Make a donation to SHOUT 85258UK here
Thanks also to all the other generous sponsors this week.
Gary Stevens Will B Michael Brown Stefan Kaye The Cambridge Cabbage Les Holloway who incidentally was my first boss at Cambridge United fc in 1979 True friendship for over 40 years. To the anonymous donators thank you. Again thanks to every single person who has supported this challenge as every penny really does count and as I have previously said your donation could save a life. Please spread the word Steps taken in week 4 (115.592) Total steps to date as of 28th October 2021 (458.094) Total raised as of 28th October £3.255 leaving £6.745 to hit the target Thanks Ian Darler B.E.M
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Week 3 Best week so far on the steps total managing to knock out 133.876 steps , The fixtures against Ipswich Town & Sheffield Wednesday helped as we cut the pitch several times leading up to the games. I have also spent several hours walking around the village of Cottenham and Rampton ending up at Giants Hill. Great place for a walk in autumn as the leaves start to change colour. Total steps so far after three weeks 342.502 So all in all a good week step wise and mental health wise with several people engaging in discussions about mental health and what they have been through. Obviously I would not divulge who this relates to but would like to share a small part of a text after our face to face discussion the day before. It goes like this? (Their text) Great to see you yesterday and even better to have had a good chat and thanks for taking time to listen to me it is the first time I have spoken to anybody openly like that? ( My Text) No problem at all I felt privileged that you could tell me what you had been through. (Their text) Thanks I have definitely learned its better to talk and your definitely one of those people who understood how situations in your life can change your mental attitude . Have a great day. (My text) No problem at all keep talking & stay in touch. So already this challenge has helped a person who had been suffering in silence . Please continue to donate to provide funds for SHOUT 85258UK Thanks to the companies and individuals below who have donated. Deano, Les Jacobs,Stave Ankin,Terry Wilby,Les Weston, Sam Gomarsall,Bob Barnes, Duncan Foyle,Vicky Neal,Michelle Massey,Front Foot Creative,Carl Badcock,Alan Burge, Steve & Sara, Ian Elliott,ITS Ltd,Leeton Group,Jerry Overhill at COEL , David, Derrin Mappledoram,Paul wilkanowski,R.D,Marc Ward, Jack Wylie, I.K.D,Alan Devlin,Andrew Fayers, Martin, J.D, T.G, Brian& Shirley Roger Gould and to all that have donated anonymously. Have a great week ,keep talking and spread the word about the challenge. Ian Darler B.E.M
Walking around Rampton & Cottenham through Manor Farm forest great place for a walk when the autumn leaves change colour and finishing the walks at Giants Hill.
Well its been another busy week at the Abbey Stadium with some unexpected challenges thrown in.
I have managed to cover another 104.920 steps but had hoped to get a few more under my belt. Mowing the pitch for the Ipswich fixture helped we also did some late night walking on the pitch as Leeton Electrical attended the stadium to carry out the Lux level checks on the pitch floodlights. We had a problem with the new seats that were due to be installed in D block of the East stand, Despite the work having been surveyed twice some how the company failed to provide seat frames that worked in that block . I have to say a huge thank you to everybody who has been kind enough to donate to this very worthy cause. I have tried to thank everybody personally who I know has donated and been contactable but I must also say thanks to the people who have donated anonymously and for those I have not contacted thank you all. Please spread the word in the coming weeks to help reach the Ten Thousand pound target. Ian Darler B.E.M
Well my coach Mr Jones will be pleased with me today as I cracked on and did 21.167 steps today.
Thanks again to those people who have donated in the past 24 hours I am very grateful to you all. Ian Darler B.E.M Sunday 10th October A walk around historic Cambridge to get the steps in and finishing the day on top of Castle Hill with Cambridge behind me . 11.688 steps completed today, I am sure my coach Mr Jones will say MUST DO BETTER. Thanks to all those people who have already donated to the Just-giving account I am blown away by your support. Ian Darler B.E.M  Million step challenge 1st October to January 1st 2022 .
The first week of the million step challenge has been completed and has been an emotional time for me personally , On day 6 of my challenge my mother passed away 6th October 2021 which was unexpected and hit all the family hard. The million step challenge has helped me deal with the emotions of loosing a loved one in the fact that rather then feel sad and upset it has given me time whilst out walking to think about all the good times I had with my mum and the family . Its strange how memories come flooding back ? one in particular was when I had been fishing on the river Cam at Jesus Green lock aged 11 and it was time to pack ready for my mother to pick me up in the car but my fishing rod would not come apart? At the time there were a group of Hells Angels sitting on the park bench behind me and they had seen my plight and kindly offered to try to pull the rod apart for me, Now from a distance this quite clearly did not look the case in my mothers eyes as she came running over the footbridge to confront these big fellas in their leathers ? And yes these lads backed off for fear of what my mum would do to them. Once I explained they were in fact helping me she thanked them and they laughed and said she had damaged their street cred. It is surprising how things you have not thought about for years reappear in your mind but this was something really positive to remember and a reminder to me to avoid negative thoughts when possible. The Mick George annual charity football match took place on Friday 8th October at The Abbey stadium and again it was an evening to remember not just for the result and the way the game was played or the 3K that was raised but for the conversation I had with two people playing in the game. Full on discussions about both my mental health journey and theirs and the positives about how they both felt having come through troubling times. This again showed the power of talking to each other. Anyway back to the million steps, I have really enjoyed the start of the challenge and pleased to see that a few donations have come in on the Just-giving page and pleased to have completed 103.706 steps. I plan to do regular updates and hopefully have some guests join me on the steps ahead. Thanks for your support Ian Darler  Weʼre raising £10,000 to raise money for the SHOUT charity who offer support for people suffering with mental health problems. A million steps from October 1st 2021 to January 1st 2022 to help Shout 85258
Having been approached by MIND and the EFL two years ago to use my journey as a case study through a difficult period of mental health following an accident I had no hesitation in agreeing to write my story in the hope it may help other people come to terms with challenging times in their own lives when dealing with mental health. My enthusiasm to help others has continued. I had to fight depression and PTSD for 6 years, sometimes working very long days and nights come home, go to bed, up again early the next morning and onto the next day having to pretend that nothing was wrong whilst receiving treatment for my condition. I feel people who have not suffered from any form of mental health cannot really have any idea what it is like or understand that depression can be constant. Some days it is not as bad as others but on a bad day it knocks you down before you can even get out of bed. Other days it is like wearing a mask to hide the way you are feeling which in itself can be exhausting. I am now thankfully in a much better place and have come through that period but it was one of the most challenging journeys in my life. I was fortunate in that when I hit rock bottom I received amazing treatment from the NHS CPFT and had a few friends who came to my aid to offer support after I had been diagnosed and accepted that I needed HELP. Several of whom worked for the police, Fire and Ambulance service and had been through mental health issues themselves. They were the last people on earth that I would have imagined to have suffered with their mental health. Since my recovery and publication of my book Life’s A Pitch and writing the chapter LIFE CHANGING I have been approached by several people who had been suffering in silence with their own mental health problems and thankfully I have been able to help them in a small way and they are now currently also in a much better place. Depression is not like having a broken leg you don’t have a plaster cast on so people cannot see how you are feeling? If you know somebody who is going through a difficult time or have the slightest doubt about somebody who may be struggling REACH OUT. Even if you don’t think it will help DO IT even if you just ask “are you okay?” And then ask again “are you sure you are okay?” Let me tell you from my own experience it is very easy to dismiss the first “are you okay?” but the second “are you okay?” prompted me to talk. It is very likely that this person will feel very alone and you talking to them could make all the difference. It is important at this point in time with the world as it is, the Covid pandemic and pressures of life to take care of our own and other people’s mental health and welfare. We must offer support to others who may be struggling in silence to enable them to get help and recover and hopefully find that eureka moment that I and a number of other people including the comic genius Bob Mortimer found when recovering. Having personally suffered with depression and PTSD I appreciate how important it is to get help & support and to be able to talk to people about how you are feeling. Below are a few things I went through personally - Feeling low, worried, lonely, unhappy, having panic attacks, not sleeping, thinking other people would not understand, unable to talk to family and friends. Feeling I just needed to man-up. Eating all day long, putting on huge amounts of weight, feeling I was a lost cause, unable to socialise in public, hiding away, avoiding conversation, feeling trapped in a transparent bubble and not being able to break-out, loss of interest in hobbies etc and far worse things? But let me assure you that I had never experienced anything like this before my accident and it shows how your life can change in an instant.. I JUST WISH I HAD TOLD PEOPLE HOW I WAS FEELING SOONER AS THINGS DO GET BETTER WHEN YOU TALK. I now talk openly about my mental health and it is becoming a normal thing to do. Why not talk about how you are feeling or your mental health instead of the weather. Or in the words of Tears for Fears, Shout, Shout Let It all Out. I hope that both Companies and individuals will support this challenge and also start the discussion about mental health in their work place and at home. My aim is that the funds this challenge will raise goes some way to helping others. All money raised through this challenge will be donated to SHOUT 85258UK Shout is a 24 hour crisis text line, giving support to anyone who needs it. Thank You. Ian Darler B.E.M Cambridge United FC / Stadium Manager |
AuthorIan Darler Archives
November 2022
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