Research suggests that men who can’t speak openly about their emotions may be less able to recognise symptoms of mental health problems
Local grime artist Isaac George aka Truth uses spoken work activism to highlight the issues his community is facing and hopes to inspire a generation to rise above Pillgwenlly’s reputation, which according to CrimeRate is statistically the most dangerous small town in Gwent with 159 crimes per 1,000 people. The most common crimes committed are violence and sexual offences where the town’s crime rate is significantly larger than the national average.
“Criminal activity, poverty, violence, and reckless attitudes are not needed,” George said. The need for young voices is critical, with the town’s negative reputation forever present in the media.
Cardiff Walking Football Club gives players a chance for a kickabout as well as an opportunity to talk about their problems. Men who can’t speak openly about their emotions may be less able to recognise symptoms of mental health issues, according to leading charity Mental Health Foundation.
Having received mental health training from the GMB Union, Cardiff Walking FC founding member Chris Davey, 51, can spot when a teammate isn’t feewling himself.
“It’s the ‘I’m okay…but’ that’s when they’ll open up to you and there’s always someone in the group that has dealt with a similar problem to talk to,” he said.
One of the problems that players find hard to talk about is cancer, whether a personal battle or a family member. But the walking football club, based in Whitchurch, is there to support its members. A teammate has a wife with terminal cancer and another found a lump on his neck, the group is there for them and provides moral support.
According to a specialist nurse at Prostate Cymru, Gayner Newton, one in three men are susceptible to prostate cancer, and it is the most common form of cancer in men according to Prostate Cancer UK.
Keeping active cannot prevent the likelihood of prostate cancer but in terms of a man’s mental well-being it’s crucial, the specialist said.
Despite fears that the Qatar World Cup would hamper pub profits this winter, early figures show the Cardiff pub trade is booming, according to new research.
According to marketing experts CGA, sales in bars and pubs were particularly buoyant across Wales after the nation’s first World Cup qualification in 64 years. Trade across the opening week was up by 37% compared to 15% in England.
Figures compiled back in September by Simply Business estimated that UK pubs were set to miss out on £155 million due to the World Cup being held during the winter, which is typically a quieter time of year for publicans.
A staff member at the Queens Vaults, one of the oldest pubs in Cardiff, confirms the World Cup has positively affected business, especially when Wales plays, and although the pub caters for a traditional rugby crowd the football has been a huge success.
Too many men “will bury their heads in the sand and leave it too late so if we do find cancer it’s at a much later developed stage and less likely to be treated,” she said.
Newton along with Prostate Cymru have urged the Senedd and GPs to start calling in men over 50 for PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing. The specialist said: “It’s the only test we have for prostate cancer.”
Traditionally, according to the worker, the winter months see a drop in business. While the kickoff timings during working hours initially raised concerns, the World Cup has boosted sales, created an atmosphere and togetherness unlike anything he’s seen before.
“There’s always someone in the group that has dealt with a similar problem.”Words by Matthäus Bridge
Poetry is arguably one of the most revealing forms of art, which requires incredible strength, courage, and confidence to project onto a page for the world to read. David Hanlon admits that poetry saved his life from a dark spiral into depression and coming to terms with his sexuality during his late 20s. David grew up on a council estate in Cardiff and was raised by a Celtic family in a community, he confesses, that wasn’t a safe space to be openly gay. “It was really damaging, and I was bullied a lot in school, which contributed then to my depression,” he said. The silver lining, he says, is that the traumatic experiences of his life sparked a newfound passion for poetry. “The tortured artist,” he chuckled, “I feel lucky that I’ve been able to at least survive that stuff and feel strong enough to explore it and put it out there for the world to read.”
The 35-year-old decided to pursue his hobby for confessional writing after watching fellow Cardiff poet Christina Thatcher perform her work at an open mic night. “I saw her reading a poem about her father’s death through alcoholism and I thought it was amazing to see somebody talk about something so difficult,” he said, “it was then I had my first moment of ‘Oh, I can really do this’.”
At 29, David took the giant leap and stepped out into the world of poetry. “I went from a closed darkness of isolation to getting out there and exploring this new thing,” he said. He describes his first performance at the Mackintosh Sports Club as an anxious debut. “I kind of can’t remember coming off stage, I was really nervous, I just walked past the audience and went straight outside for a cigarette.”
Developing his confidence to perform became difficult due to the Covid-19 pandemic but after a series of performances, the Cardiff local is delighted with his progress. “I think I’ve only read four or five times in the last couple of performances, but I feel more confident than I expected to be in such a short space of time.”
Getting his work published wasn’t easy and after several setbacks and rude replies, David’s perseverance finally paid off when Animal Heart Press published his work in February 2020. “It was an amazing feat but also very scary because it does feel like your soul or your private life is being given to somebody, it’s out there now.”
Confessional writing is a modern genre that taps into a poet’s life experience. As a qualified mental health counsellor David doesn’t shy away from stigmatised conversations. His debut book ‘Spectrums of Flight’ explores depression and sexuality, among other topics. “A lot of the issues I talk about you’d probably take to therapy, so I’ve been able to work on those issues myself through poetry,” he said. A career highlight while touring his book came in Liverpool when a father thanked David for giving his son the confidence to come out. “When I heard that I thought it was the most amazing thing,” he beamed, “because that’s exactly the point of my book, I want to give people the strength to feel okay.”
This life is made of fence and brick; warped and crumbling.
The late February sky, malaise-packed with heavy clouds, has finally cracked.
Trees are worn, satchel brown, licked with ochre and rust, by nature’s wonder-burnt tongue.
The musky scent of wet wood, permeating. The red-orange flare of a robin, flickering.
But look, lilac crocuses, petal pincers, sprouting in clusters, like tiny feet, magic circling tree roots,
amber stamens,
“When something you’ve written has touched someone or helped them, that’s what keeps me going”
their
spring’s fireworks,
- Dave King MBE
Photos provided by Cardiff Rivers Group ©
The river Taff, Ely, and Rhymney are the three main rivers that run through Cardiff. Each year an estimated 14 million pieces of plastic rubbish ends up in and around rivers in the UK, according to the leading charity Canal and River Trust.
In addition to this, littered nitrous oxide canisters have risen around Cardiff, with several large and small canisters being collected and recycled each year, according to volunteers at Cardiff Rivers Group. Maintaining a strong collaboration between local authorities and voluntarily led groups to keep natural resources and spatial pathways clear of litter is an ongoing target set out this year by Welsh government.
But does this target create an over-reliance on volunteer and community groups? Preventing local authorities from fulfilling their statutory duties as a public service?
The issue of litter around rivers is not Cardiff council’s responsibility unless it concerns flytipping, where a fine of up to £50,000 can be issued. Natural Resources Wales was formed in 2013 and acts separately from the council. Each year their responsibilities and targets are set by the Senedd. Responsibilities involve monitoring environmental incidents such as flooding.
Between Cardiff council and Natural Resources Wales lay a void of responsibility where litter in and around rivers was not being cleared, leaving a stain on natural environments and public sights. Dave King MBE filled that void in 2009 when he formed Cardiff Rivers Group. According to Dave King MBE, the clear lack of responsibility to deal with river litter and consistent passing of the buck from Cardiff Council and Natural Resources Wales was the main reason for starting the group. NRW would only act if a risk of flooding was involved, says King, and the council would pass the buck to the landowner, even if they were the owners.
During this current cost-of-living crisis and times of austerity, the council are going to focus their funding on key areas such as education and social care, and rightfully so says King. Litter picking, street and river cleans are going to get pushed aside, so if community groups don’t step up and take charge of the situation it won’t get done, he says. Cardiff Rivers Group’s main responsibilities involve clearing pathways and rivers, and then collecting and organising rubbish to be disposed of and recycled. Eszter Hovarth, who has been a volunteer for over six years says she enjoys the social aspect of the group and engaging in new activities she would never have tried before, such as getting on a pair of knee-high wellingtons for a deep river clean.
Another volunteer says although there is an overreliance on community-led groups, there is arguably an over-reliance on the council to do everything for residents. “It wouldn’t hurt for more people to help out and tidy up their communities.” King now finds himself being contacted by local authorities when a resident reports litter in and around rivers and streams. “They won’t go near it, the council, that’s the thing. If there’s litter in more than six inches of water, they’ll ring me.”
Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean? Welsh government outline the need for collaboration to tackle increasing river litter pollution, but a leading community group says this is turning into over-reliance on volunteers
A study from Loughborough University found that 63% of all litter across the UK was made of plastic, and the majority had been used for packaging.
Furthermore, an annual survey conducted by two leading environmental organisations in Wales, the Marine Conversation Society and Keep Wales Tidy stated that litter in Wales is mostly associated with ‘on the move’ food and drink containers.
This year Welsh Government began talks to introduce the single-use plastic bill which will make it an offence for any business to supply any commonly littered singleuse plastics including cutlery, plates, and cotton buds.
The founder of CRG welcomes this but adds a further incentive programme, such as a traditional deposit return scheme, to stop the problem at its source could be a solution. “All it needs is people, instead of penalising people they need to be incentivized. Try and do that. And with polystyrene, one of the biggest polluters, just ban it.”
Plastic pollution and the growing concern over littered nitrous oxide canisters will continue to worsen if community groups do not step up, according to CRG, during the cost-of-living crisis. If Cardiff council choose to focus funding on other key areas, the question surrounding over-reliance on community-led groups will further prolong into the future.
A newly found form of litter around Cardiff is nitrous oxide canisters. CRG look to the expertise of Dr Matthew Conroy, a structural biologist at Cardiff University to depressurise and dispose of the canisters correctly. Hundreds of NOS canisters have been found this year and Dr Conroy says the problem will only get worse, especially around university-populated areas.
16-24-year-olds.