Making the news

Hi there readers I hope your all safe and well out there across the globe, I thought I would do a little write up about the Article Collectibulldogs was recently published in.

Thank you to Frances Solomon the writer whom is currently training at university to become a free lance journalist, found me in a local directory and thought of the collection as news worthy.

Some points I think may of got mixed up and Frances did say the editor she had sent the piece to had made some changes but hey we made the news!!!!

I think the gesture to feature Collectibulldogs was very kind of Frances and ironically came around at the same time as I was thinking of getting some local exposure for the website myself, advertising is expensive so when an opportunity arose for the chance to be seen on a local level and also to help someone with their university portfolio at the same time was a win win combination.

Hopefully I wasn’t to much of a pain to work with and Frances has spoken of doing a larger feature that could be pitched to magazines which if done in the right way would be AMAZEBULLS.

As a fella with complex issues I was gobsmacked to see what picture was used for the article I wished a better one of myself and wiggles was chosen instead, I look half dead in the photo and it was taken by Debbie one day to show how tired I had looked after a 3 day watch over wiggles after her operation.

I have a sense of humour so it balances out and on the subject of photos my daughter had seen the piece before getting home from school, so when arriving home I got a hug for being in the news then a ear bashing because she thought I had put this particular pic forward for the article which she found embarrassing.

I replied with if you think yours is bad what about mine!! She then broke into fits of laughter CHEEKY OR WHAT

Since the article went out I have had family friends and even folks I do not know congratulating me for this achievement and again the thank you’s have to go to the journalist that put the story through in the first place.

I hope that embarrassing myself (in a funny way) and letting the story go forward has an impact on others in a positive way, and if one person out there thinks that if I he can do something worthwhile whilst battling mental health then I can too Then it’s all worthwhile and job well done.

Mental health has been the Bain of my life for so many years it’s put up barriers in many different aspects and has nearly beaten me on more than one occasion but I will not let it beat me completely.

With a discharge without proper treatment looming from the East Sussex mental health team hanging over my head I am as is my family are scared of going it alone, and in hind site we wished we had not sent in complaints now but do realise the right to complain when your care plans going wrong has dire consequences, and rather than have their reputations charred team managers will end up discharging folks that complain back to the GP so not to damage he’s or her teams reputations.

There needs to be a proper shake up within the professional psychiatric community because discharging patients way before they are ready as this will only come back to bite them in the behind. And I’m sure it’s not in the NICE guidelines!!!!!!

The article was not written by Frances with mental health in mind if anything I held back from mentioning more and as the piece was on the collection the questions were all pre determined before we met that day at metro deco (cool cafe for dogs) to do the interview.

I think the second article being done by Jools stone will be aimed a little more at mental health but I’ve not read the draft yet so cannot say for certain.

Thank you

Finally I’d like to point out I see this as a small achievement for myself there are so many negative stories in the news lately that capture ones attention more than a piece on one fellas bulldog collection it was great to of even been spotted, thank you again to the journalist Frances Solomon I wish you every success and by following your heart I think you will end up writing some really inspirational pieces that we will all be reading in the nations top papers in time to come.

Happy collecting folks