Tag: hiking

T-shirts… let me explain!

So, in August, I will be starting a walk from France, over the Pyrenees, and across Spain. And in the this post, I have explained the reasons why I want to… and now, I have launched this t-shirt:

However, a few people have asked me why? Well, on the 18th June this year, it will be two years since my stroke. And in the last two years, I have wanted to do this quest, but having lost my wage, I had to create a way to make this happen, and this t-shirt is it!

The design is my own creation, a bit of rehab, learning a bit of graphic design (a very simple version, but still!) and my brain made it. The towns on each side are the start and end of the walk; the line is the way of across the map, the route I will be walking! See? Simple.

The t-shirt is a way of friends and family to support me to do this walk, and a way for me to raise the money for the food, drinks and shelter. Any extra support/money left over will make its way to the charity I will be walking for, The Stroke Association.

Without the work of the Stroke Association and the Speech and Language Therapists, I wouldn’t be writing or typing this posts. I wouldn’t be talking to people and asking them for help. And that is the next step…

But I will tell you about it later.

So, the t-shirts… well, there are two types available: organic and non-organic t-shirts. The reason for the two types is the sizes.

Organic t-shirts
S 36/38″
M 38/40″
L 41/42″
XL 43/44″
2XL 45/47″
3XL 47/49″

These t-shirts are beautiful; soft and lighter, but a good shirt… they will be £15. In this shirt, I am 3XL.

Non-organic t-shirts
S 35/37″
M 38/40″
L 41/43″
XL 44/46″
2XL 47/49″
3XL 50/52″
4XL 53/55″
5XL 56/58″

These are still beautiful; a little bit heavier in weight, but still cotton… they will be £10. In this shirt, I’m XL in size… so, the size range is the reason for two.

The design is one colour (either black or white), on a range of t-shirt colours. Email me for details, or phone me!

So, why the Camino?

Around eight years ago, my friend Trish said she was going to the Camino… I had no idea what that was, so I googled it and saw this:

Of course, I panicked… she was bring her daughter! Trish had a laugh and corrected me, the Camino de Santiago.

Fast forward to me in the hospital last year, my friend Dave was on the Camino… sending me videos and photos, knowing that I couldn’t talk or type back, but lifting my spirits high.

You see, during my time in hospital, my words locked in my own mind, I had a 3 things going round my mind. The first one as easy, GET BETTER, yup… that simple.

The second was a song, Music for a Nurse from Oceansize. A fantastic song, but most important for me, because the lyrics are hidden in the music, like my own words… hidden.

The last thing, the third and most important one was thing:

The mountains are calling and I must go

The mountains, to me, is freedom; a dislocated place away from normal life. And more and more, I need this… then and now.

And now means the Camino, the Pyrenees, the mountains and freedom. Hill that push you better, a believe that I can get better, to push forward, and to heal the invisible wounds that are left by a stroke.

So, the Camino de Santiago to me is a lot… and I want to tell stroke survivors that they can find their version of getting better. To find their way to put forward and create their own quest.