From midnight June 14 to midnight June 16 I will be remaining completely silent to raise awareness of mental health issues for the Mental Health Foundation.

Keeping my mouth shut is symbolic in a way to the nature in which most people still view and speak of mental health issues.

This might sound simple, but this is a weekend and come 8pm Friday and a few beers none the wiser, my bar-room oratory will be difficult to contain. I will also write a short story based on my silence detailing my two days of apparent rudeness to shop-keepers, and the entrapment techniques of my friends, who are always there to trip me up.

My chosen charity is the Mental Health Foundation (incorporating the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities). Their aim is to "to try to mainstream mental health as an issue so it is a core part of everything else". Unlike some other mental health charities they are not funded by pharmaceutical companies, with most donations being gifts (from individuals and corporate) and legacies left by people.