CANS for CALM!
Hello. My name’s Kevin and I belong to a Whatsapp group called PINTS (although it’s temporarily been renamed to CANS because of the pandemic - cheers for that one Cotto). We’ve decided that we’re all going to walk 26 miles overnight in London in October in aid of CALM as part of their Lost Hours Walk. Why are we doing this? And why do we have a Whatsapp group called PINTS/CANS? Well dear reader, allow me to explain.
A couple of years ago, myself and my work colleagues at the time (Brendan, Tom and James) wanted to organise a trip to the pub to catch-up with our other friend George, who we hadn’t seen in a little while since he left to go and work elsewhere. A Whatsapp group was made to organise it, we called it PINTS because that’s what we were doing, we went to the pub and had a lovely time. That was it. But as so often happens, the group stuck around. Pinging away on our phones with blurry photos the next morning, promises of “let’s do that again soon!” and reviews of our hangovers. The usual. Over two years later, it’s still the biggest source of battery drain and data usage on my phone, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My fellow PINTS/CANS group members have since become my closest friends in London. Apart from my girlfriend, they’re the people I spend the most time chatting to and hanging out with. They’re a really smashing bunch of lads. 10/10 would recommend. I’ve asked them if they’d be up for this for a couple of reasons:
It’ll be fun
We can drink a couple of CANS along the way (even more fun)
I have depression and experience of suicidal thoughts (a lot less fun)
So, about that depression. Towards the end of August last year, I fell apart. I walked out of the office in the middle of the day, without telling anyone where I was going, with the intention of ending my own life. It still feels horrific to write that, but right now I’m doing A LOT better. That day last Summer was the awful peak of a depressive episode which I’ve been dealing with ever since, however almost 12 months later I’m finally feeling like I’m reaching a different kind of peak. The kind I’ve been trying to find ever since. Peak me. Normal me. Feeling ‘alright’ me.
It’s not been easy - far from it - but the support I’ve received from those closest to me, as well as strangers, and most crucially mental health professionals, has been phenomenal. I feel so privileged to have had access to so many sources of help, and I feel awful when I think about all of those people out there who either don’t have access to as much help, don’t know how to find it, or don’t know how to ask for it.
CALM put this next bit better than I ever could: “125 people take their own lives every single week in the UK. We’re walking to send a message that that’s not ok. This October, join us as we walk forward, together against suicide with our communities, family and friends. It’s not about the hours walked or the money raised, it’s about uniting to smash the silence around suicide in the UK.”
When I heard about this, I instantly thought of my friends on the group chat. When my depressive episode began, I had to take two months off work. Whilst this meant I unknowingly had some excellent early practice for lockdown, it was also an incredibly difficult and lonely time. The PINTS/CANS chat was a godsend. There were many days where it would be my only form of social interaction. To this day it never fails to cheer me up, and we’ve even managed to keep the conversation focussed enough from time-to-time to organise more meet-ups. Now we’re using it to organise something that will help others.
I can’t wait to walk through the night in the city I love with my friends, and I really hope that in doing so we can raise some cash (and a bit more awareness) to help those in the most desperate of situations, often caused simply by our own thoughts and how we interpret them.
Thank you for reading this, and thanks for your donation if you’re able to spare anything!
Kevin
Thank you to our Sponsors
£100
Charlie S
£69
Quolin
All the best
£53
Sophie Lanestead
Such an amazing cause and a wonderfully positive thing to do - I will be thinking of you at mile 25, hope you have the world's biggest meal afterwards, you will deserve it!!! It's also so refreshing to hear you be so open about mental health - something I think is a great comfort and inspiration! X
£53
Tony Moorey
If I had a hat, I'd be doffing right now.
£53
Laura Tannenbaum
Such a bloody great cause. Best of luck Team PINTS/CANS. You’ve got this. 💪
£53
Claire & Matt
So proud of you Kev! What a great bunch of mates. Love & hugs x
£53
Kevin Hingley
£53
Claire Sturgess
Excellent work! xx
£53
Ben Caine
Awesome idea for an awesome cause just ..... awesome 👏
£53
Pete Donaldson
rules: George must drink at least one chonky Faxe can
£53
Chess Club Records
£53
Mich, Jon, Theo N Mary
Cheers Bren and gang.
£53
Aisling Appleton & Jimothy Croc
LADS, CANS and PINTS, PINTS, CANS and LADS - now there's a team we can get behind! A fantastic cause. Best of luck LADS!
£53
Ben Matthew
£53
Kate O'sullivan
£53
Kds
Well done lads x
£53
James Passmore
Well done lads 🍻 ❤️
£53
Alex Bingham
This is great!
£53
Kev & Mags Appleton
We will be cheering on this bonzer group of mates on the 23rd,what a positive way to erase the stigma around mental health. Walk tall xxx
£53
Ben Burrell
Lovey work boys!
£53
Alex Baker
Absolutely smashed some cans, absolutely smashed this epic walk. So much love to you all xxx
£53
Steve P
Hope you are feeling good today!! Congrats guys. Amazing result for a great cause, Steve P x
£53
Gary Scholes
Great cause guys! Good luck!
£53
Graham
Great stuff guys 👏👏👏
£50
Andy Bush
Go #lads I know you've got this. If Brendan's knees go again ditch him in a canal.
£50
Kelly Pousette
Good luck lads. Take a hip flask. Xxx
£50
Jacky Godfrey
Good luck lads Great cause!
£50
Joe Frankland
Go Tom and all!
£50
Eloise + Dot The Cat
So proud of how far you have come and so happy you have this wonderful bunch of pals. You should all be proud that this money will go to stop another wonderful person from thinking that suicide is the only way to stop things. Love you all x
£49
Gordon Lundy
Hello I have been sat in a bath of beans outside my house for over 8 hours now, and you still have not come past. The beans have gone cold and the Fox is getting worryingly close so I’m going to go inside now. I have the money raised gathered into one of those plastic coin bags they use at the bank, so I guess I’ll just hang it on the hedge for you to collect when you eventually pass. There are some extra tins of beans too if you’re hungry.
£42
Wendy
Good luck
£42
Ian
Oi, and indeed, Oi. Xx
£42
Wendy Cotton
Amazing achievement well done
£42
Zoë Edwards
Big stuff, great lads. Wishing you allll the luck and sending love xx
£42
Claire Collins
Well done lads. Big respect x
£40
Paul Collins-reddin
£40
Jamie Henson
£40
James Ellison
£40
Natalie Jennings
Such a brilliant cause and I’m sure this will be at least 80% fun (20% walking) xx
£32
Elaine, Chaz And Shannon Xx
Go Cuz! Great cause and will be having pints and cans in your honour!
£32
Jonathan Cresswell
£32
Sarah Baker
£32
Al Smith
£32
Louise Molony
Kev, James, Brendan, Tom & George. FAIR PLAY TO YOU! Will be cheering you on (from my sofa in PJ’s!) A great cause. Enjoy, Louise xx
£32
Dc
£32
Ben Wolford
A praise chorus for this endeavor!
£32
Tim Vernon
Amazing work you guys, love it x
£32
Seb Clark
Good luck gang xx
£30
Hannah Dodds
Wishing you all the best of luck, what an amazing cause. We hope your toes survive the walk, we know how challenging Marathons can be. All our love Hannah, Adam & Flo
£30
Chris Martin
Good luck lads.
£29
John Armitt
Well done
£27
Paul Sylvester
Good luck Gents. An amazing effort for an amazing cause. Big love and respect!
£27
Adam Clements
Apparently lager is as good if not better than energy drinks, 26 cans should see you round okay. Good luck lads!
£26
Colin Greaves
Fair play, lads, best of luck to you.
£26
Jenny Lydeard
Good luck Tom and the team! X
£26
Steph Bright
Well done guys!
£26
Mike Cass
You’re an amazing person! Go on the CANS!
£26
J G’s Mate
Well done boys, pint cans are an option 😃
£26
Ellie Stone
Good luck!
£26
Matt Haste
Great work lads. Good luck. Hopefully you'll get the opportunity to watch some of the mighty Villa game.
£25
Chris Duncan
You’re mental. Good luck!
£21
Nicky Tranter
Good luck guys! Nicky x
£21
Jan
Good luck all.... great job! X
£21
Mr Aaron A Ford
Great cause guys! Good luck!!🤘
£21
James Corboy
Good Luck GG and Team CANS
£21
Sam Goddard
£21
The Parker Deans
Make sure you keep well hydrated while on your quest Fantastic cause , well done xx
£21
Sophie Miller
Gold luck
£21
Sophie Eggleton
This is an awesome thing you are doing and I couldn’t back it more ( well I could if I had more money). But thank you and keep up the fab work! X
£21
Joe Thomas
There they are now, all the lads. Big love x
£21
Jess Stead
Go Kevin and team! You got this 🙌
£21
Harriet Hines
Good luck lovely lads! X
£21
Ric Blaxill
Can you do it? Yes you Can! Good work gents!
£21
Mimi Thomas
£21
Ben Sheppard
£21
Steven Massey
Hup the lads!
£21
Christine Humberstone
Good luck and enjoy. Xx
£21
Penny / John Harley
Good luck Kev very proud of you Hang on to those mates very worthy cause
£21
Christine Cotton
Good luck Tom love Dad and Chris 💕
£21
Girl Jo
Proud of you
£21
Lucy Dearlove
£21
Emily Ecob
Good luck Kevin, you are incredible : )
£21
Daniel Benedictus
Dear Kevin, I hereby support you and your fellow LEGENDS from the CANS group, and I look forward to your upcoming triumph over the big long walk.
£21
George
COME ONNNNNNNN
£21
Clare Baker
Xx
£21
Tim Fielding
£21
James Curran
You guys are all amazing and it is fantastic that you are doing this for such a great cause . But Kevin, you in particular , have my utmost respect for taking a negative period in your life and turning it into something so positive . I'm with you guys all the way - just not literally, given its a 26 mile walk !
£21
Scott Colothan
Bless you all xxx
£21
Brendan
I really hope Brendan wins!
£21
Harry Lynn-evans
£21
Charlotte Greenman
Great work chaps
£21
Janet Hingley
Xxx
£21
Claire Umney
Sending strength and light to you all! Thank you sharing your story.
£21
Rosie Campbell
£21
Emily Street
£21
Lisa Bayley
Go Team Cans! You can do this you awesome lot 👊♥️
£21
Maria Williams
£21
Kate Chandler
Great cause.
£21
Fred West
Well done guys! Best of luck!
£21
Carl Hingley
Go team good luck stay safe
£21
Adrian Hieatt
Excellent stuff guys, well done and good luck
£21
Julia Hannan
Wandering the streets of London at night drinking cans of beer... it sounds like a flashback from my youth except I wasn't doing anything remotely as useful. Lots of love xx
£21
Laus
£21
Cal Burke
Good luck lads, every day you make me proud but today you get £20
£21
Rupert King
£21
Nick Jackson
£21
Lauren French
Good luck lads, you've got this! x
£21
Carly Watts And James Mckay
Such an inspiration to others in need. Well done for speaking out to help the cause x
£21
Tom Cowell
£21
Jack Lawrence-brown
Well done - great effort!! Love from Jack and Lou
£21
Amy Voce
Go on you bloody lads!Xx
£21
Malcolm Evans
As your legs tire and your pace drops, remember the words of Gandalf!! "This too will pass!"
£21
Joe Mortimer
£21
Get Your Freak On Jimmy Deacon
5K YOU L E G E N D S
£21
Margot Nirvross
£21
Jessica Pancholi
Really delayed donation from me but YAY well done lads 💖
£21
Austin Collins
Wow. Good on you. All of you. Much respect.
£21
Ali Rose Rees
Well done guys. Thanks for sharing your story Kev. Big love xxx
£21
Darren Hill
Fantastic cause and effort. Well done!
£21
Nicki T
Great work x
£20
Amelia O'shea
Good luck gang!
£20
Jane And Dave Cronin
£20
Jayne And James Doherty
Such a great achievement for such a great cause. We are so proud of you and your friends Kevin. Lots of love.
£20
Ollie Walker
£20
Dave Masterman
Good luck, lads!!! Very proud of you all. X
£20
Rosie Smith
Go Bren and Team, just another 20 miles to go now... great cause x
£20
Geraint Ellis
LOVE x
£20
Nick Daly
Yeah boys!
£20
Graham Peterkin
Well done Kevin for making a positive out of such a dark experience. Great cause and good luck with raising loads. Sending best wishes Take care
£20
Steve Taylor
Good luck
£20
Jack Taylor
Cracking effort lads! Great cause.
£20
Alessandro Dordoni
£20
Darren Tan
£20
Teresa & Steve
Good luck Kevin and friends. We are proud of you, love Teresa and Steve
£20
Beth
Good luck lads. Xx
£20
Lucy Stokton
Great work guys! X
£20
Trevor Golden
Enjoy fellas! Cracking cause
£20
Browno
Well done Tom and friends - amazing work lads
£20
Nathalie Bouleau Chabot
Good Luck Lads! Tom knows how much CALM means to me - such an important organisation x
£20
Brian Murphy
TOPS ON, BOTTOMS OFF.
£20
Linda
Well done James
£20
Beef And Sam
Top work, great cause!
£20
Nigel Winterburn
Well done chaps, great cause!
£20
Matt Dyson
What an amazing bunch of can loving lads you lot are. Inspirational scenes. Big love to Kev and his menthol filters x
£16
Natalie Payne
Thor and I will be walking in spirit <3
£16
Danielle Perry
Sending love and respect to you all! Congrats on seeing it through, and for such an important cause. Much love from Brighton DP John and Etta x
£16
Nick
Great work guys, good luck and UTV!
£16
Becky
Lads, this is an excellent cause. Huge love and good luck!
£15
Nix & Bell
Great work guys!x
£11
Steven Jamieson
£11
Steve Marsh
£11
Cj And Aj Bates
Keep talking. The most important thing is to Keep Talking!
£11
Em Summers
GO TEAM! Yes Kev! Mneurrr xxxx
£11
Gareth Dobson
Well done and good luck, idiots!
£11
Charlie Ashcroft
Go! Team!
£11
Mikey Jonns
Excellent good luck lads
£11
Noah Wright
£11
Max Humberstone
£11
Llia
go on lads! ❤️
£11
Chris Duncan
£11
Stephen Street
Good luck with the walk guys!
£11
Becky Evans
Great work, great stuff. Well done to the lads of PINTS/CANS raising awareness for something so important xx
£11
Stephen Mitchell
What an incredibly brave thing to do to share your experiences around mental health. Happy to donate.
£11
Jen Thomas
Amazing work! Well done all of you and so glad you’re doing better now.
£11
Tom Mitchell
Good luck!
£11
Mørk
Three cans of Faxe and I’ll buy you a roast on Sunday George
£11
Keith Mclaren
HAWAY THE LADS #CANS
£11
Jaimie Karsan
Amazing effort guys, well done!
£11
David Martin
/CANS
£11
Kasra Mowlavi
Do it for Bruce
£11
Lizi Chambers
£11
Rebecca
Good luck team CANS! You CANS do it! Xx
£11
Brogan
£11
Anonymous
£11
Soph Chimonides
Good luck guys and well done! Lots and lots of love Soph xxx
£11
Matt Clark
£11
Ruth & Simon
Love you T Money!
£11
Alan Tierney
Great job
£11
Imo P
Great initiative, good luck and have fun James and team!
£11
Fiona Porritt
Great cause. Good luck guys!!
£11
Michael O'neill
Great effort lads
£11
Will Short
Good luck lads!
£11
Abi Godfrey
Good luck guys!
£11
Leigh Meyer
£11
Alison & Phill
Kevin, we are so very proud of you .
£11
Jessica Temby
Well done guys and good luck!
£11
Abbie Pink
Well done guys 🙌🏻 x
£11
Julie Doyle
£11
Somerset Prew
£11
Becky & Jake
You're gonna smash it boys!!!!
£11
Pete Flinton
Good Luck! /CANS
£11
Jamie Horton
£11
Nicola Meheran
Great cause Brendan
£11
Ms A E Goddard
Good luck Tom et al
£11
Mandy Le Bachelet
For J-P
£11
Duncy Leaths
Well done Tom and friends!
£11
Jessica Flanagan
Good luck boys x
£11
Marc Dixon
Brendan is my walking idol! Never seen a man walk so well
£11
Miri Green
Well done CANS, such a fantastic cause. I hope you all get some good rest xxx
£11
Sophie Reynolds
Sorry for the late donation but huge well done on the walk (plus that little bit extra!!) and raising so much for a great cause. You are amazing!
£11
Oli
🙌
£11
Richard Wolfenden
£10
Anonymous
£10
Ed Gibson
Well done gents. Brilliant effort for a great cause. #joaoCANSelo
£10
Dave
£10
Ivan M
£10
Amy Moore
£10
Nicole Eveleigh
Go go team! You’ll smash it :)
£10
Frankie B
Nice one guys, well done! X
£10
Anonymous
£10
Kat Armstrong
£10
Laura Thornton
Good luck to you all! X
£10
Jenny Harley
£10
Paul Flower
Huge effort, never underestimate the value of friends.
£10
Serena
£10
Imogen Greenhalgh
£10
Guy
£10
Siobhan O'neill
Good luck TC and co!
£10
Alice W
Oi oi, go on boiz
£10
Elle Scott
£10
Jenna Porter
Good luck boys!! Love Ol’Jen xx
£10
Adam Leon
£10
Jessica Openshaw
£10
Natalie Deo
Good luck guys 💚
£10
Loren Eley
So much love to you Kevin & good luck team!!
£10
Carrie Wallder
This is excellent! I'm a big supporter of CALM and their work - well done to you all! x
£10
James H
Best of luck lads!
£8
Matt F
Good luck boys - what a great cause
£8
Anonymous
£8
Katy
Good luck guys! x
£5
James Rushton
£5
Poppy Davenport
Good luck! Next pints on me, James! Poppy x
£5
Phoebe Sharman
Great cause. Good luck! Phoebe and Stu x
£5
Jo Taylor
£5
Claire Whitcombe
Amazing effort, well done!!
£5
Steffi Fennelly
Best of luck Cuz
£5
Maddy Shaw Roberts
Best of luck to you all xx
£5
Neil Fearn
£5
Sam Blackman
Amazing work on the fundraising. Enjoy lads 🍻
£5
Tom Langfield
Good luck lads!
£5
Anonymous
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