Monday 11 June 2012

The Black Mountains of Social Media....

Well, in June I discovered Twitter...and rediscovered The Black Mountains along with a few muscles I forgot that I had!! I didn't really 'get' Twitter and I'm not really sure that I do now but I did realise that fundraising in this economic climate is not as easy as I thought it would be. Not nearly as easy.

One Monday night I went to bed early as the alarm was set for 04:15 the next morning to get the 05:09 train to London for a breakfast meeting. By midnight the idea was forming and it was stopping me from going to sleep. By 01:00 I had to give in to it and go back downstairs and get back on to the computer. I had lain in bed for over 3 hours thinking and developing this crazy idea that was going to solve all my problems overnight and had to at least make a decent note of it!!

By 14:15 I was back in bed for 2 hours of fitful sleep waiting for the alarm to do its bit...which it duly did as soon as I fell asleep I swear!!

My idea was simple, I would embrace the big online Twitter family with a hashtag with a snappy title like #asktheuniverse and put a tweet out to lots and lots of famous people - everyone who read it would donate a quid and I'd be home and hosed by Thursday night - with at least £1m donated by the kind folk of the world wide web.

I tried my donation page and, yes I could donate just a pound (which I did...a couple of times to make sure!!). I wrote the Tweet on the train (the one that had been going around my head all night) and it didn't seem nearly as good in the cold light of day.....

I ran the idea by a couple of people and our PR director Neville Thurlbeck and I came up with a slightly more conventional approach. Neville would do a piece about the trek on HIS blog that would go out to 2,353 on Twitter and this would surely be ReTweeted to millions.

And so it came to pass. It was retweeted to a few famous people and a few from Fleet Street with very healthy followings.

I got one donation.

Having said that, we put a link on it allowing text donations and there is no way of knowing how much that has amassed until we get an email from Just Giving at the end of the month with the latest tally.

I just hope it brings in more than a quid otherwise it's back to the drawing board....again!!

Please feel free to donate a pound or any other amount to:





You can also text 70070 type in 'ptsd22' and then between £1 and £10

You can also read Neville's blog at:


http://www.nevillethurlbeck.com/2012/05/talking2minds-bruce-launches-our-summer.html

You can follow me on Twitter at  @brucemartin66

Thank you for reading!!
























Sunday 29 April 2012

The clock is ticking....

Well the clock is ticking.....113 days left before we depart. Part of me is thinking that I've got loads of time and I've got 5 whole months yet. Another part of me is saying that I don't have long to raise the funds I so want to raise for Talking2Minds.....

I have a couple of events planned and I'm talking to a few companies and I have my Virgin Giving account that is running....and I know that the generosity of people out there is tremendous for causes like this and I also know that my fears are unfounded as my purpose is far greater than those fears....

We are now in a "double-dip recession" if we listen to the media. Maybe we are but that doesn't mean the people who suffer from PTSD get a break while others get their finances sorted out does it? In fact, it compounds their problems as it is an added worry for them on top of the nightmares, flashbacks, mood swings etc.... How can they expect to get and hold down a job with PTSD?  Who will want them if they're suffering from a severe stress related condition? So how can I worry about a recession? I don't have anything wrong with me (although some may think different!) and all I'm going to do is climb a big hill and ask for some support!!

I have my kit and most of it has now been tried and tested and I'm pretty happy about that. I'm pleased with my own training and reckon I'll be fine as long as the dreaded altitude sickness doesn't claim me as one of it's seemingly random victims.....

All roads seem to lead to Kilimanjaro now and I guess this is the way it's going to be until October! I often wake and imagine what it's going to be like, the weather, the sights and smells and then come back to the reality that is heavy rain and wind.....I wonder if I'll brave the Malvern Hills this afternoon........

www.talking2minds.co.uk

www.virginmoneygiving.com/BruceMartin66


Friday 13 April 2012

A few have told me I'm mad to be doing the Kilimanjaro trek, but to be honest the main reaction has been one of great positivity (even the ones who've labeled me insane have been supportive actually!!). Although I fully understand the challenge for what it is, not going through with it is not, and never has been an option. Lucinda very kindly pointed out the dangers and horrors of their expedition and has warned me of the things to do, and not to do and the things to take to make life on the Big Hill a little easier. I, in turn, have tried my best to point these out to the others who are joining me.

This for me has turned into a very personal challenge and my reasons for doing it far outweigh my fears about the dangers and discomforts that inevitably lie ahead. The thin air, the altitude sickness, the fatigue and not least the fact that I will be away from my lovely girls for nearly 2 weeks really only act to spur me on to make the whole thing a resounding success for the charity that has somehow become such an important part of my life!!

It's actually less than 18 months since I met Bob Paxman, the founder of Talking2Minds which was  a 'chance' encounter but one we both knew for some reason was significant. I had invited another military charity, Pilgrim Bandits (mentioned in the previous post) to a rugby match so I could get to know some of the people I was going to jump out of an aeroplane with and Bob was with them as a guest. I didn't get a chance to speak to him at the event and just shook his hand at the end and said something like "sorry mate didn't get to talk today, see you again....." He muttered something equally forgettable but there was something else there and for some reason we both felt we needed to talk again. We did, in London a couple of weeks later.

I remember distinctly walking out of my office saying to myself "I'm really busy and I'm off to meet a bloke called Bob"....I didn't know who he was, what he did, in fact all I knew was he was a big bloke called Bob!! Well we met, and talked. And talked. I told him about my journey through life this far and he told me about his, and it was no time before the bells were ringing and I knew I'd hit on something big. This was potentially a life-changing conversation (as it indeed proved to be).

It was less than a week later I was sitting as an observer on a 'change programme' at Talking2Minds seeing with my own eyes the fantastic work that was being done and the incredible results that I could see unfolding. I knew on that day that this was something I had to be involved in. This was my way to help people who, with training, I could really help. Anyone who knows me will know that, since an early age that I wouldn't like to guess at, I have had my own long and tough battle with alcohol.  That battle went on for many many years and meeting with Bob, at that particular time in my life, was absolutely no coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences anyway. Many of the people who come to Talking2Minds are self medicating on alcohol and/or drugs as their coping mechanism to shut out the traumas, nightmares or flashbacks and now, all of a sudden,  I found myself in a position where I could put the hell I had been through to some good positive use and actually use it to help other people.....what an incredible feeling that was....I was in!!

My motivation therefore couldn't be stronger to beat this Big Hill - it is small compared to the mountains I have climbed to get this far......

Many thanks for reading this blog. If it touches you in any way or you feel you would like to post a comment that would be nice - as I can only see from here that it's been read, not what anyone thinks....and being new to this blog stuff some feedback might help me improve it!!

Anyway, to find out more about the fantastic work we do at Talking2minds please go to ww.talking2minds.co.uk

To support my trek for Talking2Minds please feel free to donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/BruceMartin66

Thanks again,

Bruce










Friday 30 March 2012

Having never written a blog before I was pleasantly amazed at the amount of people who appear to have read it. I stumbled on the 'stats' button a couple of days after I published it and saw that it had been read 38 times, and not just in this country!! I must admit I then developed a bit of an annoying habit of checking it every half an hour to see how many more of you had read it!! I have managed to control myself now and just check daily but I am still amazed that nearly 30 Americans have read my blog and others throughout Europe too, well over 100 so far....powerful stuff this blogging!!

This week has been a non-stop whirlwind of events which started on Monday, as most weeks do! The fact that it started on Monday was going to be about all that actually was normal. While I was with my good friend Paul the phone rang and it was Bob from Talking2Minds. He asked after my health and after exchanging pleasantries very casually asked if I would like to be a trustee for the charity. Well, Paul will tell you my chin hit the floor and after I'd burbled a bit I asked what it would involve. The first thing, Bob said, would be to attend the next trustee's meeting. In 4 hours time in the Forest of Dean!! Paul and I finished our coffees and I went back to the car and it must be said I was in a state of shock at the same time as feeling very honoured to have been asked to take on such an important role for Talking2Minds. The evening was the new beginning of what is already an amazing journey.

Tuesday was equally interesting. I had a meeting with the amazing and lovely Lucinda Flump who I met last year on a sponsored parachute jump for the Pilgrim Bandits. Pilgrims are a brilliant charity who raise money for forces amputees and they run various challenges throughout the year. The monies raised from their fundraising is channelled back into taking injured members on adventure and confidence building expeditions so that once their confidence is regained they can go on and achieve far more than they may have achieved before being injured. To find out more, and to be inspired by the guys they help go to www.pilgrimbandits.org   Lucinda has just completed one of those challenges which was climbing Kilimanjaro (you can read more about their particular journey on the Pilgrims website above). She wrote on my Facebook page encouraging support "I've just come back from Kilimanjaro and it was hell on earth, altitude sickness is the devil and 3 people died on the mountain the day our group reached the summit. This is no ordinary sponsored walk, it's tough physically and mentally and I'm still recovering even now." These words have sort of stuck with me and given me a steely determination to raise even more money for the simple reason it doesn't look like something I'll be doing twice!! Lucinda was fantastic. It was a two hour chat that had everything really, we talked about the kit list (and I got some great tips of dos and donts!) and spoke about the bravery of not only Lucinda herself but the 4 amputees who were also on the trek. We laughed and also spoke of the more serious aspects of the challenge..... I left our meeting feeling a real sense of "what have I let myself in for" but it's far too late for that so now it really is all about focussing on the job in hand and raising a lot of money and awareness for Talking2Minds. Thanks Lucinda!!

Yesterday I was back in the Forest of Dean doing my first radio interview for the charity on BBC Radio Gloucester which will be aired on Monday morning. I was in a lovely relaxed setting with great people around me but still managed to be nervous so I hope I got the message across and did the charity justice!! This was followed by a newspaper interview which was far easier as there wasn't a great big blue microphone in my face!!

On to the important bit - the fundraising!! Talking2Minds is really where my heart is and I see the future for the charity being very bright. The work we do is awe-inspiring and it is just infortunate that we are not even scratching the surface at the moment. Yes, PTSD is getting more coverage in the press at the moment, and yes, people are beginning to realise the severity and size of the problem, but this is just the beginning. We at Talking2Minds are here for the duration to make a massive difference to people's lives. The guys and girls who attend our 'change programmes' go home with renewed purpose and without the nightmares, flashbacks and/or whatever else it was they brought with them when they came to us.

I am only climbing a hill - these people have put their lives on the line for us time and time again without giving it a second thought and now it's our turn to do something for them. If you, as an individual sitting there reading this can just stop and think for 1 minute what it might be like to carry the burden of PTSD around with you for years or even decades....and think you could help in a small way by making a small (or large) donation you too will be making a huge difference. If you are working for or even own a company which may be interested in sponsoring me I can take your company logo to the top of Kilimanjaro and offer plenty of media coverage too. Whatever your situation and wherever you are I will really appreciate every little bit of help I can get with this as I intend to make a huge difference......

Thanks for reading....wherever you are!!

Please donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/BruceMartin66

and find out more about Talking2Minds at www.talking2minds.co.uk

Please feel free to contact me personally on 07824 832928 (but watch your time zone!!!!)








Sunday 25 March 2012

I met a friend of mine in a coffee shop some weeks ago and told him that I was planning a trek up Kilimanjaro in October. Being a playwright and an actor his creative talent and flair is what puts the bread and butter on his table so I listened and took note when he told me I should really start writing a daily blog. That way, he said, it would be so much easier to remember it all when, having completed the challenge in mid-October, I decided I wanted to write all about it. I told him what a great idea that was as of course I'd love to have a record of such a once-in-a-lifetime expedition. I met him again last week (4 weeks on) and of course his first words were "how's the blog going?" These are the first words of the blog so I'd better try to put the whole thing into perspective from the start....albeit 4 weeks and more further on!!

In fact the whole idea started over a year ago when I agreed to do a trek for charity. When my boss heard about this he asked me if I could do one for the company's own charity as it is one of his personal dreams to climb the Big Hill. There was no way I would commit to 2 treks in a year for family reasons, and the fact that at 46 I'm not getting any younger and having not done a walk longer than a few hours around the shops as rarely as possible it would require enough training to do it once!! So far I have managed to persuade about 20 people to join me, pay deposits etc and all was going well until we hit a snag. The company's charity is based in Austria and so raising money through the normal channels was going to be difficult. The enthusiasm sadly waned from HQ and that gave me an easy decision to make...I could now do the trek for the charity of my own choice which, as I work for them already, was an easy enough choice to make.

That's the background and much of it is irrelevant and won't need to be revisited. Suffice to say Talking2Minds will benefit (massively I hope) from the funds that I intend to raise over the next 6 months or so. Training got underway with a day in January on The Pyg Track on Snowdon and another on March in the beautiful Grasmere. Both were amazing days out and I soon understood why people do this kind of thing for fun! Having said that I recognise completely that Kilimanjaro will be something altogether different. A friend of mine who has recently returned described the experience as "Hell on Earth" and has vowed "never to climb anything - ever again"!!

The reason that I'm now more excited than ever about doing this is twofold. The first is the very fact that I will be raising funds for and awareness of Talking2Minds. We are a military charity helping those who suffer from the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We are funded by ourselves and donations from the public and we need to spread the word far and wide as PTSD is now becoming more recognised and features in the news almost daily yet, even with the amazing results we continue to get, we are largely unknown at the moment. This, I am confident, will change with Neville Thurlbeck as our PR director and Bob Paxman, ex-22 SAS and founder of the charity as our CEO and driving force. We also have various other fundraising efforts going on which I will promote using this blog as I go along!!

The second reason I'm so excited about this particular challenge is that I will be joined by my all-time best mate of about 39 years Paul Witherick. He has been a constant rock to me over the years and the saying that "you know who your true friends are" is absolutely accurate here!! To be at the top of the Big Hill with Paul will be an amazing way to celebrate our friendship.

www.talking2minds.co.uk

You can donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/BruceMartin66

Thank you.

Bruce.