Hi – and thank you for visiting my website (even if it was only by accident). The site is mainly devoted to a series of challenges that I attempted between 2014 and the first half of 2019, to try and raise mental health awareness; to encourage people to talk, and show that it is fine to ask for help ... even from someone you may not know well - if at all.
The total number of completed challenges exceeded 120, but the site features the definitive "top 100", photos of many of the which can be found on the following page; and below is a version of Snow Patrol's "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" performed with my friend Georgina Sayers, and recorded at The Garage Studios in South Shields in 2017.
In 2011, I first revealed that I have suffered from a chronic but mild form of depression (now recognised as dysthymia) since my early teens. I have written a book about my experiences and challenges entitled "Today, Just Like Yesterday" (below), which was published on 12 April 2018 - five years after the appearance of my first book "Desperately Seeking Susan Foreman", the quest to obtain a signed photo from all the female Doctor Who companions. The foreword to "Today, Just Like Yesterday" was written by Ann Brightwell who, as Ann Packer, won 800m gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. I met Ann through the challenges back in 2015; we have stayed in touch, and I am honoured that she was willing to write a few words; just as I am both fortunate and flattered to have received so much support from so many inspiring people throughout the past six years.
2019 has been a particularly difficult year and I needed to step back from the pressure I was feeling (the challenges being just one contributory factor). After a break of a few months, I changed "challenge" to "project" and began working to create a band - One Take Charlie - to help continue spreading the mental health message, whilst also proving that my angelic treble voice of the mid-1970s was nothing more than a distant memory...
I work within the NHS, but I spend quite a lot of my spare time researching my family history. I also have had a lifelong love of sport, particularly cricket (which I attempted to play for many years), rugby league (which I didn't), netball (and there's a separate section dedicated to Grangetown's Prem 1 squad), and the Olympic Games...
Mental health will always be part of my life ... part of me; and the message will stay the same: never be afraid to talk or ask for help ... you never know how much you might be able to achieve if you do...
The total number of completed challenges exceeded 120, but the site features the definitive "top 100", photos of many of the which can be found on the following page; and below is a version of Snow Patrol's "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" performed with my friend Georgina Sayers, and recorded at The Garage Studios in South Shields in 2017.
In 2011, I first revealed that I have suffered from a chronic but mild form of depression (now recognised as dysthymia) since my early teens. I have written a book about my experiences and challenges entitled "Today, Just Like Yesterday" (below), which was published on 12 April 2018 - five years after the appearance of my first book "Desperately Seeking Susan Foreman", the quest to obtain a signed photo from all the female Doctor Who companions. The foreword to "Today, Just Like Yesterday" was written by Ann Brightwell who, as Ann Packer, won 800m gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. I met Ann through the challenges back in 2015; we have stayed in touch, and I am honoured that she was willing to write a few words; just as I am both fortunate and flattered to have received so much support from so many inspiring people throughout the past six years.
2019 has been a particularly difficult year and I needed to step back from the pressure I was feeling (the challenges being just one contributory factor). After a break of a few months, I changed "challenge" to "project" and began working to create a band - One Take Charlie - to help continue spreading the mental health message, whilst also proving that my angelic treble voice of the mid-1970s was nothing more than a distant memory...
I work within the NHS, but I spend quite a lot of my spare time researching my family history. I also have had a lifelong love of sport, particularly cricket (which I attempted to play for many years), rugby league (which I didn't), netball (and there's a separate section dedicated to Grangetown's Prem 1 squad), and the Olympic Games...
Mental health will always be part of my life ... part of me; and the message will stay the same: never be afraid to talk or ask for help ... you never know how much you might be able to achieve if you do...
