Josh is Running a 5k for the Moira Fund on 27th October!

Hi everyone, it’s Josh, your friendly neighbourhood Cashier.

You might know that as well as working as your compassionate, friendly, calm and quiet hospital Cashier, I’m also a professional artist, writer and public speaker . I can go between making zines about Scottish mythology , painting portraits , speaking at events about my experiences as a young person diagnosed with leukaemia and then writing columns about healthcare inequality for the Scottish Review.

The path of my non NHS job has put me in the orbit of the charity Young Programme , a residential developmental course for people in the early stages of their careers where we help them with their public speaking and presentation skills. I’m a member of the organisation team there and it’s easily one of my favourite and most rewarding parts of my job.

At the Young programme we invite testimony speakers to come and tell our delegates about their lives, in the hopes that they’ll find their stories inspirational. It was at one of the Young Programme events that my paths crossed with one of our Testimony Speakers, Beatrice Jones.

Her name might not mean anything to you off the bat, but Beatrice is the mum of Moira Jones who was murdered in 2008 and has since started The Moira Fund , a charity who’s goal is to provide assistance to families who have been the victims of homicide. One of the charities events in the year is a charity run in Queens Park in Glasgow .

I’m sure you can see where this is going by now…

To cut a long story short, I’ve been signed up to do the Moira Run against my will by a so-called friend from the Programme . It is true that being put on the spot by a respected friend and colleague will do wonders for your motivation.

This happened back in April, springing me into a training regime comparable to the most inspiring Rocky Montage the world has seen. If you remember me back at the start of the year you’ll remember how unhealthy I was; creaking under the strain of my weight, frantically hammering the button for the elevator and vaping every second my allocated break time could afford.

If you’ve seen me recently you’ll notice that I’m much more sprightly, trimmer and more dead behind the eyes, and it’s not just because I’ve given up the vape, but it’s also because I’ve been going out to run every second morning (with the exception of a few lost to injury) since May.

It’s been torturous, disgusting, horrible, a nightmare, and I’ve now definitely got the running bug.

I’ve also now got to the point where I can run a 5k. I wanted to say comfortably, but there’s nothing comfortable about it. I am fighting for my life while pounding those pavements, but I can do it, which is the important thing.

Now that I’m less convinced that I’m going to embarrass myself, have to change my name to Jacob Moore and move to a quiet hamlet where nobody has ever heard of me, I’m now at the fun part where I get to start working for donations, and that’s where you come in.

I am really hoping that you can donate. It’s a really great cause that offers a lifeline to people in one of the most horrible times in their life. As always, anything you can give is appreciated, and please only give if you’re not putting yourself into financial difficulty by donating.

Charity prints and zines are something I love doing, I’ve done them for Jog for Jogs , Unicef's Palestinian Aid Relief, Trekstock and the Covid-19 relief fund before and I’m buzzing to add the Moira Fund to the list, so there will also be a Charity Print available on my website as we get closer to the date of the run.

If you’re not in a position to donate, don’t worry, I get it. There’s a Cossy Lives on and our new Prime Minister has told us all it’s going to get worse before it gets better. There are other ways you can help though, you can share my gofundme link on your social media, or even just mention it to people in passing.

Thanks for giving me a bit of your time today, I appreciate that more than anything, and hope that I’ve at least made you smirk a little while reading.