Like most men, I have tried to grow a beard from time to time. I’d like to do it, but I just can’t. The last time I tried properly, I was feeling good about it until I met my dad for a drink in Edinburgh. He looked at me for a while and with no emotion at all, he said: “why have you done that?”
The following morning, I attended to the mess but not before I’d scared my wife and children by leaving a moustache behind.
This is Movember, the month most of us still call November. Movember is a brilliant and now mainstream global campaign that highlights mental health – some men grow moustaches in a show of support, but few come close to the magnificence of Burt Reynolds or Graeme Souness on that front.
In this year of all years, it feels more important than ever that these moments exist to reflect on what might yet become the next pandemic – one that will be as deadly and indiscriminate as the one we are living through now.
I guess we all like to think we’re stronger than we really are, but that is rarely true. I have struggled with my emotions over the years. I grew up in Dunblane and may never comprehend what happened there and how it still makes me feel, and this year I have on too many occasions fallen short of what one of my closest friends describes as ‘the best version of me’.
I admire people who can talk about their struggles openly and I am slowly learning to do it myself, having for years put on a mask before scuttling off to a cold and lonely corner of my mind. Earlier this year, I joined the Strong not Silent campaign by posting some honest thoughts on Instagram. Within minutes, some of the best people in my life had sent me just a love heart or a text. Sharing your troubles is good for you and asking for help brings some light and warmth to the darkness.
This week, we’ve brought together some pieces that made us think about these important issues. Have a good weekend.