National Mental Health Awareness Week 2023
for a Leicester Photographer
Wow what a week!
So last week was national mental health week, & there was a lot going on.
Monday I had organised a charity curry night at the Cuisine of India in Wigston on behalf of LAMP
Over 80 tickets were sold, there was a raffle, I played a bit of guitar.. in total we raised £1714.2. Also on Monday I had a 9:30am shoot, in Kent!!
Tuesday was mostly spent editing Mondays shoot, before going for a run.
Wednesday I had a 9am shoot in South Leicester for a new client, which went brilliantly!
At 11am there was a 5k walk before the Lamp Charity business club, due to the shoot I only managed half of the walk with Scott Mathie.
The LAMP business club is one of my favourite clubs to attend, this time I was on the main stage talking about my time as a member. I have to say it was quite nervous being on stage with Greg Hollingsworth, Jenny Collard and Dee Beckett (nee Patel), all people great a public speaking it seems!
Thursday I had 3 schools to photograph, they have recently joined a trust and needed new promotional shots for their prospectus, website and social media channels.
On the way home I called into see Tony Cox. I’d met Tony though an old friend a few years ago, and we’d recently reconnected at an event at Menphys. Tony wanted to freshen up his headshot. As the session went well, and there was time left I decided to get a bit creative and give Tony a few extra shots.
Friday I was long overdue a catch up with Anup Singh from Oadby Estates, a really nice guy who runs his family business with his brother.
From Oadby I went to Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre for some overcoming fears with the amazing people from LAMP.
LAMP’s theme for national mental health week this year was overcoming mountains, and mine is definitely a fear of heights. I agreed to the abseil, but as most people seemed to switch activities half way through, I ended up doing the air walk activities too… and it was terrifying, but I did it!
Saturday it was LAMP’s take over at Leicester Victoria ParkRun. This was timed perfectly with myself Greg and Dave's A to Z in 2023 fundraiser for LAMP. Lena Patel FPFS graciously sponsored this weeks run, Lena also came to run with us!!
The run was brilliant, lots of people cheering us on, marshalling etc. I've never been able to complete a 5k in under 25 mins, but after some amazing coaching from Matt Green, & constant running practise… I finally did it!
Talking of running & LAMP’s 5k campaign.. I set myself a target of running 5k every day Monday-Saturday… Apart from Monday (where I ran 3k &walked 2.5k) I ran a 5k every day. Huge achievement for me, as I normally run 2-3 times a week. Also, finding the time during this crazy week was a challenge!
Sunday it was the return of the Cool As Media 5km (it’s actually 6.5km :-) ) starting at the Craddock pub, walking through Aylestone Meadows & ending at Everards Beer Hall for food and a few drinks. Thanks Gabrielle Miller for organising.
Phew!
#mentalhealthawareness
