….or put your hand in your pocket.
My mate Mike is dropping his drawers and risking freezing his wotsits off in a damned good cause – MIND.
MIND’s mission is to “provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.”
The NHS regards the Mental Health Service as very much a poor relation, it’s a Cinderella service.
Fortunately the Mental Health professionals working in the NHS are just that, very professional. And devoted to their work. They get the urine extracted from them with abandon.
It’s a bloody shame that they get shat on from a great height when it comes to funding, staffing levels and so on. Oh, and the amount of paperwork that CPNs (Community Psychiatric Nurses – the ones at the sharp end) have to deal with is just disgraceful.
These dedicated folks are working their nuts off (the ones that have nuts) trying to care for the mental health of their sometimes suicidal patients….and then have hours of paperwork to complete – very often in their own, unpaid time. And they don’t get paid that much.
Believe me, I know these things.
You may think that I feel more than a little strongly about this. You would be quite right.
Soooooo…..At sunrise on Sunday 22nd September hundreds of people will take on a mass skinny dip at Druridge Bay in Northumberland. This event isn’t about looking good. It’s about taking a risk, celebrating our unique bodies, being close to nature, raising money for The National Trust and Mind, and maybe even breaking a world record!
Now I’m not particularly mithered about providing extra funding for the NT – I pay them enough in membership fees, but I’m keen to support MIND….although I draw the line at flashing my rude bits around in the North Sea.
So go and visit Mike’s blog and see what the daft bugger gets up to. If you feel you can, please donate a little….or a lot. And if you can, select ‘Gift Aid’, it doesn’t cost you anything more but it increases the amount the charity gets from your donation.
You can donate here.
The photo up top isn’t Mike and his mates by the way, it an image I found at http://assets5.tribesports.com
Amen to that John.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn, it's something I've been banging on about to our local Mental Health team.....I know they feel the same way about it but it's the powers-that-be that need a damned good shaking, they're the ones who make the bloody stupid rules.
DeleteAnyroadup, it could be a bit of a giggle seeing Mike's pies chilled by the cool waters of the North Sea in such a good cause.
(-:
At first I thought you were on about Motor Neurone Disease, a dreadful affliction from which my wife died in 1997. It seems to be an unfortunate coincidence that both these charities have the same initials. I have donated.
ReplyDeleteI think it would have been appropriate to get the band up there to perform a few sea shanties actually standing in the stuff kitless.
Motor Neurone Disease is a nasty affliction, it could do with more of a general recognition. Plenty have heard of it but few know of it's devastating effects.
DeleteOn behalf of Mike, thanks for donating to the chilling of his rude bits.....I'm beginning to suspect that he could do with a good psychological check-over for taking on such a 'challenge'!
Not sure I could convince the band to dip their bits in the briny....but have a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hBGMLh4gLY
I'm the one in the yellow T shirt.
;-)
Whoa - sea shanties in the nip? In Northumberland? Do you know some really really short sea shanties, Sir Hugh? Yo ho ho and a dry martini... Gimme more money and I'll keep the trolleys ON. (Thanks for the plug John btw) (and the cash)
ReplyDeleteNo prob, the more publicity the better!
DeleteJJ
Hi JJ. I didn't think you were the one in the green.
ReplyDelete