was he making a point about the European Parliament trying to reclaim free hand luggage and free name correction for air-travellers? Or about that group of privileged people wishing to remove our ‘freedom’ passes? Maybe he and his friends got conned with the ‘buy one get one free’ sales pitch and the perpetual (throughout the year) dazzling ‘sale’ signs of businesses which are creating greater economic penury. Perhaps, the traveller is so pissed off with the blatantly evident direction of travel of our so-called democracies that this was his way of connecting the suffocating of ‘free’ (or freedom) and the narrowing of public discourse with all sorts of proscribing. Maybe the man, just returning from a solidarity protest, is fed up with the complicity from some section of the media. As the habit of ‘public good’ continues to be sacrificed on the multiple altars of the mammonic, perhaps this planted piece of artwork (titled ‘free’) is both plea and prayer for us to join force to stop the worst excesses of the spiral sucking and weighing us down.

Perhaps, the man just took something offered as ‘free’ (on the streets) and then changed his mind while in the train. Notwithstanding, the act reminded me that ‘free or freedom’ is for freeing. Free is more than throwing off shackles (of body and mind): to be fully free demands of us a vocation of ‘freeing’ (as a constant).

jagessar@caribleaper February 2, 2026