Story

Hi, to those of you who don’t know me, my name is Ferdynand - Ferdy / Nando / Rio to my friends  I’m 41 years of age and come from a small town in western Poland, however I’ve been living and working in England for the past 18 years.

I live in Harrow, north west London and I work as a “Skilled Multitrader ”. Over the years, I’ve gradually learned all the different trades and I can now turn my hand to carpentry, painting, tiling, roofing, plumbing and gardening. I’m also a qualified and certified Martial Arts instructor and when time allows I teach martial arts to disabled kids.

Most of my time is spent doing a variety of work in private houses in the west London area. However, this blog is not about my skills as a handyman or to solicit work. Instead I’m here to talk about Mental Health in general and the charity, MIND, in particular.

I have come across mental illness during my life in a number of ways. Sadly when I was young in Poland my mother suffered from schizophrenia and unfortunately as a result, she was unable to look after me and I was placed and grew up in a children’s’ home. As a young man, I too suffered from bouts of depression (but overcame this with good medical advice).

For these reasons, I’ve always been acutely aware of how damaging mental health issues can be and how much professional help can assist them. In the UK, the mental health charity, MIND, does wonderful work in this area - helping people with confidence issues, aiding people to readjust after bouts of mental illness and lifting people who are very down.

It is because of this, I’ve decided to “give something back” in the form of raising money for MIND.

My fundraising idea is not new - it’s a charity walk from Cornwall (Penzance) to the Scottish border (Berwick upon Tweed)  - but, while it’s obviously been done before, my walk will be more challenging and difficult for the following reasons:-

·         I’ll be doing a solo walk with no company, just me and my headphones 


·         I’ll effectively be sleeping rough as in there will be no bed & breakfasts or hostels etc. I will just have my 1-man tent which I shall pitch at the roadside or under bridges or wherever I can find a suitable berth on a nightly basis.


·         I will be carrying about 25 kilos at.all times comprising a tent, a sleeping bag, a little stove and a small amount of food, water, clothes change and toiletries.


·         I will be taking the “scenic route” of smaller A and B roads so the journey will be longer, coming in at 1,130km (c.700 miles). As such, the walk is likely to take me about 25 days, starting on Saturday 7th September.

·         In terms of food, it will not be a very exciting diet and I’ll mainly be living on tins of tuna or beans and the like.  And in terms of hygiene, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to get a daily hot shower so may will have to rely on multiple packs of Wet Wipes!

It’s my intention to share my challenging experiences with you on this blog with a few words and some photos on a regular basis.. And in return I’m hopeful that you can see your way to contribute to this wonderful charity. 

I have a target of raising £10,000 for MIND so any contribution no matter how small will be very much appreciated.

I look forward to updating you from 7th September onwards.  Wish me luck!

Ferdynand

5/10/24