H6: LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOCKDOWN

Well, I guess everyone gets that title, right? Not just that, but a quick Google will confirm that everyone’s thought of it already. Which, under normal circumstances, would compel me to think of something more original. As you may have noticed, these are not normal circumstances. One month on… It’s just over a month since […]

H5: “WHAT’S NEXT”, INDEED…?

The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew (Robert Burns, To A Mouse, 1785, English translation) Behind the curtain (meta stuff) It’s almost exactly a year since I published the first post on 50FootHead (the Pre-Amble). It’s been a very quiet winter on here, in spite of the expectations I had. The […]

#57 BORDER JOLLY (OR, A BIT OF PHILLIP AND SARAH)

Welcome to LEJoG Day 57, and to Scotland Day 57 pre-amble I toyed with several options for this post title, marking the momentous final border crossing between England and Scotland. Eventually I went back to my first idea, rhyming with the favourite dog breed of both my auntie and one of my anonymous blogging inspirations. […]

H4: BLUE COMETS AND BLACK MIRRORS

The Blue Comet The Sopranos I didn’t watch The Sopranos when it first aired. As a huge, borderline obsessive, West Wing nut I almost felt it was a betrayal to watch any other American TV show. In spite of recommendations from friends I never actively sought it out. Then my illness coincided with the last […]

H3: “TO BE HAPPY”

To be happy, as opposed to blue. It’s a universal human aspiration. But also an ongoing struggle. Even though sometimes it will seem to others (and even to myself) that I’ve mastered it. This post is an attempt to explain how the effects of one severe episode of mental illness can reverberate through the years […]

H2: WALK A MILE IN MINE

An introduction to my own mental health experience. Although I hope you enjoy my LEJoG blog, you don’t need to walk all (at the time of writing) 809 miles in my shoes. Just this one mile is all I ask… Pre-amble There’s no way for this not to come across as defensive, but I feel […]

H1: WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES

Hello and welcome to the first mental health post in the ‘Head’ section of 50FootHead. This one is very simple. It is a plea, virtually a demand, for any reader to empathise with people who are experiencing or have experienced mental health issues of any kind. (Note: the first correction I’ve made to this post […]

#56 A HALFWAY SERIOUS UNDERTAKING

Welcome to LEJoG Day 56, and all the best to Joyce and Colin Day 56 pre-amble The final stretch of the Pennine Way, from Byrness to Kirk Yetholm, is without doubt a serious undertaking. Trailblazer suggests that it will take 10½ to 13 hours of walking, and it includes almost a mile of vertical ascent. […]

#55 MIXED FOREST VIEWS

Welcome to LEJoG Day 55 Day 55 pre-amble Destination: Forest View Walkers Inn, Byrness. The essential pinch point for any Pennine Way planner, i.e. you need to book this place well in advance otherwise you will have great difficulty in completing the trail. Much more of this place in ‘After the walk’ below. I can […]

#54 “UP AND DOWN I’M UP THE WALL” (AND THROUGH THE BLOODY TREES)

Welcome to LEJoG Day 54, unless you’re a barbarian (in which case keep out!) Day 54 pre-amble Today’s post title is inspired by the lyrics to this song from 1982. Here’s the key refrain: You keep me running round Well that’s alright with me Up and down, I’m up the wall I’m up the bloody […]

#53 CONFESSIONS OF A NON-PURIST

Bless you all and welcome to LEJoG Day 53 Day 53 pre-amble Right, while first making it clear that I have no wish to mock Catholic sacraments… I wish to make a confession. It has been 11 walking days since my last confession. That is, since the last time I strayed from the official route […]

#52 HIGH POINT (AND LOW POINT)

LEJoG Day 52: Come with me if you want to live Day 52 pre-amble Cross Fell (pictured) is the literal high point of this stage, this high-themed week, the entire Pennine Way and the whole of England outside the Lake District. Today was the low point of the week though, a long and not especially […]