Featured Volunteer: Clive Whaley – a man of many parts.

Photo by Pete Millson

Featured Volunteer: Clive Whaley – a man of many parts.

Clive hails from the Northeast of England, the middle of three children in what he calls a ‘standard working-class family’. His father was a practical man, an apprentice ‘plater’ who worked his way up the business to become Managing Director of Whaley Welding. Clive did not follow in his footsteps but did share his love of sports. An anathema to the rest of the family, Clive’s interests were in reading and learning; he studied politics at Lancaster University, but politics was not a passion, and he was more interested in neutral observation than political activism. He mixed mostly with English students and aspired to writing; having only experimented with songwriting as a guitar-playing teenager, he didn’t know what to do and his parents were unable to offer any guidance. Had the Bank of dreams and Nightmares existed then, he said, his life might have taken a different path, or he might have found his way more easily.

Instead, he took a Diploma in Recreation Management and worked with Sport England, dealing with funding and advice for leisure centres. With the arrival of The National Lottery, there was a huge demand for consultancy addressing sports strategies and the ensuing monitoring and evaluation of Lottery funded facilities. Clive set up a successful business partnership. After a foray into the world of self-employed film making, he returned to the world of sport as a Director of The National Skills Academy. A successful career it seemed, yet three months in, Clive said candidly, he suffered from a debilitating bout of depression. “One of the steps to turning things around,” he continued, “lay in rediscovering a sense of purpose and a role that makes you feel a worthwhile member of society.” For Clive, this came with an opportunity with Dorset Mental Health Forum as a peer-support volunteer, and then a Mental Health Advocate, offering invaluable help to those struggling to articulate themselves at tribunals and appeals.

Four years on, Clive trained as a low intensity CBT therapist and worked for the NHS at Steps to Wellbeing as a PWP (Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner). The patient assessments were at times grueling, and the more complex patients required follow-on referrals, but there was never enough time. The feel-good of paying back into the system, following his own recovery, ultimately became too stressful.

Nonetheless, Clive continued songwriting – creativity will out! – and put on a show at Bridport Arts Centre called “Lonely Boys”. Under the loose headings of “Love, Lust and Loneliness”, the three ages of man were represented by Clive and two friends with interviews followed by songs. Anyone who was lucky enough to see “The Small World of Clive Crudwick”, Clive’s recent show at BAC can begin to trace its ancestry. But there are still a few dots to be joined up!

Harmony, Bridport’s mental health charity put on a fundraiser show and Clive performed a couple of his songs (The Way that I Feel and Sunshine in your Heart), which were filmed by the talented Elliot Millson. This in turn led to a collaboration, filming the Crudwick monologues over a whole year at The Lyric Theatre and a musical collaboration with guitarist-friend Pete Millson (Elliot’s dad). Clive laughed as he described how no one really knew what the show was, as each part was done in isolation. But the result was way bigger than the sum of its parts; it combined humour and poignancy, mockumentary close up monologues by Crudwick, followed by live songs, which were superbly accompanied. And if that wasn’t enough, Clive pledged to donate a proportion of the proceeds to Harmony and The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares – two charities close to his heart.

So, how did you end up volunteering at The Bank?

“I saw an article in the Bridport News and thought it sounded brilliant. I couldn’t help reflecting on what a difference something like that would have made in my younger years.

It’s not just storytelling, it’s thinking, having one’s voice heard, promoting self-worth and mental well-being. Anyone interested should give it try. I can’t believe you wouldn’t enjoy it.”

And in three words, how would you describe the actual experience of volunteering?

“Fun, eye-opening and satisfying.”

And finally, if you had a superpower, what would it be?

“Well, it would be more of a device than a superpower, but it would be an INSTANT JOY BUTTON!!” And we laughed as Clive became Crudwick there and then and improvised an epilogue. Watch this space…

And please click on Clive’s Instant Joy Button beneath.

And The Grumpy Bank Manager’s!