Skip to main content

Posts

Last Place Is Still a Place — But So Is the Sideline

This post was inspired by a story I saw on Tumblr. Apparently there was some kind of race scheduled at a local park or something so I’ve been trying to avoid the main trail but a little while ago when I had to cross near it I overheard the following shouted exchange. Higher feminine voice: woo, look at you go! You’re jogging! Keep it up! Lower masculine voice (panting): you know it! Last place is still a place, baby! And god damn if that didn’t rewire my brain a little bit. Last place is still a place, baby. I saved the link, knowing I’d want to explore it further. When I returned I saw it had attracted the following comment . I know of a trail racing company that gives the slowest racer who finishes every race a DFL award: Dead Fucking Last. I was a little taken aback by this until I had it explained to me that those last-place finishers are pretty much uniformly people for whom finishing at all was an accomplishment: people undergoing cancer treatments, absolute beginne...
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Man to Man: Thoughts on Manhood and Mental Health Inspired by a Conversation at a Wedding

TW: Mention of suicide and suicidality
Post a Comment
Read more

Be the Most Encouraging Person You Know: A Call to Action for Mental Health Awareness Week

Even small actions can help us feel hopeful and less powerless.   — Mental Health Foundation Organised by the Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) is an annual campaign to highlight the importance of good mental health. MHAW 2026 runs from May 11–17, inclusive. Previous themes have included body image, kindness, nature, loneliness, anxiety, movement, and community. The theme for MHAW 2026 is action. Action: for yourself, for someone else, for all of us We’ve chosen Action as this year’s theme because, while awareness is vital, real change comes when we take action too. Together, we’ve come a long way on mental health, but we can’t risk going backwards. There’s still much we can do to prevent people becoming unwell in the first place. We can interpret the call to action in many ways. Inspired by a recent conversation the action I’ve chosen to focus on is encouragement. That might not seem particularly relevant or useful given the challenges we f...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Affinity of Support: Open Water Swimming for Mental Health and Community

By Lisa Judson If anyone had told me two years ago that I’d be swimming in open water, all through the year, in temperatures that sometimes go down to the minus figures, I would, without doubt, have told them EXACTLY where to go! But here we are, two years on and guess what I’m doing, between two and four times a week on average?! The way it worked was that my therapist tried for more than two years to get me to try it. She explained how good it was for your central nervous system and how it would help to reset my brain. She even took me to the lake where I now swim around four times a week. I laughed and said, (this is the polite, publishable version by the way) “not a chance — but the oat milk decaf latte was ok — so I’d come down and join you for one of those.” About six months later I was standing at the edge of the lake, in a wetsuit, with her encouraging me to just step in for a moment. It has to be said that my ADHD brain is a little tinker for helping me into an “all or...
1 comment
Read more

Why Talking About Death Matters

By Lisa Judson My mum had eight siblings. Her youngest sister, Jean, or as I called her, my Diddy Aunty (for context, she was under five feet tall and I was taller than her by the time I was eight), was like a second mum to me. When I lost my mum in 2009, it was my Diddy Aunty who quietly stepped in and filled that space. So when she was tragically killed seven years ago, the impact was enormous. Nobody expected it. There was no preparation. No warning. Just shock. And grief. Somehow, in the middle of all that, it fell to me to care for her husband and organise her funeral. When I asked him what he would like for her service, he simply stared at me and said, “I’ve no idea, ducky. We never talked about it.” Tentatively, I replied, “Well actually, I know. She told me.” He looked at me, equal parts indignant and relieved, and asked, “Why did she do that?” The answer was simple. “Because I asked her.” You see, by that point I had already played this very sad game several tim...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Magic Is Inside Us: An Open Letter to My Best Friend on Our 15 Year Anniversary

The magic is inside you ... there ain’t no crystal ball! — Dolly Parton Wednesday May 6, 2026 Dear Fran. Today is our fifteenth anniversary as friends. Fifteen is a big number. Not as big as 5,479 which is the number of days we’ve been friends but big nonetheless. Remember in the beginning when I insisted on marking each succeeding month of our friendship? I’ve always had a tendency to overdo things. To be too much. You’ve done well to put up with me! I couldn’t have known we’d still be friends all these years later but from the moment we met your presence in my life was something I wanted to celebrate. That hasn’t changed, though I don’t say it so often. Fifteenth anniversaries are traditionally marked with crystal. Apparently it symbolises the “clear, sparkling, and transparent nature” of the relationship as well as its beauty, strength, and durability whilst simultaneously reminding both parties “to handle their lasting bond with care, as crystal is fragile.” So mu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Q&A with Aimee Wilson, Project Lead of Gracie’s Way, for Dying Matters Awareness Week

TW: Mention of suicide, abuse, and rape
Post a Comment
Read more