Latest news with #DuncanCampbell
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Presenter Danny Campbell to run 10k race in Crocs in memory of late brother
A TV presenter and architect is to run a 10k race in his signature Crocs in memory of his late brother as he raises funds for a mental health charity. Danny Campbell, a judge on Scotland's Home of the Year, will run the Glasgow Men's 10k on Sunday June 15. His younger brother Duncan died in 2024 after a long battle with cancer. Before his death, Duncan Campbell spoke about his mental health in a book called The Suicide Notes and at an Edinburgh Fringe show of the same name. Danny Campbell said the race will be deeply personal, and funds raised will go to the Mental Health Foundation. He said: 'There were days where I was really overwhelmed, anxious, and felt like I was failing at everything – being a dad, running a business, keeping it together. 'My brother was honest about his own struggles, and that has been an inspiration and, in many ways, it's changed my life. 'Running in Crocs might sound daft, but it's about showing up exactly as you are and marching to the beat of your own drum. That's what he taught me.' Known for their signature aesthetic rather than as running shoes, the Crocs are likely to make the 10k even harder for Campbell. The 34-year-old, who founded Glasgow-based HOKO Design in 2019, has become well-known in Scotland through his architectural work, as well as for his TV presenting. Behind the scenes however, he has had to face the loss of his brother, while growing a business and raising his three young sons. The presenter said: 'When Duncan died, everything changed. He was so young. He was kind, funny, and smart. He was always the first to ask how I was doing. 'If Duncan had decided to end his life, we would have lost those final special years together. I'm grateful we had that time. 'I believe we had that time because he opened up. Hopefully by running a very slow 10k in squishy shoes, I can encourage others to share their problems with those close to them.' The Glasgow Men's 10k starts at the Riverside Museum and finishes at Glasgow Green, and is designed to get men of all ages moving and talking – with a focus on mental health. Campbell added: 'I read all the comments online about my Crocs, and I think it's a great indicator of why people don't open up. 'I find the online abuse quite funny, but if you take a step back, it shows that if you do anything remotely different from the norm, people want to knock you down. 'We lose too many good people because they don't feel they can talk. If doing something a bit silly gets even one person to open up, that's a win. 'An event like this is brilliant because it brings men together and will hopefully help remove the stigma around mental health. Maybe it'll remove the stigma around wearing Crocs too.' Julie Cameron, associate director for Scotland at the Mental Health Foundation, said: 'We're incredibly grateful to Danny for taking on this challenge, raising both awareness and vital funds for the Mental Health Foundation. 'His message encouraging people, especially men, to talk about their struggles and seek support is more important than ever. 'While awareness has grown, stigma still holds many back from opening up about their struggles. 'Normalising conversations around mental health is crucial, and if an architect running a 10k in Crocs sparks those discussions, that's a win.'
Times
20-05-2025
- Times
Duncan Campbell obituary: prominent crime reporter
The first professional criminal Duncan Campbell ever met was a 'charming fraudster' with a degree in economics from Jesus College, Cambridge — or at least so the fraudster told him. Campbell was a 17-year-old schoolboy whose Scottish boarding school for some obscure reason had sent a team of sixth-formers into the nearby Perth prison to debate whether going to the moon would be a good idea. He was instantly more fascinated by the stories of the inmates than by the prospect of a moon landing, which was still seven years away. How had a well-spoken, well-educated man ended up behind bars, and how did he relate to the violent thugs from the Glaswegian gangs who wereserving time alongside him for stabbing and worse? A
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
We're no strangers to love on this island
Thank you for the letters (16 May) about Keir Starmer's 'island of strangers' speech. The item in John Crace's Digested Week (16 May) on the same subject was magnificent. I also loved Michael Rosen's poem (My Island of Strangers, 17 May). Thinking of poems, as I read Duncan Campbell's obituary (16 May), I thought of his wife Julie Christie's poem in praise of sprouts, written for a charity book and republished in the Observer in VandecasteeleCupar, Fife Like Michael Rosen, during a recent hospital stay, I was fortunate to be cared for by an island of strangers. My surgeon was Dutch, his No 2 was Irish; the rest of the excellent staff were predominantly Asian or African, and one of the nurses was aptly named LeManLondon Thank you, Michael Rosen. To adapt the words of Blanche DuBois, we have often relied on the kindness of BartonParbold, Lancashire As Emma Beddington rightly says (18 May), pets cannot share gossip, catch your eye in public when something amusing happens or chew over a family drama. Nor can they teach you to read, prescribe medicine when you are ill, put out fires or detain the person who stole your car. Give me people any WhiteReading, Berkshire For authenticity, shouldn't Monty Don's dog-friendly garden at the Chelsea flower show feature trees decorated with small hanging plastic bags (Report, 20 May)? Martin DattaLincoln Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Planting trees is not back-breaking work
Matt Powell suggests the Sycamore Gap vandals be punished by an order to plant 2,000 trees each, describing this as 'loathsome, back-breaking work' (Letters, 14 May). It's a creative idea but, as a former forestry worker with years of tree-planting experience and a fine, unbroken back, I take issue with his description. It's healthy work, far more satisfying than many jobs, and planting 2,000 trees would only be about 10 hours' work at a reasonable PeaseInchigeela, County Cork, Ireland Jane Lowe wonders if she and her husband were 'sten party' trendsetters in 1979 (Letters, 18 May). My wife-to-be and I held a similar event in a riverside pub on the night before our wedding in 1965. Great CardenDenton, Norfolk When I married in 1998, I was the only male in a team of around a dozen workers. On the evening before my wedding, my female colleagues treated me to a meal out and referred to the event as 'Iain's hag party'. (Their words, not mine!)Iain LindsayOxford South Kesteven district council is to hold a festival for the centenary of Margaret Thatcher's birth. What form will the celebrations take? Is it planning to make half of the council employees redundant?Alex BaxterSouthgate, London A short note of gratitude for the friendship and support of Duncan Campbell (Obituary, 17 May), without whom Fair Trials would not have JakobiRichmond, London Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Duncan Campbell was cool, kind and charismatic
I met Duncan Campbell, who died on Friday (Report, 16 May), when I joined the National Union of Journalists in my early days on the Peace News staff, getting to know him better during our involvement in the defence campaign around the ABC official secrets trial, referred to in your obituary (16 May). After becoming a defendant myself in a spin-off case – charged with criminal contempt for naming a 'secret' witness in the main trial – I found Duncan's cool, charismatic demeanour to be very much what I needed on my side. But my most abiding memory of Duncan is from the time he was news editor at Time Out (then a radical magazine). There was a dispute when the owner wanted to abandon the system of pay parity; despite being one of the people whose pay would increase, Duncan was as solidly opposed to the change as were his colleagues. At one meeting he gave a powerful speech in support of the principle of equal pay within an organisation. 'Does a journalist typing at their desk need more food to stay alive than does the person sweeping around their feet? Do they need more clothes to stay warm in winter?' he asked. His clear statement of the moral case against pay differentials inspired me to continue to work only for organisations which uphold that BealeKing's Cross, London I read of the death of the Guardian journalist Duncan Campbell with sadness. Duncan was such a great help to me following the death of my birth father, the bank robber Bobby King. Bobby and Duncan had become friends during Duncan's research into the London criminal underworld, and Bobby had contributed interviews for his books and subsequent television series. Afterwards, Duncan tried hard to help keep Bobby on the straight and narrow following his release from prison, giving him a research role for subsequent books. After Bobby's death in 2000, I got in touch with Duncan. I wanted to write about the shock of discovering, as an adult, that my father had been a rather notorious bank robber. Duncan was kind, supportive and so very helpful in encouraging me to write and in getting the resulting article published in the Guardian. We met in person only once, but his friendly manner and genuine interest in adoption and its aftermath will always stay with me. I remain grateful to this warm-hearted man for his time and encouragement. Allison PerkinBerlin, Germany Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
