Yes, it is what you think it is. Following on from last year, I am looking not just to do the four Kiltwalks across Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen), but we are taking in on tour this year to do one each month. This will take me not just across Scotland, but also to other places home and abroad. These include, my home town of Chorley, Portsmouth, Stirling and Liverpool in the UK. Then to Gothenburg, Prague and Berlin outwith. There are others to add in there too, but still to be finalised. Anyone who knows me will probably expect a few more in there, so may get upto 13 or 14 by the end of the year.

So keep an eye out, I may be popping up in an area near you.

The support last year was amazing. So, I though why not go a bit further this year and continue to support the amazing charity and works that Andys Man Club do across the UK, and hopefully give them a little visbility abroad too. I will also be supporting various mental health charities in each country I visit, so watch out for them. It's not just here in the UK where there are mental health/suicide issues amongst men, it's everywhere. So let's get the word out everywhere that it's ok to talk.

Plus 2024 rhymes with Kiltwalk on Tour, just seems right.

I'll get this bit out of the way....Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

On to my story, how long the story has been going on for, I just don't know. For a long time I was completely unaware that I had mental health issues and had not properly identified it. I was just lucky that I had someone very close to me point out a few things and opened my eyes to the possibility that something may be wrong. But this is not all about me, it's about the many men out there who are in the same boat as me, men who you may not think are struggling, but really are inside.

I decided to do something about it. After many sessions of counselling, various lifestyle changes, support sessions, wellbeing and mindfulness stuff too (I've done the lot, hehe), my mental health is in a healthier place than it used to be. It was in a terrible state, but I knew something had to be done, it just had to. I can guarantee that my circumstances would be very different today, if I hadn't taken those steps.

This is where Andys Man Club have come in to my life. Even though my mental health and well being had improved a bit, I decided to go to a meeting in December of 2022, down at North Merchiston Club in Edinburgh, after seeing a post on social media. I have always struggled with talking to people about my mental health struggles over the years, I struggle to talk to people in general to be honest. There are a lot of people out there, men in particular, that struggle to talk about certain things going on in their life. It has been such a blessing to have found somewhere that I can relax, but also somewhere that I can open up a bit more easily, without the fear of being judged in any way. It has become a regular part of my life now, I have met some great guys there, guys who have struggled to open up, get things off their chest and some who just want to be around others.

I continue to go to this each Monday, to see, support and listen to the guys who have taken the brave step to walk through those doors across the country and open up. It really is a big thing to be able to do that and I encourage others to do that, if they have been thinking about it.

We all have our issues in life, some more visible than others. That's why the slogan of AMC is so important - It's Ok To Talk, because it is ok. No one should live in fear of not being able to share or talk to others, for being judged or feel like they are being a burden. Just being there, just listening, goes much further than you realise. This is why I am doing this for AMC, because I have seen the first hand impact that it has on mens lives, the importance of talking and sharing and just generally being around for support. Even though the stigma of men not showing their true feelings, hiding what is going on inside, needs to change. I felt a massive weight being lifted off my shoulders, ever since the first time I went there, and each time since. But I see it in others as well, and the support in that room each week is something very special.

So yeah, that is just a little glimpse of my story and the amazing work that Andys Man Club do across many towns and cities across the UK, even in my home town of Chorley, hehe. Lets get the word out there, break down those barriers and remove that stigma, one man, one meeting, one conversation at a time. It's OK To Talk.