World Mental Health Day 2024
A slightly different blog post to our usual ones. However, this day just hits us out of nowhere every year as our fb memories are filled with posts about our Jarl’s Mead. It is now five years since we lost our fabulous friend and the lives of everyone who knew him were forever changed!
For us, Gordon was one of those people who was a complete PITA because he was so good at everything. He could do something once and just become a master at it. However, that’s when the boredom set in for him and off onto another adventure he went. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination and there are days we could cheerfully strangle him – but that’s what makes us all human!
To see such a strong person, who was always looking out for and spotting the signs in others, take such drastic action shook us to the core. Sadly, another friend took the same course of action only six weeks later, launching another set of friends into the same, life altering, circumstances. We did Andy’s stilling at the 2019 Autumn Equinox.
We’ve all seen the meme that says “I’d rather listen to you talk than listen to your eulogy”, well having lived it twice in a very short space of time, we can confirm it is very true! It’s not always easy to speak about and listen to these things but it is the only way to prevent similar events and stories. We must help each other BEFORE we get to this point. Please reach out to your ‘strong’ friends especially – they are there for everyone else and are always seen to not need any support….. Gordon was a ‘strong’ one…..
If you cannot speak to those you know, please reach out to organisations such as The Samaritans and the charities we have helped since launching Jarl’s Mead – Battle Scars self-harm support charity; ManHealth; Testicular Cancer UK – PLEASE break, don’t extend, the chain of suffering.