Date of the 1st ever Welsh Recovery Walk in Cardiff

My dear friends in Recovery,

It is with immense pleasure that I am able to inform you of the date of the first every Welsh Recovery Walk here in Cardiff, the proud capital of Wales. The 2011 Recovery Walk-with-a-difference will be held on Saturday, 18th June. (And yes, I have checked: there’s no rugby international being played in Cardiff on that day – well, as far as I can tell anyway! So you English rugby supporters should be safe!)

We can’t wait to welcome you all here to celebrate Recovery, to share quality time with us and to enjoy some first class entertainment together. More importantly, we can’t wait to put faces and voices to our recoveries, and to, hopefully, be worthy advocates of this marvellous recovery movement of ours.

I’ve just spent the best Christmas ever with my family - which includes my two little granddaughters who have never seen their ‘taid’ (grandfather) drunk: we didn’t argue all over Christmas; the atmosphere was serene and loving; and I got to tell my two lovely daughters - for the thousandth time, I’m sure, since I got into recovery in 1992 - how much I love and treasure them. Great, isn’t it?

“If someone were to capture recovery
and translate it for the community at large,
they’d make a ton of money.”
That’s what he said at dinner.
That’s what I’ve wanted to do,
but not for the money.
Imagine the healing, the coming together,
ending separation, isolation and blame.
Imagine the loss of judgement; the lack of “they”.
M.A Helijas 1.

So, boys & girls, mums and dads, gramps and grand mammas, Buster the dog, Mavis the cat ‘and Uncle Tom Cobley and all,’ start making your preparations today! Let’s show everyone what Recovery looks like.

You won’t regret visiting Cardiff. And I can guarantee you that you’ll never forget taking part in this 2011 Welsh Recovery Walk-with-a-difference.

What’s going to be different about it?

Wel, bydd raid i chi ymweld â Chaerdydd i ddarganfod yr ateb i hynny! (You’ll have to come to Cardiff to find out the answer to that one!)

More information about logistics and who’ll be providing the entertainment, etc will be announced during the coming month. What’s important for now is the date: Saturday 18th June, 2011.
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1. Mark Helijas is the Executive Director of White River Junction Recovery Centre, Vermont, U.S.A. – one of a network of nine Turning Point Recovery Centres throughout the state. I met him on my recent Recovery Tour of the eastern states of America as part of my 2010 Winston Churchill Fellowship where I researched Peer-based Recovery Support and Peer-based Recovery Support Systems. He presented me with ‘Sentence or Pardon’, a collection of his poetry. One of his best sayings will remain with me for a long time: “We’ve all been hurt by life. But then, only scarred people can really save.”